State with worst schools kicks hundreds from voucher program

Many Louisiana parents are being left in the lurch after the governor's budget cuts cut out a lot of money being used for school vouchers for students from low-income families. 

As a state representative, John Bel Edwards voted against school vouchers. Now, as governor, his recently passed budget has kicked hundreds out of the program. Matt Frendeway of the American Federation for Children says in doing so Bel Edwards broke a campaign promise.

"While running, he promised not to kick any of the families out of the program,” Frendeway tells OneNewsNow. “Unfortunately, while the budgeting process was going on, he chose to balance the budget on the backs of these low-income families. He cut $6 million from this vital program."

He says it was purely a political move on the part of the governor, leaving hundreds of parents scrambling to find schools within two weeks of the start of the school year.

"The reason the governor opposes this program is nothing more than politics,” he says. “He is beholden to the teachers union in the state - and he refuses to put the interests of low-income families first in order to [instead] serve the interests of the teachers union."

At the same time, WalletHub analysts just released a report showing that Louisiana ranks dead last out of all the public schools in America.