The Pour Over Today - Bonus Episode: 2024 Election Topics - School Choice

Episode Date: October 17, 2024

In a special episode of The Pour Over Today, we’re explaining the debate about school choice, including where VP Harris and former President Trump stand. This is the eleventh episode of our Election Collection, designed to help us grow in understanding and compassion on key 2024 election topics.  Please support our TPO sponsors! Cru: give.cru.org/tpo Upside: https://links.thepourover.org/Upside The Bible Study: https://links.thepourover.org/TheBibleStudy Politics for People Who Hate Politics: https://links.thepourover.org/PoliticsForPeopleWhoHatePolitics Keola Fit: https://links.thepourover.org/KeolaFit_Pod Compelled Podcast: https://links.thepourover.org/Compelled Dwell Differently: https://links.thepourover.org/DwellDifferently Nothing Left Unsaid Podcast: https://linktr.ee/tgnlu CCCU: https://www.mycccu.com/tpobonus Courage for Life Study Bibles: links.thepourover.org/CFL_Podcast_0901 Grace Bible for Kids: https://links.thepourover.org/GraceBibleforKids The Daily Walk Bible: https://links.thepourover.org/DailyWalk

In a special episode of The Poor Over Today, we're explaining the debate about school choice, including where VP Harris and former President Trump stand. This is the 11th episode of our election collection, designed to help us grow in understanding and compassion on key 2024 election topics. In the years since 2020, American discontent with K-12 public education has spread like a case of classroom lice. In 2019, 51% of Americans were completely or somewhat satisfied with the quality of public school education. In 2023, that number dropped to 36%.

One outcome of this discontent has been increased debate over school choice. In a traditional school system, taxes go toward funding local public schools. With school choice programs, public funding follows the child so that parents receive financial help if they choose to opt out of their local assigned public school in favor of a private or homeschool option. As of 2024, 32 states plus Washington, D.C. have at least one school choice program. 1.9% of American students use school choice programs, and 71% of Americans support some form of school choice. School choice programs come in different policy shapes and sizes.

Here are a few key terms to know. Charter schools. The OG school choice for parents, charter schools are publicly funded schools that don't have the same curriculum or methodology requirements as traditional public schools. Some focus on certain disciplines like the arts or STEM. Admission is by application and usually lottery, but tuition is free. Magnet schools. Like charter schools, magnets are public schools with specialized curriculum and free admission,

but enrollment is based on a competitive admissions process. Education Savings Accounts, or ESAs. The government allocates money into an account that parents can spend on a variety of approved education expenses, like tutoring, textbooks, homeschooling supplies, or tuition. Leftover funds can roll over

and pay for future expenses like college. This is available in 17 states. Individual tax credits and deductions. Parents pay for their kids school expenses and then claim those expenses as a credit or deduction on their income taxes. This is available in 10 states. School vouchers. Allows parents to access all or part of the public funding set aside for their child's education to put towards private school expenses.

Parents choose a private school, whether religious or non-religious, admit their child, fill out paperwork, and the government contributes to tuition, drawing from income and sales tax revenues. This is available in 16 states, plus D.C. and Puerto Rico. Tax credit scholarships. Taxpayers receive full or partial tax credits

when they donate to nonprofits that provide scholarships to private schools. This is available in 20 states. We'll be back with what Republicans and Democrats say about school choice after a quick break. In partnership with Cambridge University, the fourth oldest university in the world, no big deal, CSB has created a new Bible designed to enhance readability for kids with all levels and varieties of reading challenges, like dyslexia or visual processing disorders. The CSB Grace Bible for Kids features innovative and academically tested typeface, layout,

and design principles and is perfect for use at home, church, and school. Dyslexia shouldn't keep kids from reading the Bible, and now it doesn't have to. Help every kid experience the truth of God's Word with the CSB Grace Bible for Kids. Launching November 1st and available now for 25% off when you pre-order through LifeWay.com with promo code TPOGRACE25. Pre-order today! The Republican Party platform calls for universal school choice, arguing it empowers parents to educate their children based on what system, religious, academic, or otherwise, they believe is best for their child.

Republicans argue school choice opens the door for more expensive, academically rigorous education for children in low-income families and creates healthy accountability for schools. They believe the money parents pay to public schools through taxes should be allowed to follow the child and be applied to private schooling. Democrats generally advocate for increasing public school funding to raise teacher salaries, lower class sizes, renovate schools, and boost academic performance. Democrats are somewhat divided on school choice. While 66% are in favor, others believe that school choice undermines the public school

system, leaving poorly funded schools, often attended by racial minorities, even worse off. They argue that taxpayer money should not go to high-income earning families or religious private schools. What is the role of the government in the education system? The government has different priorities than Christians do. While politicians seek to settle the who and how of education's invoice, believers remember that our ultimate teaching goal is to make disciples who love the Lord and love others. Deuteronomy 6, 5-8 says,

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be on your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house, and when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. And now candidate stances.

Vice President Harris advocates raising funding for public schools. She calls for increasing federal funding for schools serving low-income and disabled students and supporting programs like Head Start, subsidized preschool for low-income children. In 2019, she called for $13,500 raises for teachers and has pushed for more funding for Historically Black Colleges and and universities, or HBCUs. Former President Trump supports school choice, calling it the civil rights statement of the year in 2020 because a child zip code in America should never determine their future. His administration's Tax

Cuts and Jobs Act allows parents to use funds from a 529 savings account to cover K-12 tuition. Trump supports funding vocational training and historically black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, and keeping controversial culture war content out of the curriculum. That's all we have for today. Thanks for listening. Links for today's episode are available in the show notes. If you're listening on the Apple Podcast app, give us a 5-star rating and drop a review. If you're listening on Spotify, give us a follow and hit the notification bell to never miss a new episode.

We appreciate your support and hope you have a great day. We'll be back tomorrow with the regular news. What if you could boost your savings while advancing the gospel? With Christian Community Credit Union, you can. With their high-yield harvest bundle, you can earn 4% APY and a $100 bonus with harvest checking accounts, and 5% APY and a $100 bonus with harvest savings accounts. Plus, every deposit made is used to finance the growth of churches and ministries. Bank with your values at CCCU. Apply for the harvest bundle today at mycccu.com slash TPO

bonus. Offer ends 11-15-2024. Terms and conditions apply. Membership eligibility required. Each account is insured up to $250,000. This institution is not federally insured.