Education freedom is the “great equalizer” and has “the biggest impact” on preventing indoctrination in the schools, proclaimed Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.
“You can … say ‘no’ to critical race theory, ‘no’ to indoctrination, but they [schools] can find ways around it,” Reynolds told Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts on “The Kevin Roberts Show” podcast.
“If there was one good thing that came out of COVID, it was that [school choice] … Parents really got engaged in their child’s education and really saw our kids were being taught a lot of other things besides academics.”
Iowa’s new school choice law that Reynolds signed will be implemented over the course of three years, starting this year, and will let every Iowa family eventually use up to $7,598 a year per child for tuition and expenses at the schools of their choice.
Reynolds said she believes she is fighting for common sense, something that the Left does not follow. She said she doesn’t believe you should have to fight so hard to implement common sense.
She argued that the majority of Iowans don’t agree with the “insanity” coming from the White House on education.
“And they’re trying to eliminate and erase women. I mean, it’s unbelievable. It’s so common sense. Men are men, and women are women. But when you can’t describe a woman, it makes it tough, I guess, to follow the commonsense policy,” Reynolds said.
“So, we’re going to continue to fight the good fight and do everything we can.”
Reynolds said she previously spoke to parents who have kids struggling in a certain school because of bullying or other factors and who want to send their kids somewhere else, but they are financially concerned, especially because of inflation. Reynolds said giving “relief” to those families so their children “can be the best that they can be” is why she supports school choice.
“This is what I’m hearing from parents: they want the opportunity; they want to make those choices,” said Reynolds. “Parents should have the ability to decide regardless of income or ZIP code where their children should get their education.”
Reynolds said her daughter is a public school teacher and said they “are working hard every single day. And believe me, they want to just teach the kids. They don’t want to be caught up in this cultural warfare. They don’t.”
So, it was “heartbreaking” seeing politicians beholden to the teachers unions that helped get them elected instead of supporting school choice because “then that’s where your focus is going to be. It’s never about the children,” she said.
“And there is a lot of negative stuff that our kids and our families and our country is dealing with on a daily basis. So, we better all be focused on how we get things back on track and how we return America to America,” Reynolds said. “And I guess I’m that person that believes our greatest days are ahead, but it’s going to take all of us to be engaged and motivated and paying attention.”
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