Posted on 05/21/2008 5:38:40 AM PDT by Arcy
When Florida passed a law in 2001 creating the Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program for underprivileged students, all but one Democrat in the state legislature voted against it. Earlier this month, lawmakers extended the program – this time with the help of a full third of Democrats in the Legislature, including 13 of 25 members of the state's black caucus and every member of the Hispanic caucus. What changed?
Our guess is that low-income parents in Florida have gotten a taste of the same school choice privileges that middle- and upper-income families have always enjoyed. And they've found they like this new educational freedom. Under the scholarship program, which is means-tested, companies get a 100% tax credit for donations to state-approved nonprofits that provide private-school vouchers for low-income families.
The program already serves some 20,000 students. The expansion will allow it to assist an additional 6,000. It's no surprise that poor families would embrace educational options, given that their government-assigned schools are clearly failing their children. The high school graduation rate for black students in Florida is 45% overall, 38% for black males. The 52% graduation rate for Hispanics is also nothing to brag about.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
The definition of irony ... as RINO epublicans run desperately gasping at full speed to the left, the rats begin to move right using conservative ideas.
Somewhere, the muddled middle to which they are running must be mightily confused.
ping
Democrats, for years opposing school choice, finally have a few of their idiots see the light.
Of course, JEB! has been working for better education in the private sector for years.
JEB!: the most conservative Bush, ought to run for Senate and get rid of Nelson or Martinez.
Florida in the Wall Street Journal ping.
First, the gov’t school system was started by the Fascists in the 20’s and 30’s in order to indoctrinate the children into the worship of the state as the highest deity. Nothing much has changed. Today’s left doesn’t have the power to do as the Fascists did, and forcibly take the children and keep them in bording schools for indoctrination, but they would if they could.
Second, the second undeniable truth about “liberalism” is that they do not support ANY freedoms except those related to uninhibited sexual behavior choices. All other choices are regulated, taxed, or prohibited.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.