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"This is a Joke, Right?"
We only wish it were. bit.ly/September15EdReport [bit.ly/September15EdReport]
🌍 Flat earthers spark controversy: This week, an ESA voucher Facebook group sparked fierce debate when a voucher parent asked about using voucher funds to purchase Flat Earth “curriculum.” As Mary Jo Pitzl described in the Arizona Republic , responses to the post “highlighted the full faith of backers of Arizona’s first-in-the nation universal voucher program, as well as the wariness some participants have about going too far with the program’s almost nonexistent boundaries.”
We were astonished to see the amount of voucher users supporting the idea of teaching flat earther conspiracy theories. This raises serious concerns about what is being taught in wholly unregulated voucher-funded private schools, micro schools and homeschools, which are set to rake in nearly $1 billion in AZ taxpayer dollars this school year alone.
When asked about the flat earth "curriculum," Superintendent Horne said it would not be approved — however, various accounts on the post said they’d had such lessons approved for reimbursement. Horne acknowledged there’s nothing in state law that would bar purchases such as a flat earth curriculum. In fact, the law specifically does not allow [[link removed]] “any government agency to exercise control or supervision over any nonpublic school or homeschool.”
👏 Gov. Hobbs enters the chat: On Wednesday, Gov. Hobbs posted on Twitter [[link removed]] , “The Earth is round, evolution is real, gravity exists. Arizona taxpayers should not pay to teach our children junk science. We need transparency and accountability over school vouchers.” We couldn’t agree more — this is the absolute minimum we should expect from taxpayer-funded schools! [[link removed]]
😲 Pandora’s Voucher Box: When they passed universal vouchers in 2022 (despite voter opposition [[link removed]] ), the Arizona legislature decided that vouchers should be wholly unregulated with zero oversight over what is being taught. Republican lawmakers refused to add in any form of academic accountability or require that voucher-funded lessons be tied to state standards. This has opened up a Pandora’s Box in terms of what our tax dollars are funding — from espresso machines to bounce houses, luxury car driving lessons [[link removed]] and $1800 collectible Lego sets [[link removed]] , and now Flat Earther curriculum.
Step up to help flip the legislature to one that supports public schools and will rein in this off-the-rails voucher program!
See the “Take Action” section for ways to plug in, or go to sosarizona.org/upcomingevents [[link removed]] .
Full Weekly Education Report HERE [bit.ly/September15EdReport] .
SEE FULL DETAILS & REGISTER FOR UPCOMING EVENTS HERE [sosarizona.org/upcomingevents]
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