Religion
Related: About this forumPre-Schools Restricted from Using State Money to Teach Religion
Posted on: 6:47 pm, July 13, 2012, by Meredith Baldwin, updated on: 07:03pm, July 13, 2012
The Arkansas Department of Education ruled this week that pre-schools receiving public tax money are no longer allowed to teach religion.
Schools participating in the Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) program cant use the money for religious instruction or worship occurring during school hours.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a national group based in Washington D.C., voiced concerns about three Northwest Arkansas pre-schools last year, promoting state inspections.
The pre-schools in question are Growing Gods Kingdom in West Fork, as well as two pre-schools in Mountain Home Noahs Ark Preschool and Open Arms Living Center.
http://5newsonline.com/2012/07/13/pre-schools-restricted-from-using-state-money-to-teach-religion/
femmocrat
(28,394 posts)There is a back-door system by which corporations can fund "scholarships" to private schools in return for a tax break. Seems to me that tax money is still going to fund private schools, some (most?) of which have to be religious. Our corrupt governor has slashed funding for public schools at the same time.
rug
(82,333 posts)I'm in Pike County. Got any more info on this program?
femmocrat
(28,394 posts)There are a lot of links if you Google it. Corporations get a tax credit for funding scholarships to private schools. Some of the links were to Parochial and religious school publications, which gave it positive coverage.
There is an income eligibility (seems like around $82,000 for a family of four, I think) for students. Apparently the money follows the student who can use it to pay for private school tuition, including religious schools.
I believe that the program received increased funding this year, while public schools were frozen at last year's levels which had around $1 billion in cuts. If you feel like digging, there is a wealth of information out there about it.... it's just a lot to sift through.
rug
(82,333 posts)There are very few private schools in Pike County but this corporate tax break angle is something to look into. Corbett is weilding his republican funding cut axe in all the wrong places.
backscatter712
(26,355 posts)longship
(40,416 posts)And want the government to pay for it. And the first people they go for is the kids.
Fuck those evil bastards.