Federal Government Punishes Louisiana Children

The U.S. Department of Justice must not have much going on these days. There aren’t really any other conclusions to draw considering that they’re spending their time working on keeping children in failing schools. That’s right, the Louisiana Department of Justice has sued the state of Louisiana over school vouchers.

Vouchers help low-income students in Louisiana escape schools graded C,D, or F and move into better performing schools. Last year, close to 600 children were already benefitting from this program, and it has grown this year. Starting next year (2014-15), if the DOJ gets their way, the children of Louisiana will no longer be able to utilize vouchers unless approved by a federal judge. Why? Because, the DOJ claimed, school vouchers “impeded the desegregation process.”

That is, quite honestly, ridiculous. One wonders, first of all, why race should have anything to do with education. However, if it does, then it should be pointed out that school choice disproportionately benefits minority students. John White, State Superintendent of Education in Lousiana, said that nearly all students using vouchers are black, making claims of desegregation “a little ridiculous.” Ridiculous is one the word for it. “False” would also fit the bill.

Governor Bobby Jindal fought back against the DOJ, saying  

“The Obama administration thinks parents should have to seek their approval any time parents want to send their child to a school of their choice. After generations of being denied a choice, parents finally can choose a school for their child, but now the federal government is stepping in to prevent parents from exercising this right. Shame on them. Parents should have the ability to decide where to send their child to school.”

He also said that President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder “are trying to keep kids trapped in failing public schools against the wishes of their parents.”

Supposedly, the Department of Justice wants to keep minority children in failing schools in the name of racial balance. Were that true, it would be bad enough. However, it isn’t. This begs the question: why in the world is the federal government trying to keep minority children in failing schools? It would appear that the “powers that be” here in the United States are threatened by a well-educated populace. They would, it seems, prefer another generation be kept down by the curse of a poor education.