December 13, 2004
Churches to prey on pre-K kids
The voter-mandated pre-K program, the centerpiece of this week's special lawmaking session, likely won't meet the number of instruction hours or qualified teachers called for by early-childhood development advocates. The proposal, expected to pass with few changes, doesn't bar religious discrimination, either. ......But early-childhood development advocates, and Democratic lawmakers, complain the legislation is not what voters intended. ''It's less than quality. And it's certainly less than high quality,'' said Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, who has criticized the state's voucher programs because officials have had trouble tracking the flow of money.
Private schools say quality is in the eye of the ultimate beholder: The parents. If they don't like a school, they will place their child elsewhere.
Faith-based providers say such choice -- which includes religious preference -- is crucial. They howled last spring when the Senate wanted to bar religious instruction in pre-K. That provision is now history, said Larry Keough, legislative advocate for Florida Catholic schools, which favors more restrictions than other religious providers.
''That's one of the things we said was essential for us,'' Keough said.
Ellen McKinley, founder of the faith-based Child Development Education Alliance, said she thought the bill was a done deal. She said she liked it because it ''leveled the playing field'' for public and private providers and the three-hour instruction limit was preferable to four hours.
With a state subsidy for four hours, she said, it would be easier for public schools to tap local tax money and produce a six-hour program. That would make it almost impossible for private providers to compete with districts such as Miami-Dade and Broward that already offer pre-K to thousands of kids.
McKinley said she was opposed to requiring advanced degrees for full-time instructors in six years.
''We're going to ask experienced teachers to take time away from their families, and I don't know if that's a good idea,'' she said.
Stupid liberals, trying to obscure the issue with talk of quality and numbers of hours and teacher competence. Obviously, if we spend money on all that stuff, there will hardly be anything left for churches to proselytize and convert with, much less turn a profit. Thank God the GOP is in charge, else Florida’s 4 year olds might remain ignorant of the benefits of a religious education.
Posted by Norwood at December 13, 2004 05:56 AM