{"id":2215280,"date":"2024-04-08T03:12:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T07:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-are-elected-republicans-helping-democrats-reward-a-failed-education-system\/"},"modified":"2024-04-08T03:19:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T07:19:00","slug":"why-are-elected-republicans-helping-democrats-reward-a-failed-education-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-are-elected-republicans-helping-democrats-reward-a-failed-education-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Do GOP Members Support Democrats in Enhancing a Failing Education System?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhy-are-elected-republicans-helping-democrats-reward-a-failed-education-system%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2215280&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Harvard and Stanford researchers confirm public \u200beducation experts&#8217; harm \u2064on children with COVID-era policies. Public schools are shifting\u2064 curricula based\u200c on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">critical race theory<\/a>. Despite increased funding, Pennsylvania teachers are dissatisfied, and students struggle. Political promises\u200c on school choice remain unfulfilled. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/teachers-unions-nightmare-study-shows-charter-schools-more-cost-effective-than-district-schools\/\" title=\"Teachers\u2019 Unions Nightmare: Study Shows Charter Schools More Cost-Effective Than District Schools\">public education system<\/a> faces\u200c criticism for its failures, while parental rights and children&#8217;s education suffer.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>Researchers at Harvard and Stanford have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/american-children-struggling-academically-1883618\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">now confirmed<\/a> what parents across the country have known for some time: Public education \u201cexperts\u201d decimated an entire generation of children with their heavy-handed and politically charged Covid-era policies. Yet, rather than beg forgiveness and seek reconciliation, those very same \u201cexperts\u201d are doubling down. <\/p>\n<p>Many public schools are <a href=\"https:\/\/newdiscourses.com\/2022\/01\/how-education-turned-critical\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">transforming K-12 curricula<\/a> based on the Marxist tenets ingrained in <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Paulo_Freire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">critical race theory<\/a>, while stories involving <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boston.com\/news\/high-school-sports\/2024\/03\/01\/injuries-involving-trans-basketball-player-at-mass-school-spark-controversy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">young women being injured<\/a> by male transgender high school athletes are now commonplace. Some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-education-lesson-from-covid-lockdowns-school-choice-is-imperative-for-every-child\/\" title=\"The Education Lesson from COVID Lockdowns: School Choice Is Imperative for Every Child\">public school districts<\/a> have even taken to grift, joining the wave of lawsuits against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/03\/22\/tech\/bucks-county-social-media-lawsuit\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">social media companies<\/a> and their insidious algorithms, while ignoring their own contributions to the nationwide adolescent mental health crisis. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1727911051\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f180c175cea221de23afad33589a817d fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f180c175cea221de23afad33589a817d\"><\/div>\n<p>In 2014, <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2014\/12\/09\/politics\/ted-cruz-school-choice-civil-rights\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">while campaigning for president<\/a>, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was sharply criticized for stating that school choice is \u201cthe most compelling civil rights issue of the 21st century.\u201d The senator was <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/education\/4465271-school-choice-really-is-the-civil-rights-issue-of-our-time\/#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20more%20central%20issue%20to%20the,equal%20opportunity%20and%20an%20equal%20chance%20to%20succeed.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">absolutely correct<\/a>, yet a decade later only <a href=\"https:\/\/spn.org\/articles\/school-choice-in-2024\/#:~:text=In%202023%2C%20seven%20states%20adopted%20universal%20education%20freedom,Iowa%2C%20Florida%2C%20North%20Carolina%2C%20Ohio%2C%20Oklahoma%2C%20and%20Utah.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nine states<\/a> have adopted policies establishing universal education freedom. To make matters worse, elected Republicans are <em>increasing<\/em> financial support for a broken public education system that is openly hostile to conservative families.<\/p>\n<p>Just within the last few weeks, the Republican-led House of Representatives passed a $1.2 trillion funding package that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edweek.org\/policy-politics\/education-dept-sees-small-cut-in-funding-package-that-averted-government-shutdown\/2024\/03\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">allocates almost <em>$80 billion<\/em><\/a>  to the left-wing Department of Education. Conservative parents might reasonably ask whether elected Republicans (many of whom send their own children to private school) actually have their best interests at heart. