NC Congressman Introduced CHOICE Act to Give Education Funding to Parents/Students to Apply Where They Wish

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Left has forever been fond of pushing more and more education spending because it’s ‘for the kids,’ it’s ‘about the children,’ and ‘our kids are our future.’

At the same, the Left has been pushing mightily AGAINST opening schools, knowing full well how damaging the school closure, remote learning only policy is for the very children they profess to care about.

Republican Congressman Dan Bishop (NC-9th) also believes we should do right by our kids, and that’s why he wants to put education funding in the most natural place to actually advance the education interests of children — with them!

Well, with their parents. Bishop has introduced the CHOICE Act, which would amended the CARES Act so that 10 percent of all Education Stabilization appropriations would have to be used to fund Opportunity Grants. Those grants would go directly to parents, whose kids are stuck in districts that won’t open schools, or are otherwise failing to met the educational needs of the child, to be applied toward other school choice and supplemental education options.

In an interview with the North State Journal‘s A.P. Dillon, Congressman Bishop stated, “I was troubled by forced school closures continuing into the fall. Data shows what parents know — virtual learning is subpar and affects students of various income backgrounds differently.”

It certainly does, and the Democrat’s nearly unanimous support for Pandemic Panic closures is a stunningly revealing political move. These closures hit hardest those students and families typically employed as political vehicles for Democrats: low-income households; they hit minority students and parents harder, on average; and they are downright harmful to many special needs children.

More from North State Journal:

“[…] Nearly 70% of all school districts in North Carolina are currently operating under “Plan C,” which is full remote instruction. Those districts operating under “Plan C” represent nearly 1 million of the state’s 1.5 million K-12 students. […]

Bishop’s bill would the bulk of all funds (local, state and federal) to the families. This total for those in Charlotte Mecklenburg, for example, would be around $11,000.

“With my bill, your education is not dependent on your ability to pay or zip code,” said Bishop. “It would give anywhere from 80 to 100% of the total per pupil spending from all levels of government as determined by the secretary of Education. That would mean thousands of dollars for families who need it.” […]”

While the Pandemic Panic has caused so much pain for so many families, the silver lining may be that it forced the issue of school choice to the forefront. However, even though such a bill is encouraging, it is being filed in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s House, meaning it’s chances of advancement are slim to none.

At least it starts the conversation, an honest one, about why the only education spending that facilitates real results is that aimed specifically at the students.

After all, it’s ‘all about the children,’ right, Democrats?

Read more on the Bishop bill at North State Journal.