As usual, with Republicans, cruelty is the point of whatever they do. The latest case in point comes from the swamp lands of Florida, where the Board of Education voted to make life impossible for some of their students who have the greatest needs:
The Florida Board of Education voted to sunset certificates of completion for students with disabilities who attend K-12 schools in the state. These certificates were awarded to students who couldn’t complete the coursework needed for a diploma.
Under a new Florida law, HB 1105, and the board’s vote, students with disabilities will no longer be able to get a certificate of completion at the end of their school career, starting this year. Students with severe disabilities who can’t earn a standard high school diploma, will leave school without any formal recognition upon graduation.
Without those certificates, some of these children are not going to have any chance of success for life. They won't be eligible for jobs, or even vocational or developmental training.
The Florida Board of Educations is just to ignore these kids while they pay attention only to the children they feel deserve it by not having mild disabilities or no disabilities.
A mother of a young man who had benefitted from the certificates of completion asked and then answered her own question about why Florida would do such an inhumane thing:
Van Bergen said she’s worried students with disabilities who can’t earn a standard diploma, and who now won’t be able to earn a certificate of completion, could be ineligible to participate in graduation ceremonies like other kids. Ultimately, she says this could take away some of the incentives these students have to complete school at all.
“The whole dissolution of certificates of completion absolutely disproportionately harms students with disabilities. So rather than helping bridge that educational disparity gap, it's only going to widen it. Why on earth should these students attend school,” asked Van Bergen.
The Florida Board of Education doesn't necessarily want these children go to school. It costs a lot of money to meet the needs of children with disability, so in their eyes, it's just better to let the kids rot in a daycare somewhere than to be humane and take care of them appropriately.
Republicans can no longer claim being pro-life, but they never were able to claim being pro-quality of life.
All this just goes to prove another old adage to be true - The best thing you can do in Florida is leave.