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pennsylvania: A Study in Bipartisan Failure<\/h2>\n<p>Notwithstanding the mind-boggling federal spending on public education, more than 90 percent of K-12 expenses are funded by state and local taxes. In Pennsylvania, for example, Gov. Josh Shapiro recently touted his $1 billion increase in K-12 education spending, bringing the total annual expenditures on public education to a whopping <a href=\"https:\/\/whyy.org\/articles\/shapiro-historic-1-billion-increase-education-funding-pennsylvania-budget\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$19.1 billion<\/a>, or 44 percent of the total state budget. For some perspective, spending on education in Pennsylvania was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pennlive.com\/news\/2019\/02\/pa-budget-winner-wolfs-commitment-to-education-shines-through-in-his-2019-20-budget.html#:~:text=At%20a%20glance%3A%20Gov.%20Tom%20Wolf%E2%80%99s%202019-20%20budget,than%2028%20percent%20of%20the%20general%20fund%20budget.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">about half that, $9.6 billion<\/a>, in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>It would be easy to blame Democrats for this astounding display of fiscal irresponsibility, but Republicans have controlled the Pennsylvania legislature for much of that time. One would hope that this profligate spending would have led to meaningful increases in compensation and greater job satisfaction for teachers, the individuals doing the hard work of educating the next generation. But that is not the case. Four years and billions of dollars later, Pennsylvania <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/philadelphia\/news\/pennsylvania-teacher-shortage-solutions-lawmakers-philadelphia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lost nearly 10,000 teachers<\/a> in 2023 alone.     <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-efcb83f4da54bf01ead51045a6ecf56a fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-efcb83f4da54bf01ead51045a6ecf56a\"><\/div>\n<p>So, despite doubling funding in recent years, Pennsylvania teachers are miserable and leaving the profession in droves. What about the kids? One would expect that they are thriving as a result of the billions in extra money flowing into Pennsylvania public schools, but that is not the case either. In fact, Pennsylvania kids are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcphiladelphia.com\/news\/local\/pa-standardized-test-scores-still-below-pre-pandemic-levels-data-shows\/3437230\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">still struggling<\/a> to recover from the immense harm caused by the state\u2019s enforcement of <a href=\"https:\/\/fedsoc.org\/commentary\/publications\/state-court-docket-watch-corman-v-acting-secretary-of-the-pennsylvania-department-of-health\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unlawful<\/a> policies. <\/p>\n<p>Pennsylvania families are also fighting the cultural battles infecting schools throughout the country. For example, in late 2022, the Central Bucks School District was <a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/1m-central-bucks-investigation-aclus-163225630.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">targeted by a complaint<\/a> from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) alleging that certain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/va-teacher-placed-on-administrative-leave-after-refusing-to-affirm-trans-identity-for-kids-citing-faith\/\" title=\"VA Teacher Placed On Administrative Leave After Refusing To Affirm Trans Identity For Kids, Citing Faith\">school district policies<\/a> and practices were hostile toward LGBT students. After the district spent more than $1 million on the investigation, the superintendent was forced to resign and Democrats regained control of the school board in the following election. Just to rub it in, the newly elected school board president in that district <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edweek.org\/leadership\/this-school-board-president-took-her-oath-on-a-stack-of-contested-books-heres-why\/2023\/12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">took her oath of office<\/a> on a stack of controversial LGBT books. At least one thing is clear \u2014 the left has mastered the lawfare game at every level. <\/p>\n<p>Contrast that episode with <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/10\/25\/why-domestic-terrorists-like-me-cant-forget-public-school-covid-tyranny\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">my experience<\/a> in the nearby Unionville-Chadds Ford School District. I have spent the last three years trying to hold local school officials accountable for their unlawful conduct during the Covid debacle. Because there is no ACLU equivalent for conservative families, however, the school district has thus far completely ignored my <a href=\"https:\/\/go.boarddocs.com\/pa\/uncf\/Board.nsf\/Public\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">public complaint<\/a>. At the same time, parents and teachers in my district are left to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/hma_yXfw3H4?si=NsZrTEH5HwINw0Ft&#038;t=3600\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">grapple with the destruction<\/a> caused by those institutional failures.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Republican politicians in the commonwealth are nowhere to be found. To be sure, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee has <a href=\"https:\/\/broadandliberty.com\/2024\/03\/14\/sen-scott-martin-budget-hearings-highlight-shapiro-budgets-threats-to-our-fiscal-stability\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lamented<\/a> the governor\u2019s out-of-control spending, but a cursory reading of his list of grievances reveals that he is long on criticism and short on solutions. Republican officials in Pennsylvania cozy up to conservative voters when they need them, but then continue to fuel a public education system that is diametrically opposed to the primacy of parental rights.      <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ad39dafd418d6b1c7c78ea13c91a9011 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ad39dafd418d6b1c7c78ea13c91a9011\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">School Choice Is a Fundamental Right<\/h2>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Meyer_v._Nebraska\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Meyer v. Nebraska<\/em><\/a>, the Supreme Court held that parents have a fundamental right \u201cto control the education of their own.\u201d A few years later, in <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pierce_v._Society_of_Sisters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Pierce v. Society of Sisters<\/em><\/a>, the court affirmed that government cannot unreasonably interfere with the liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children. Nevertheless, a century later, the state has far more control over the destiny of our children than anyone ever expected. <\/p>\n<p>Parental <a href=\"https:\/\/www.edchoice.org\/engage\/edchoices-year-in-review-key-findings-from-2023-education-polling\/#:~:text=Support%20for%20school%20choice%20policies%20remains%20strong.%20Choice,choice%20policies%2C%20albeit%20at%20a%20slightly%20lower%20level.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">support for school choice<\/a> mirrors the overwhelming support for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/10\/29\/1207593168\/congressional-term-limits-explainer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">congressional term limits<\/a> yet seems destined for the same fate. Gov. Shapiro campaigned on expanding school choice, but once he was elected promptly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/pennsylvania-governor-vetoes-his-own-campaign-promise-1811159\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">abandoned his promise<\/a>. So Pennsylvanians are left with the status quo \u2014 teachers aren\u2019t happy, parents aren\u2019t happy, and children are falling behind. Yet the public education machine barrels on.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2000, the public school administrative class in Pennsylvania <a href=\"https:\/\/education.pasenategop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/130\/2023\/02\/STELLE-Teacher-Shortage-Backgrounder.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">has grown by nearly 40 percent<\/a>, and the top 10 superintendents in Pennsylvania <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ydr.com\/story\/news\/education\/2018\/08\/08\/pa-school-superintendent-salaries-here-top-paid-administrators-highest-salary-philadelphia-area\/920091002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">make well over $250,000 per year<\/a>. Yet the average starting salary for teachers is still below $60,000 throughout much of the state. The system isn\u2019t working for anyone but the people who decide how to control the flow of Pennsylvania\u2019s $20 billion education budget.<\/p>\n<p>What is happening in Pennsylvania is a perfect example of the extent to which Republican officials have betrayed conservative families, the very people they are supposed to represent. In an election year, it is fair for those voters to take a closer look at the people seeking their support. The data is in, and the harm to children caused by the disastrous policy decisions during the pandemic is undeniable. So what are parents to do about it?<\/p>\n<p>For all the blame they can justifiably lay at the feet of Democrat politicians and their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/devos-randi-weingarten-deflecting-blame-school-closures-teach-kids-own-mistakes\">powerful<\/a> union bosses, perhaps it is time to turn their attention to elected Republicans. Rather than hold the \u201cexperts\u201d accountable and demand comprehensive school choice as a form of reconciliation, Republicans are instead rewarding a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-the-virginia-governors-race-was-won\/\" title=\"How The Virginia Governor\u2019s Race Was Won\">public education establishment<\/a> that indisputably harmed children and still aggressively pushes policies that intentionally undermine conservative families.<\/p>\n<p>It is time for Republican officials to step up for those families. If they don\u2019t, then perhaps it is time for those families to stop supporting Republican politicians.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-b8a0daf24c444923c7873ee9a3cee0d8 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-b8a0daf24c444923c7873ee9a3cee0d8\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Harvard and Stanford researchers validate a long-held belief among parents: COVID-era public education policies harmed children. Instead of apologizing and making amends, these education &#8220;experts&#8221; are intensifying their approach. Various public schools are undergoing significant transformations in response<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2505,"featured_media":2215281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/2233392126_6399834672_k-e1712345659842.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2215280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/2233392126_6399834672_k-e1712345659842.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2215280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2505"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2215280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2215280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2215281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2215280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2215280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2215280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}