What makes the program tricky is that it blurs the party lines on school choice. It's not a traditional voucher. But opposition to any school choice policy is deeply ingrained for many Democrats. If governors opt in to the program, tax dollars will go toward private school tuition for children in their states, something many Democrats are uncomfortable with.
As The Advocate reports, this week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education and the Trump administration over its threat to withhold $4.9 billion in annual federal education funding unless the state allows local school districts to notify parents of students' social gender transitions, which would violate California law. Last month, U.S. Department of Education (ED)
"We are in an underresourced area, and males were probably more focused on [finding] immediate employment ... so we were trying to think about how to make sure we were doing the best we can to design a program that meets all of our service area's needs," said Kate O'Sick, the community college's dean for student affairs. "We weren't trying to exclude. There was no quota."