CHEYENNE — Governor Mark Gordon’s signing into law of the bill to create a universal school voucher system made Wyoming the 16th state to adopt such a program.
The next step is a lawsuit to find out once and or all whether this type of education funding system is constitutional. The sponsors added an income ceiling for parents perhaps in hopes it would satisfy the constitutional waiver that allow donations of public money for the support of the poor.
Meanwhile, while the litigation percolates, some readers have posed questions about the accountability of the voucher system and its $7,000 per K-12 student allowance.
What protection, they ask, is there to prevent a parent from taking the $7,000 and letting the kid sit on the couch and watch TV all day.
One asked what was to prevent a parent from taking the money and then teaching only the Bible or his or her religion beliefs, instead of any recommended curriculum.
The latter question was posed probably because the religion-based hard right Freedom Caucus and its house majority supported the voucher programs.
But so did a number of traditional Republicans. The handful of minority Democrats were opposed.
The bill passed the house on third reading 39 - 21 — a majority but not overwhelming. The vote in the senate was 20 - 11.
Before the session, the Wyoming Education Association announced a new poll that showed nearly 70 percent of Wyoming Republicans opposed universal vouchers. That was not reflected in the bill’s outcome in the legislature.
“Wyoming public schools are the heart of our communities, especially in our rural areas, where they serve as both a foundation for learning and a cornerstone of connection, opportunity, and growth,” said Kim Amen, president of the Wyoming Education Association in a news release. “Universal vouchers are counter to all of these values.”
There were several additional key findings from these Republican voters. It is notable that the most, 76 percent, of those surveyed were opposed because of lack of accountability for the millions of dollars of taxpayer money that would be spent on the new program.
Additionally, 86 percent of respondents believe that state funding should be provided to public school systems to prevent cuts in services to existing students and to prevent tax increases to local taxpayers.
“An investment in our public schools is an investment in our communities, our future, and the strength of Wyoming itself,” Amen said in the release
After reading the digest that details the history of the bill through the legislature and how it ended up as a steamboat legacy scholarship act, the conclusion is obvious; the decider will be the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder, an enthusiastic supporter of universal vouchers.
The bill clearly was written to make it easier for parents to obtain money to pay for private and homeschool education.
Built on the original Education Saving Account program for preschool children, the new law requires parents or guardians to sign an agreement with the state school superintendent. It also requires the student be assessed on academic progress.
But it does not say how this assessment will work.
The new law retained the existing language to establish a certification process for education service providers for K-12 in reading, writing, mathematics and civics.
Stricken from the list, for some reason, is a study of the U.S and state constitutions so that apparently is no longer required.
This is odd, because that constitutional study is required by Wyoming statute 21-9-102 the last time I checked.
Simply put, the law gives Degenfelder full reign of the $30 million program through the rules.
There are no guardrails.
And it directs that rules adopted by the state superintendent “shall focus on simplifying parental access to the program.”
So the answer to the accountability question is: watch the rules that come out of the school superintendent’s office.
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Contact Joan Barron at 307-632-2534 or jmbarron@bresnan.net
