It really isn't enough that Republicans are hell bent on dismantling our public school system at all cost. Promise to eliminate the Department of Education? Check. Candidates campaign against higher education? Check. Co-opt ALEC position papers in legislation? Check. Substitute religion for science in schools? Hell yeah.
Louisiana apparently plans to up the ante.
Let's make it legal to discriminate against school children!
Details after the squiggle.
Republicans have long wanted to use your tax dollars to fund charter schools.
ALEC shows them how to do it, no independent thought required.
Three days ago, Louisiana made a move that will allow charter schools to discriminate against children in charter schools based on their sexuality. From The Advocate:
A state Senate committee approved legislation Thursday that would allow charter schools to refuse to admit students on the basis of their ability to speak English, their sexual orientation or other factors.
Purely business, they say. They want to follow state law with regard to contracts with businesses :
State law currently forbids discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national ancestry, age, sex or disability.
The Louisiana Education Department has different standards, thankfully:
The Education Department provision states: “Charter schools may not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, creed, sex ethnicity, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, age, ancestry, athletic performance, special need proficiency in the English language or in a foreign language, or academic achievement in admitting students, nor may charter schools set admissions criteria that are intended to discriminate or that have the effect of discriminating on any of these bases.”
The charter schools will use tax money. And if these perniciously evil legislators get their way, they will use it to discriminate against "others". It's always "others". This makes me nauseous.
What does Jindal have to say about it?
“We’re against discrimination, but we don’t believe in special protections or rights.”
Yeah, that makes no sense to me either.