Florida is planning to end all vaccination requirements in the state, including requirements for school children to get routine childhood vaccinations that protect them and their communities from severe and life-threatening diseases, such as Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), pertussis (whooping cough), diphtheria, measles, tetanus, RSV, and polio.
It’s another stab at public education. We already pay like 49th in the nation for teacher pay, I think they are trying to get rid of the pension system by making teachers independent contractors or something, and Florida has an $8000 voucher for “private school or homeschool expenses”. So they currently pay you to subsidize a bit of tuition elsewhere, and make the quality of the teachers so low at the public option that starts to become more appealing as you see how badly the underfunded public schools are. And now, with vaccines only being like 97% effective, if you can afford to send your child to a private school (or just homeschool), you will. Why take a 3% chance your fully vaccinated child is going to get measles or polio if you can afford not to?
Then you nicely have your wealthy people who get a good education, and for the rest you have a population that consistently votes against their best interests because they are uneducated. Win all around for Republicans. I can’t wait to leave this place.
Also the qualifications to be a teacher so low that if your husband is a veteran congratulations you can teach public school in Florida
As a teacher in Florida, my only hope is that those who don’t vaccinate are more often the type to homeschool.
Jesus all jokes aside this is bleak. Public education in all of the US is going to struggle for generations.