A Democratic member of the Georgia House of Representatives raised questions Monday about whether families are sufficiently educated decide where their children should attend school.
State Rep. Lydia Glaize, who represents District 67 in the Georgia House, suggested during a hearing on school choice that because some parents advocating for school choice had not themselves finished high school, they could not be trusted to make educational decisions for their children.
Georgia Rep. Lydia Glaize (D) says the QUIET PART OUT LOUD: “a lot of those parents did not finish high school.. I am extremely concerned that we would put money in their hands and that entire piece of life in the hands of parents who are not qualified to make those decisions” pic.twitter.com/z5Z7ktA0JY
— Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) March 20, 2023
“I see access as a problem,” Glaize said, “I see parents being able to direct their child’s education, and they are already in the lower 25 percentile. Meaning, a lot of those parents did not finish high school, could not finish their own education. I am extremely concerned that we would put money in their hands, that entire piece of life in the hands of parents who are not qualified to make those decisions, and they don’t have the money to put in the difference that their child would need to attend a private school.”
Glaize then admitted that her children attended private schools, but said parents should pay for tuition themselves and expressed opposition to vouchers that would make private schools more accessible to lower-income Georgians.
“I am for private schools. All of my children graduated from private schools,” Glaize said, “But I am not for them if we take public school dollars and use them for private schools. We paid for it, and we were able to.”
Videos of Glaze’s comments made the rounds on social media, drawing largely negative responses.
“Rep. Lydia Glaize is an oligarch who does not believe in the democratic process of allowing black and latin parents to directly receive state money appropriated for the education of their own children” one Twitter user posted.
“Glaize wants to keep children trapped in failing government schools,” another user tweeted.