Call it the law of unintended consequences.
In 2023, Florida passed a bill to expand the state’s school choice program and provide vouchers for families to bypass public schooling and send their children to private religious schools. The vast majority of these private institutions are Christian, but a growing minority are focused on other faiths – including Islam.
Now, some parents and politicians in Florida are outraged to see taxpayer dollars going to subsidize private Muslim schools.
Ironically, some of the same Florida politicians who helped shepherd the bill into law are crying foul, arguing that the state shouldn’t be bankrolling attendance in classrooms they claim are teaching “Sharia Law.”
Is “school choice” only for Christians?
What is School Choice?
For decades, politicians have pushed to publicly fund private schools through voucher programs like Florida’s, often at significant cost to taxpayers. Florida’s program allows any family, regardless of income, to receive a voucher containing the amount that their local public school would have received from the state were they enrolled there. The family can then use the voucher to pay private school tuition or to offset homeschooling costs.
The 2023 bill dropped all income and enrollment restrictions – essentially opening up the program for use by any Florida household with a school-age child. In the years since the program’s expansion, hundreds of thousands of students have taken advantage, to the tune of about $3 billion in taxpayer funds per year.
Critics have long alleged that school voucher programs are thinly veiled means to defund public schools and siphon funds to faith-based institutions. But the program’s sponsors say the intention is merely to give Florida families an informed choice on where their kids are educated.
But… wait. Not like that.
Muslims Take to the Program
Administrators of Florida’s handful of private Islamic schools say they’re using Florida’s voucher program to attract Muslims from all over the country to their campuses, advertising the fact that most of the tuition costs will be legally paid for by Florida taxpayers.
For some, that’s a problem.
A recent post by anti-Islamic activist Amy Mek highlighted interviews from heads of some of Florida’s Islamic schools, detailing the Quran-based education their students receive. She alleges the schools are “fundamentally hostile to American freedom,” as they do everything from enforce Sharia Law to harbor terrorist sympathizers to ban Christmas.
Mek says that Florida is “subsidizing the construction of a permanent Islamic power base” through the voucher program, and she suggests the only way to stop it is to formally declare the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, find links between these schools and the Brotherhood, and shutter them.
And her post caught the eyes of some of Florida’s most powerful political figures.
School Choice For Me, But Not For Thee…
Two former champions of the school choice program, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and Agriculture Commissioner (and former Senate President) Wilton Simpson, expressed their concerns over state funds going to Islamic schools.
But it's not clear that Florida has a choice in the matter. The constitution says that government cannot preference one religion over another, so removing funds for one type of school but allowing another would inevitably face legal challenges.
Experts point out there’s a solution for this fear of "Sharia Law" in classrooms: Banning public funds from bankrolling private religious schools altogether. But they say if “school choice” is on the table, it must be on the table for all.
What is your reaction?
55 comments
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Bridget Kielas-Fecyk
Since these vouchers are being used to send children to religious schools, then that means it's for ALL religions, not just a single one. Otherwise, it would, fundamentally, go 100% against the 1st amendment rule against promoting only a single religion.
Now, one thing people have to realize is that not ALL Muslims follow "Shariah Law". In fact, MOST do not. The ones that follow "Shariah Law" are an extremely small minority, though admittedly quite vocal and, sadly, sometimes quite violent, within the Muslim community.
Just like not all Christians / Catholics are brutal Nationalists. Only a small, if vocal, minority.
So all these morons bawling Foul? They MADE this law for school vouchers to allow kids to get vouchers to go to religious schools, so they HAVE to allow for ALL accredited schools. Including Jewish, Muslim, and hell, even Wiccan or Satanic Church if they ever opened a private school.
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Donald Frank Cowan
Gotta love it!
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Charles Leroy Good II
"Some parents and politicians in Florida are outraged to see taxpayer dollars going to subsidize private Muslim schools." This is a great example of why we have public schools in the first place. They exist with the intention to teach worldly education to all equally regardless of differences. They are not in the business of teaching religious doctrinarian. Separation of Church and State.
