Public vouchers funding religious schools | FFRF's Ask An Atheist 

I am in the Bible Belt and it is really pissing me off- I do not want my kids taught any religion.

I grew up in a very rural area. High school was 30 miles away. So had to get on the bus early. Private was not an option at all, I don't even know if there was private schools. I am so grateful to have gone to public school. It wasn't always great but the diversity was needed.

Public schools should get *100%* of *ALL EDUCATION FUNDING!* Private and religious schools *SHOULD NOT GET EVEN ONE CENT!*

Thanks for having Jess Piper on your show. She is sensible and knowledgeable.

It is so refreshing to hear people talking about this! As a Florida educator in special education, I have been trying to explain this for over 20 years.

Thank you for your work! This is such an important issue. Here in Florida there is a Florida Faith Based Initiative, which I can't seem to find the budget for. If you look them up, you will see a whole roster of charlatans. I personally oppose giving taxpayer money to divisive religious organizations.

I enjoy the FFRF show each week! I appreciate this guest very much, I appreciate her zeal. I am a progressive who grew up in a very rural area and am a product of public schools. #publicschoolsadvocacy

I have been concerned about this for some time. Thank you.

Your guest speaker Tess is very articulate and of course she knows her subject matter well !

I am so glad I went to a really good public school in Minnesota. I have two very religious friends who sent their two children to a Minnesota public school rather than a religious school. Both children became MDs.

Great program!

I've always been a supporter of FFRF. I don't consider myself an atheist cuz I have learned a lot about spirituality over the last many decades so I just recognized the divine within and within others . God /goddess is a simply the creative force in the universe.

So True

Btw, I'm from New York and was trained there went to California for my first teaching position for 4 years and then to North Carolina and then after 30 years went back to teaching public school here sex education with the students loved and even though it was an abstinence only state curriculum, the kids loved learning about birth control which was limited to the Juniors and seniors or a sophomore who was age appropriate junior otherwise still a sophomore care of course parents have the right to take their student out but none of them did. And that was now 24 years ago, my last year teaching High School .

If they take government money they need to pay taxes

Doesn't surprise me about Arkansas look who's running the state. Is public supported private school religious schools movement has swept the country and it's very unfortunate because it is taking money from the public schools I've always said if there's a problem with public schools and give them the money to fix it which means smaller class sizes more tools for teachers to enforce limits of inappropriate behavior age of necessary when special needs kids are mainstreamed which is really a misnomer because when I taught these kids mixed with my regular kids they couldn't keep up and they knew they couldn't keep up. They were as unhappy as I was and we also know that's a special needs classes do not and never have received full Federal funding as authorized. And in fact it only 12% appropriated of what is authorized and that hasn't changed as far as I know so instead of using or getting federal funds state legislators are robbing their own piggy banks at the expense of the public schools and Public Schools students. Totally shameful. I grew up in public schools had a very excellent education but of course I was a good student and I had a great mother guiding me who was also a very brilliant lady. On the other hand my father was quite dysfunctional actually very dyslexic because of a childhood trauma I chose to go into teaching because I always was a natural teacher as a child. However my teacher training program was really rough when I was placed with a particular teacher junior high level. Even my students at the high school level when I switched over felt sorry for me ! Her last name was Peckham and boy did she Peck!

Schools are designed to teach children. Religious or not a private schools have to meet certain standards for education, and since they do and a student who graduates from a religious will be considered qualified to enter the greater world I don't see how there is an issue here giving vouchers. Parents are allowed to decide what schools their kids go to, and as long as the vouchers are available to all qualified private schools how could this be considered a support for religion?