House Majority Ldr Ledbetter: School choice push comes ‘kind of late’ — ‘I don’t know if you would take a shotgun approach to try to fix education’

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February 5, 2022

Last week, outgoing State Sen. Del Marsh (R-Anniston) introduced the Parents Choice Act, described by some as the definitive school choice bill of the 2022 legislative session.

State Rep. Charlotte Meadows (R-Montgomery) filed the companion bill in the House of Representatives.

During an interview with Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show” earlier this week, House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) warned the timing might be late for attempting a school choice bill.

The Dekalb County Republican lawmaker said he was awaiting more details. He also said the legislation could have consequences for schools and school systems that could not be evaluated with such a short remainder of the legislative session.

“The sponsor came and talked to me [Tuesday] about the Marsh bill, and I told her for a bill that changes our education system in Alabama to come out with right now we’ve got 25 days to go in the session, it’s kind of late,” he said. “And I think that bill has got to be vetted a lot. I think what’s good for some areas may not be good for others. I get what [Marsh] is trying to do, and I applaud him for the effort. But there are certain areas — my district is a good example of that. We would never use that, you know? So I don’t know if you would take a shotgun approach to try to fix education. I think it’s going to have to be more laser-focused. That’s my opinion.”

“Any time you move — I haven’t seen the fiscal note,” Ledbetter added. “I’ve asked her to bring it to me. I know they’re working on that … I think any time that you move probably what’s going to be close to a half a billion dollars out of public schools, there’s going to be consequences. You know, trying to engage a mechanism that will make it work without hurting other schools — it’s going to be tough to do in 25 days. That’s my opinion.”

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.