Rhode Island
Selling Choice for Union Endorsements: McKee Handcuffs Rhode Island Out of Federal Education Scholarships
What happened
On primary eve, a Brown Daily Herald column by Ethan Canfield argues Gov. Dan McKee reversed a long charter-friendly record—signing a three-year moratorium on new charter schools and cutting the statewide charter cap—while also signing legislation that bars the governor from opting Rhode Island into the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit program without General Assembly approval.
The column ties those June moves to teachers-union politics: after the moratorium, NEARI and the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers endorsed McKee. It cites heavy excess demand for charter seats (tens of thousands of applications for a few thousand spots), an April poll showing broad public support for charter access and opposition to the moratorium, the lawsuit by De La Comunidad Bilingual Public Charter School, and union lobbying against the federal tax-credit scholarships (up to $1,700 of federal tax directed to K–12 support nonprofits in opt-in states).
Original reporting
Read the underlying article:
Brown Daily Herald — Canfield ’28: Governor McKee has turned his back on Rhode Island youth
Virtue Forge commentary
This is not abstract “education policy.” It is a textbook trade: shrink family options, lock the door on a voluntary federal scholarship channel, and cash the endorsement. That is the opposite of humble, trustworthy service—and it is hostile to free enterprise in schooling.
Americans should not need a permission slip from a union-aligned legislature to direct their own federal tax dollars toward tutoring, special-needs services, or other student supports. Forcing Assembly approval when the Assembly has no appetite to opt in is a quiet veto dressed up as process.
Competition disciplines schools the way it disciplines companies. Freezing charters and kneecapping scholarships protects incumbents, not kids. Competence means delivering results families can choose—not rationing seats so political machines stay comfortable on primary day.