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Colleen McAllister
Personally I don't think religious schools of any kind should be government funded. However, since that is the law in Florisa then Muslims must be included.
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Francis Declan Phelan
It's ironic that the now much malinged 1st amendment to the constitution regarding the freedom of religion, speech, and the press; rights of assembly and petition,( referred to as " the separation of Church and State " ), was instituted to protect the, exercise of religion, from interference by the State and not Visa-Versa as is more commonly belived today. Public funding for Private schools, really? Welcome to the world of unintended consequences.
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Bridget Kielas-Fecyk
And the ones maligning the 1st amendment are the very ones screaming about their 1st amendment rights.
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Michael Henry Brayshaw
Are there vouchers for Born Again Atheists?
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Tom Herman
Wow, another case of I got mine but god forbid you get yours. Turn about is fair play. These religious nut cases need to be careful what they ask for. Public tax dollars should have always stayed for just the public school systems in the first place.
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Kenneth Edwards II
all school vouture programs are a attack on public schools
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Ari Joseph Bertine
What's good for the goose is good for the gander. This is what they voted for and it's their own fault they forgot other people exist in the world besides themselves. Ignorance of reality is no excuse.
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Amber Fry
If they cannot extend the rights to people of other religions then they have not right to be demanding it for themselves. This is a prime example of showing favoritism to a specific religion which very clearly is against the constitution. It also points out the suspicious mind of those crying foul. Perhaps an unintentional confession is going on there, accusing the other because it's what they are trying to do? Kinda stinks like that.
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Jannetje Eleanore Van Went
"The 2023 bill dropped all income and enrollment restrictions – essentially opening up the program for use by any Florida household with a school-age child. In the years since the program’s expansion, hundreds of thousands of students have taken advantage, to the tune of about $3 billion in taxpayer funds per year."
What changed about the words tax payers...school age children... Florida House hold... ✅ There is no color or cree in the innocent eyes of the child...but education needs to make sense to the child, not adults silly fights. Bless all the children all your holy books say.
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Roy S. Thorpe
No problem! Satan's followers will be next in line wanting for bucks to educate their little demons! Public funds should only fund public schools! ALL private school students should be funded only by their parents or family!
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Philip Anthony Casesa Jr
I have taught public school for 28 years. I love how all these weirdos are experts in what we do in public education. It may not be perfect, but it is the backbone that makes this country. Everything great America has ever accomplished happened because of public education. Do NOT EVER forget that.
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John Robert Peters
It is important that children be exposed to diversity and learn early to respect other cultures and people of different color, religion, sexual orientation, etc. Keeping them in an isolation chamber disguised as a school results in more problems for our culture in the US, which is no attempting to impose orthodox Protestant Christianity as the state religion superior to all else.This is a terrifying situation. Remember the song in South Pacific? "You've got to be taught to be afraid of people whose eyes are oddly made, of people whose skin is a different shade. To hate all the people your relatives hate. You've go to be carefully taught"
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Steven Ferrell
Amazing how it is worded that the voucher system it costing taxpayers millions.
It is not costing taxpayers one penny more then if those same students went to public schools.
Schools get so much per student period. No matter what school a student attends, it is only so much per student.The difference is that religious schools are not bound by the liberal, woke push that public schools are under. Rather then teaching LBGXYZ alphabet stuff, they send more time teaching read, math, etc.
The public school system in the US is failing and has seen students scores go down for decades My son pulled my grandkids from the what is supposed to be one of the best public school systems in Michigan and put them in a Christian school.
All of them had to work harder to get caught up to the rest of the kids in the school in math, reading and science, because the so called excellent public school system was behind the mark.
Where they were getting A & B’s in the public school system, their first year in the private school, they pulled B & C’s until they caught up. He has to pay it out of his own pocket, because Michigan does not offer vouchers. The public schools do not get the money for his children, the state just moves that to other spending.If the muslim schools are teaching sharia, that is concerning as sharia has NO place in America. It is completely against the Constitution of the US and the Law. In the US.
