Should parents have the option of directing their tax dollars to the school of their choice, including private and parochial schools, for their children to attend?

As soon as the government sends any money to an organization, they start telling that organization how to do things. In this situation, the private schools then become just like the public schools and we are back to square one.

Maybe, maybe not, it can’t get any worse than most public schools now!

It's a myth to believe that a) this is government support of religion of b) that the government can tell the schools what to do or say.

It has been proven in court when you give a child money for school - ALL CHILDREN EQUALLY - and that child chooses to attend a private, public, religious, etc. school then the government didn't choose anything.

It's like getting a tax credit from the government and donating it to a church. That never is a problem. Neither is this.

I believe the state government of Florida threatened to withhold funding to school districts that had mask mandates.

Regardless of how one feels about mask mandates, that is certainly one instance of a government trying to tell a school what to do or not do and using the $$$ given to the school as leverage.

If the government passes a law that mandates all children in the state must wear a mask then ALL CHILDREN must wear a mask regardless if the government gives money to the school or not. Even private schools must enforce a mask even if they don't receive a dime if the government has a law on that.

A false argument.

I met a man who was sending his grandson to a private school... until he needed extra instruction for learning challenges and they kicked him out.

He realized public schools are the only ones that serve ALL of our children - and now he fights to fund our public schools.

https://www.randimccallian.com/

He realized public schools are the only ones that serve ALL of our children - and now he fights to fund our public schools. -- Posted by Randi McCallian for US Congress on Mon, Aug 15, 2022, at 11:56 AM

They do serve ALL the children... critical race theory, gender bender instruction to kindergartners, encouraging 6th graders to get sex changes without telling parents.

Gotta give you credit - you nailed that one.

It was the local school districts that decided they wanted mask mandates. I far as I know, there were no laws passed. It was individual school's policy, like no chewing gum in class or no flip-flops in class. Whatever, it was their policy that the local school officials decided was best for them.

However, the Florida governor then threatened to take their state funding away if they passed such a mask mandate policy. I thought conservatives (of which I consider myself very much one) were for local control and limited government interference, particularly from non-local governmental bodies.

I don't want to focus this discussion too much on the mask issue, the point is that when the government gives money, they expect to be able to tell organizations how to operate.

I don't want to focus this discussion too much on the mask issue, the point is that when the government gives money, they expect to be able to tell organizations how to operate. -- Posted by Justin Nobody on Mon, Aug 15, 2022, at 7:03 PM

My point - as a conservative - is that if the state passes a law mandating masks for children then ALL CHILDREN must wear a mask whether they get money from the government or not.

A false argument.

I don't understand the "false argument" argument. Seriously, I may be missing something there.

The state of Florida did not pass a law saying you must or you must not wear a mask. Presumably, that was left up to the local authorities (as it should be). However, the governor threatened to withhold state funds to the schools if they didn't decide the issue as he would have liked.

This is an example of exactly what I said..... the government (in this case, the state of Florida) didn't like the choices of the local authorities, so they used their funding as a weapon to coerce them to abide by the state government's wishes, even though there was no law requiring the local school authorities to do so.

I honestly don't see how that is a false argument, as it is EXACTLY what I was saying happens when a governmental power provides funding to an organization.....the government starts using the funding as a weapon to coerce the organization to do things as the government wishes.

In this situation, the private schools then become just like the public schools and we are back to square one. -- Posted by Justin Nobody on Sat, Aug 13, 2022, at 1:38 PM

You're complicating it Justin. The statement you made - that if government gives money to private schools then they must do what the government says.

1. The government already tells private schools what standards they must meet to be certified as a school - whether they receive money or not.

2. The government can give money directly to the family and let them choose what school to go to. The government isn't giving money to the schools any more than if I receive money for "Covid Relief" and donate it to my private school. No different.

3. As to point 1 above, if the government passes a law that children MUST wear masks all the time then private schools must apply that law even if they don't get money from the government.

It's simply - the government can force private schools to do anything even if they don't give them money and parents giving money to schools isn't the same as the government doing it.

Does that help?