Dive Brief:
- In Virginia, Gov. Terry McAuliffe vetoed the Republican education bill, saying he had significant constitutional concerns over using public funding to pay tuition at private schools.
- The Republican delegate who introduced the bill, Dave LaRock, proposed the legislation in order to let parents of disabled students use state funding to cover their children's expenses at private schools.
- LaRock said he will continue to try to make the bill become law "eventually," the Associated Press reports.
Dive Insight:
Virginia is clearing parting ways with states like Nevada, where a school choice law was recently passed that essentially gives parents free rein to spend public dollars allotted for their children as they wish, including at private schools or charter schools. After the law passed, applications for state dollars swamped the state's education officials, who struggled to catch up and overcome implementation challenges. There, the public funding can legally go towards home schooling materials or to combine public and private classes for students.
And at over 600 charter schools in Florida, the debate is centered around how schools are funded and how well they educate students. The state's 2016-17 budget proposal for the state would fund both charters and traditional schools equally with $75.2 million worth of public funding.
It's worth noting that some private schools are also wary when it comes to vouchers and other programs utilizing public funds, as accepting the money potentially opens the door for more state oversight.