Educators, including many Republicans, are worried President Donald Trump's push for school choice could have an adverse effect on their districts.
Many rural communities are worried that giving public money to send children to private schools could lead to a loss of funding, especially in Mississippi, where a school choice bill would not provide funds for transportation, NBC News reported.
"How is it 'choice' when there's no transportation or special education services provided?" Mississippi School Superintendent Tyler Hansford wrote recently on Facebook. "School choice with no transportation for families without a car is no choice at all."
Trump has supported legislation in Texas and Idaho that would create private school vouchers, with a bill in Idaho that would provide up to $5,000 in tax credits to students attending private school recently passing the state Senate.
But similar bills in red states like Mississippi and South Dakota have stalled. More than two dozen states offer funding for private schools, EdWeek reported.
School voucher bills became hot-button issues in Texas and Idaho, where Republican legislators who rejected the legislation were ousted in primaries. The bill in Texas is expected to pass the House after passing the Senate and has support from Gov. Greg Abbott.
Three school choice bills failed in South Dakota over concerns that it would lead to communities raising property taxes to fund public schools.
"It's not opposition to school choice necessarily, just the question of what should government pay for, and what's more fiscally conservative or responsible," South Dakota Republican state Sen. Kyle Schoenfish said to NBC News.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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