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Ari Joseph Bertine
No religious law has any place in the US. That's directly from the Constitution. It includes the Ten Commandments, which people are legislating to put up in public schools. I hope you are equally alarmed by that.
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Keith Ramsey
Well, there isn't a liberal, woke push in public schools... only allegations of it. No one can show an example of it being wide spread.
Sure there is a possibility of an example of it.
But then I can give you Texas and Louisiana that are actually trying to FORCE Christian beliefs in public schools by pushing the 10 Commandments. Oklahoma just dropped their push to force a bible in every classroom. Texas SB11 is forcing allowing prayer in classrooms. As long as the teachers are not leading this and it is not FORCED participation, I'm okay with it. Texas Board of education is going with..... Bible-Infused Curriculum: The Texas State Board of Education approved an optional, but incentivized with extra funding, K-5 reading and language arts curriculum that includes "Bible-infused" lessons and stories from the Bible.Idaho is the state that has been trying to push for Bible reading in the classroom, specifically with a bill that was introduced to mandate daily Bible readings in all public schools. This legislation, named the "School-Sponsored Bible Reading Act," aims to re-establish a practice that proponents say reflects historical values, while opponents argue it violates the First Amendment and is government-mandated indoctrination.
Red States are being very bad about this now.
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John Robert Peters
Are you an expert in Sharia Law? If not it is hypocritical to condemn it. Muslims in the US are generally kind and responsible citizens and I have worked with many and have a good friend from Bethlhem. Furthermore, the US has many religious groups that have their own laws, as with the 1st article where a Christian demands the right to not work alone with a woman, broad demands the the Bible be taught in public schools, Or\thodox Judiasm follows closely Mosaic Law,and so forth...just live and let live. To condemn what you are not kcompletely familiar with is just wrong...All religions, including some that identify as Satanic or Luciferian teach love as their central teaching.
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Lady Mutt Cat
Absolutely hysterical to talk about woke schools in Florida. I KNOW the Florida public schools, and calling those right-wing school woke is a joke.
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Estrella Alvarez Tinch
In my opinion, what is good for the goose is also good for the gander. If the government is going to fund Bible-based programs in schools, then, they cannot discriminate against other faiths that may want to use funding for the same. The fact that a portion of my tax dollars is funding Islamic education doesn't offend me as much as those who believe that Christianity is the only religion that should exist and be taught throughout the world. The government opened a can of worms and all I can say to this is "Bon Appetit".
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Michael Oldham
I'm sorry but, you can't have your cake and eat it too. There is a separation of church and state. Although the lines are currently very blurred. In my opinion, one of the pillars of justice this country was founded on was freedom of religion. NOT freedom of Christianity. If the barn door is opened you have to open all of the stalls too. it's not fair to hold back one horse because it is a different color. Religious schools may have different labels but they all have the same goal. Faith based education. Because you don't agree with the philosophy of another religion doesn't entitle you to a bigger slice of the pie or the whole pie. I say put the money to improving public schools. If you open a faith based school maybe the funding should come from the Parents, churches and parishioners. It's either all or nothing. Who is a government to decide which religion is "true".
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Patricia Ann Gross
Michael,
"If the barn door is opened you have to open all of the stalls too. it's not fair to hold back one horse because it is a different color." Just a question for the masses: If they are Catholic, are they also objecting to the Lutheran, Methodist, Mormon, or Episcopal schools?
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Patricia Ann Gross
Michael,
BTW, I failed to say, I absolutely loved your "barn door" sentence.
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Don Carlo Battaglia
The teaching of Christian Nationalism will do more to destroy the country within than anything taught in Islam-based schools. Good for you, Abbott, Paxton, and all you MAGA voters. You deserve to get what you wanted -- good and hard!
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Keith Ramsey
Umm.. Abbott and Paxton are Texas, not Florida... but I'm waiting for this issue to come up in Texas, and I'll laugh and tell people... I TOLD YOU SO.... I'm in the DFW area of Texas.
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Dorothy Hawkins
Blurring the ines of separation between church and state by use of school vouchers is a bad idea, in my opinion.
