By BEN FELLER, AP Education Writer Thu Sep 22, 6:09 PM ET
WASHINGTON - The House voted Thursday to let Head Start centers consider religion when hiring workers, overshadowing its moves to strengthen the preschool program's academics and finances.
The Republican-led House approved a bill that lets churches and other faith-based preschool centers hire only people who share their religion, yet still receive federal tax dollars.
Democrats blasted that idea as discriminatory.
Launched in the 1960s, the nearly $7 billion Head Start program provides comprehensive education to more than 900,000 poor children. Though credited for getting kids ready for school, Head Start has drawn scrutiny as cases of financial waste and questions about academic quality have surfaced nationwide.
Overall, the House bill would insert more competition into Head Start grants, require greater disclosure of how money is spent, and try to improve collaboration among educators in different grades. Yet on Thursday, the dispute over religion eroded the bipartisan support for Head Start's renewal.
I have no problem with Head Start. Sure it might need some tweeking and it looks like that was done here. But they just couldn't help themselves. The bill and funding were trying to push this program to be more than just breakfast before school for poor kids but actually make sure there was a decent educational aspect to this. However, now we get to have religious based descriminatory hiring practices with Federal Funds. This isn't about Democrats being "anti-Christian", for me, this is about someone skipping a few lines of the Constitution when they took their oath for public service.
4 comments:
Amen!
Can I get a witness?
You know initally I didn't like the fact that the Federal Government was giving money to faith-based organizations, but Adam makes a good point in that they seem to be the most efficient means in which to distribue the assistance. The structure is already in place.
I can live with that.
But, like Adam says, if you take federal funds then you should follow all the federal rules, which means no discrimination based on religion, race, creed, etc.
This is a slippier slope indeed.
Fuck.
And no, today should not be typo day as I used that excuse up yesterday.
So today it's Hurricane Rita's fault.
I meant to say "slippery" as in Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet.
"the House bill would insert more competition into Head Start grants, require greater disclosure of how money is spent, and try to improve collaboration among educators in different grades."
these are all good things, but i guess i just don't understand how people being of the same faith will guarantee this. corruption is everywhere. would it just make it easier to hide facts if one wasn't a catholic and the other was a jew? "oh, we're both Methodist- sweet- I got your back then"....
and when they talk about educators of different grades, they are talking about the teachers in school who teach for 7 or 8 hours a day? because that would be smart if educators from both programs could collaborate and discuss lessons and even the kids' reactions/learning styles so everyone benefits. but will they be dismissed if they don't share the same religion as the majority of the Head Start teachers who are there part time?
I agree they need to account for every penny spent and they really should do something about impoverished kids' interest in school and try to boost their academics, but i don't see how faith can help. it's not that i'm anti-religion, but, i am anti-religion. especially when i go into a ghetto school and i have 12 or 13 little bastards tell me i need to accept jesus to be right in the world while they are swinging off the light fixtures, not doing their work- not just for me, but for all their teachers, and every other word out of their mouth is "fuck" and "yo' moms", in which a fight usually ensues. and that's middle school!
so pardon me if i can't jump on the religious right's party wagon here. look at the jihad we're in now. faith is not an answer.
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