Liberty in Learning 1, Union Bosses 0
Friday, May 9th, 2008 By David Hansen
Parents, kids and the principle of freedom won a victory in the Ohio Senate today, although by a narrow margin. The vote on SB 57, the Special Needs Scholarship was 17 to 15 in favor. All Democrats voted against the bill, along with Republican Senators Stivers, Schuring and Grendell. Now SB 57 moves to the Ohio House.
Kudos to Senate Education Chair Joy Padgett, Senate President Bill Harris and SB 57’s sponsor, Sen. Kevin Coughlin for their leadership in shepherding the measure to passage.
SB 57 is not a new concept to Ohio or the nation. Florida already has a similar successful program for students with disabilities, that, contrary to what school choice opponents say, has resulted in higher test scores for scholarship AND public school students while NOT draining resources from the students that stay in the public schools. It’s been a win-win-win situation there for scholarship kids, public school kids and taxpayers who spend an average of 25% less for each scholarship student.
The prospects for the bill in the House are uncertain. Certainly House Speaker Jon Husted has remained a great champion of school choice. But it is up in the air how many Republicans are will fall prey to the money and other political enticements of the teacher unions. Under the Union Thumb, House Democrats will probably vote in lock-step against SB 57. Ohio Democrats apparently would rather side with union bosses than help children with disabilities who just want to get the best education they possible so they can live a life independent of government programs. Democrats in other states have stood side-by-side with their Republican colleagues and voted for the rights of parents and children instead of bureaucrats and unions - Ohio’s politicians can and should do the same.
Tags: Education