Public schools have standards and oversight - no such guarantees on a private school education.
This issue is a big reason to keep church and state separated. If parents want a religiously based education for their children, but cannot afford to provide it themselves, perhaps the churches can cough up the funds to help them out.
My parents, although religious, saw the benefits of a public education for us. We were required by our religion to attend religious education classes once a week. Seemed like a sensible solution.
We got a high quality public education supplemented by separate religious instruction through our church. Why wouldn't that work in Florida and elsewhere?
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Joseph Grieco
To quote the fictional Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith, "I love it when a plan comes together." Or as Robert Burns put it, "The best laid plans of mice and men gang oft agly." In the science fiction community, we refer to this as "The Law of Unintended Consequences". Gee, I wonder if they are also offended by Hassidic Jews using these funds to pay for Yeshivas for their sons?
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David A Foreman
Thank GOD these right-wing "Christian" (NOT!) Nationalists are reaping at least a small fraction of what they sow! Our tax money should never have gone to private schools in the 1st place. BUT if they do, it had better be for ALL religions or NONE!
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Rev Ned
God works in wondrous ways.
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Elizabeth Grant Brown
I totally agree. Well said.
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Lady Mutt Cat
If I could stand the thought of living in Florida again, I’d open a Wiccan school there. Either all religions or no religion. Read the United State Constitution, Floriduh.
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Ahmed Abduljabar Al-Hujazi
Absolutely.
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Religion as a Weapon is Wrong
Gee whiz, who didn't see this coming. Stop with the Sharia Law hysteria already, Florida. Use a good AI too and ask it to compare Sharia Law to Project 2025 (I dislike both). They have an amazing number of similarities. This has been noted before and the people saying so have been disparaged. BTW, in Florida EVERYBODY gets money for schooling regardless of income. That includes Jarod and Ivanka, Ron DeSantis, etc. for each of their children. I believe Ivanka and Ron each get $24K a year. Taxpayers should not be funding ANY religious schools. Parents that belong to a religious community are obligated to build and maintain the best religious education, in their opinion, for their children's separate religious training. These private, religious schools do nothing but rip dollars away from public schools. In the past, parents carried the cost, not taxpayers. Private schools further separate children at the time they should be learning about other cultures, religions, and shared values.
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Patricia Ann Gross
I agree with most of what you say. But if you're going to use a voucher system, their should be income limits (like housing vouchers, for example). As an adult with grown children, I don't get a tax break for NOT having children in schools, so why should people who have high enough incomes to afford parochial schools get a break for not having their children go to public schools?
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Robert Gagnon
Another targeted idea that wasn't well thought out. Reap what you sow. Are snake handlers a terrorist group or people speaking in tongues (I really find them humorous)? The only thing funnier is the pure panic exhibited when fund reallocation plans get siphoned by people with equal rights.
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Elizabeth Jane Erbe Wilcox
I find the christian opposition, outrage, and pearl-clutching to be so delicious! This is what they voted for, this is what they got. And now - GASP! It has backfired in glorious fashion!
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James Riggle-Johnson
Did they really think this could only be used for Christian schools? And it can also be used for homeschooling. Who knows what those select parents are teaching their children? The most shocking part is that the Florida politicians believe they can cut funding based on the type of religious schools. What about the Constitution? Florida Republicans have lost their minds.
I wonder if there are any standards placed on these private and home schools. Is the Florida Department of Education tracking what is taught outside of religion? I hope these children can read, write, use arithmetic, and are taught critical thinking skills.
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ServantOfJudgement
Christians are the most absolute picture of naive. I agree.
Let them learn the hard way. Let them touch the hot stove.
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Lady Mutt Cat
Roughly 40 years ago I pulled my daughter out of a Florida public school and homeschooled her. There was absolutely no oversight.
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John Robert Peters
And from the medical oversight for childrens' health the waiving of vaccinations in FL and TX has resulted in an epidemic of measles that is close to what happened when I was a kid and there was no vaccine. Seems like Sharia Law is not so bad but Christian Nationalism is inherently dangerous.
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Patricia Ann Gross
James,
As for oversight of homeschooling, each state is different. I believe it varies from absolutely none to some strict learning outcomes (through standardized testing). There are also some very good home-school curricula that people I know have used (I never homeschooled my children, so I don't have first-hand knowledge). Homeschooling is great for people who have children who are neurodivergent, targets for bullying because of their looks or a disability, and some special needs. To be successful, the children still need to have the skills required to go to a college, and the parents have to be all-in committed to the process. It is definitely not for everyone.
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Ben
Regardless of religion our taxes should be funding online schooling and improving the infrastructure for internet throughout the towns, cities, and countryside. We should get away from the brick-and-mortar format as much as possible as it'll save the taxpayers money. Also our taxes shouldn't go to any school formats that promote any type of religion. If you want your children to have a religious school experience you should have to pay for it yourself.
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Kathleen Margaret Guilmette
Agreed! My parents paid our tuitions to Catholic high schools. If you want to choose,you need to pay.
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ServantOfJudgement
Teaching we came from funky mud jacked up on horizon cosmic beams is ok?
Is it logical that a non living thing can transform itself into a living thing with better than perfect self replication?
Golly, that sounds like ummm, well, uhhh, it sounds like an unprovable religion.
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Robert Thurber
You're showing how little you understand about God's universe. Calm down gramma.
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Michael Hunt
You're trivializing and misrepresenting the science behind evolution. We actually have ways to support the theory of evolution with repeatable tests. There is no such support for a religion.
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ServantOfJudgement
No Robert, I don't think anyone on the planet really knows very much at all about God's universe. Certainly you can't claim you know any more than I or anyone else does. Your godless scientists still can't figure out if an egg is good or bad for me to eat. Christian science knew the answer long ago.
And Michael, it can't be stated any simpler, tat is, the religion of self creation. It's so simple you'll not need tap dancing shoes to explain or 12 doctorates to belch out the details. Dust to life, just like in Genesis.
As Christianity can not prove the origin of life neither can godless science and there's nothing any human will ever do to change that.
I'm very sorry that what you believe can't be proven but your not alone. So far there's about 8 billion of us, each the champion of his own religion.
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Michael Hunt
We can't prove the exact origin of life because none of us were there to witness it, but we can test various different theories to see if such theory is possible, such as with the Miller-Urey experiment. This experiment found that it was possible to create organic materials from inorganic compounds under the conditions we believe the Earth was experiencing around the time when fossil records indicate life began on our planet.
https://www.britannica.com/science/Miller-Urey-experiment
Science requires skepticism and questioning of established science in order to regularly test that theories or laws hold up. There is no such skepticism or questioning in a religion; in fact, it's often the exact opposite: blind faith that your specific religion is the one truth.
Religion told us once that the Earth was the center of the Universe and that the Earth was only around 6000 years old but, thanks to the scientific method, scientists have been able to show that the Sun is the center of our Solar System, not Universe, and the Earth is about 4.54 billion years old.
If there is significantly more data to support science's theories over the Bible's theory of the creation of life, it's common sense to give more credence to the theory supported by the most credible data. There is no evidence that a human can be resurrected, or that any sea can be parted, or any leper instantly cured of their illness. There's no evidence the entirety of the planet was once flooded or of Noah's Ark, but there are fossil records and carbon dating that can tell us the history of our Earth.
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Steven Leroy Molburg
It may offer efficiency but an important part of education is the socialization of students. The decision to keep our students out of school for so long during COVID did more damage socially and mentally than the disease did.
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Reverend Paula Copp
What’s good for the goose… this is one of those FAFO moments…
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Lionheart
You are sooooo right my friend. 🤗
🦁❤️
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Brother Peter
The articles last comment is probably the most important: "if school choice is on the table, it must be on the table for all". When we open Pandora's Box, we may get things we never expected.
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Maureen Hebert Heartwood
Bring on the gurdwaras and the Pagan homeschooling programs!
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Silly "Christian" hypocrits - you didn't expect this?