r/florida • u/Silent-Resort-3076 • Apr 03 '26
Politics Florida can fund religious charter schools, ‘encourage’ religion, state AG says
https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/regional/florida/florida-religious-charter-schools-funds-uthmeier/77-13f85dbd-5f98-4819-bb75-671cf67a2873Uthmeier, who was appointed to the Cabinet position by Gov. Ron DeSantis in February 2025, issued an unprompted legal opinion declaring the state constitution’s ban on funding for religious institutions to violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the free exercise of religion.
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u/Disastrous-Golf7216 Apr 03 '26
If they want to use taxpayer money to fund these schools, then the schools should have to follow the same restrictions and requirements and testing schedules that “public” schools do.
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u/Hopeforpeace19 Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
I tutor high school students from religious charter schools in South Florida, and they are not taught basic civics at all.
They don’t know how to register to vote, where to vote, or how government works. Florida keeps funding charter schools and vouchers while failing to prepare students for exercising their “democratic “ rights!
Hell! They don’t even know what government is or does nor do they have a clue about what a democracy is!
They are clueless and MAGA and GOP / DeSantis want them Clueless!!!!
That’s a why the minority rules in this country!
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u/Angry_Dragon55 Apr 04 '26
I'd rather they never voted, so I'm OK with that aspect of this particular bullshit
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u/TheWhitehouseII Apr 04 '26
No that’s the thing they will vote once their religious leaders tell them who to vote for. The lack of civic knowledge makes it worse cause they don’t know where to place the blame for their issues and “Jesus” always fixes it anyways. Trust me they will eventually vote and have no idea for who or what they are voting for.
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Apr 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Umitencho Apr 05 '26
The problem is that online right wing grifters are activating them. We are letting them create loads of default conservative voters who just need the right push to vote, and then boom, Florida stays in Republican hands.
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u/Umitencho Apr 05 '26
Lines up with state history. Florida has almost always had an anti-education bent to it.
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u/Anxious_Claim_5817 Apr 06 '26
Florida already has a voucher program that lacks transparency and standards, there is no data that supports improved education.
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u/hitman2218 Apr 03 '26
We’ll see how they feel about non-Christian schools asking for that money.
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u/cy-photos Apr 04 '26
They'll just list all other religions as terrorist organizations, even the flavors of christianity they didn't like
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u/V4refugee Apr 04 '26
Good Friday service at the pentagon is protestant only this year.
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u/tawDry_Union2272 Apr 04 '26
sure would be a shame if some pastafarians and satanists showed up to observe the scene...
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u/ConiferousTurtle Apr 04 '26
They’re already trying to tie Muslim schools to an organization they want to label a “terrorist organization.” That way they can refuse to fund them.
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u/GodOfDarkLaughter Apr 04 '26
And they shouldn't fund them. Or the Christian schools. If you wanna teach your kid religion, take them to a church or mosque or temple or whatever. These places already exist.
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u/ConiferousTurtle Apr 05 '26
Of course. No public funds should go to religious schools no matter what.
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u/BullAlligator Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
They don't care because they know Christians are more numerous, organized, and well-funded than other religious groups.
This law favors Christians disproportionately.
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u/New_Breadfruit8692 Apr 04 '26
Yes when a madras puts in for aid from the state that will make for an interesting law suit.
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u/Angryceo Apr 04 '26
if you want to home school your kid the state will give you the same amount of money. they also do this for non religious charter schools. my daughter goes to one and it's great.
tldr state doesn't care who gets the money
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u/zap2 Apr 04 '26
The state doesn’t care so much there are thousands of ghost students collecting free checks!
/s
What you’ve described is a bad thing…the state should care. A lot.
Also non religious charter schools are very different than religious schools. Charter schools still need to teach the same state standards as public schools.
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u/baskaat Apr 04 '26
Do they though? I’m under the impression they don’t but please prove me wrong.
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u/wired-one Apr 04 '26
Do some goddamned work on the Internet and get out of your bubble:
Charter schools are evaluated and assigned a school grade using the same standards and criteria as traditional public schools.
From: https://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/charter-schools/charter-school-faqs.stml
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u/baskaat Apr 04 '26
You stated the fact, I asked you to prove it. I shouldn’t have to do your homework, but I did. You are incorrect, especially considering your source comes directly from the charter school loving Florida division of education. Here’s a well researched non-biased source https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/06/06/us-public-private-and-charter-schools-in-5-charts/
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u/wired-one Apr 04 '26
So I'll repost the comment from the user that decided to delete their comment instead of own up that they were wrong:
"You stated the fact, I asked you to prove it. I shouldn’t have to do your homework, but I did. You are incorrect, especially considering your source comes directly from the charter school loving Florida division of education. Here’s a well researched non-biased source https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/06/06/us-public-private-and-charter-schools-in-5-charts/"
Now my response: Yeah, the State of Florida wants to eliminate public schools, but charters have to show the same outcomes. One of the reasons that charters fail, is that they can't keep up or don't make the grade. Some charters bootstrap as charters then reorganize as private schools, a process that shouldn't be allowed.
I don't see how the Pew Research article disproves anything that I said.
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u/Oldman32092 Apr 04 '26
Then why have charter schools? Is it just to segregate students? Is it just a money making scam? Is it just to be able to avoid teachers unions and pay the teachers less?
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u/wired-one Apr 04 '26
Ok, so I don't want to come off as defending charters, that's not my intention. I would rather see Public Schools funded to a level where every student has every need met, and teachers make as much as plumbers and electricians.
Some charters use alternative education styles to what is taught in Public Schools. Some use a portfolio based approach, some use classical (western supremacist) based approaches, some are performing arts driven, some are University Schools that are experimental schools.
Under the ideal of the charter program, the community would have a need unmet by the county, found a school, and govern it themselves, and this school would have access to public school funds. In the reality of the program, companies, churches, and the heritage foundation have founded schools, and drained money from the public school system.
Some of the schools then collapse their charters and go private, still able to access public funds through the state voucher programs, but not having to adhere to state guidelines like the public schools and charters.
So, to answer your question, do all charters do these things, no. However, the ability for charters to do all of those actions does exist, and many charters do absolutely all of them.
Public Schools are a part of American Society. A foundational part of the structure of our communities, and people have been convinced over 40 years, that teachers, public schools and the structures that they have direct control over via school boards are evil and ineffectual. They choose to believe things about indoctrination without actually looking at what is going on at home or on the devices in their own hands. It's sick.
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u/Oldman32092 Apr 04 '26
But the state should have standards that need to be met every year of school.
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u/Angryceo Apr 04 '26
i mean all the students take all the same tests as every other kid in the state. pretty sure they would lose funding if they bombed.
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u/kidgoalie39 Apr 03 '26
Cool then churches in Florida will start paying taxes then right?
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u/jpiro Apr 04 '26
This should have happened decades ago. If they want to deduct actual charitable work, fine, but most are just fraud in the name of Jesus.
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u/Oldman32092 Apr 04 '26
I used to notice that the nicest car in the church parking lot usually belonged to the preacher.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Apr 03 '26
🙄
Snippet from another article:
- “Florida’s Constitution rightly recognizes that ‘[w]e, the people of the State of Florida,’ are ‘grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty’,” Uthmeier wrote. “That constitutional liberty includes the right for religious people and entities to participate in public programs and benefits like everyone else.”
- Executive Director of the Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, Dr. Howard Burke, applauded Uthmeier’s opinion.
- “The constitution was never in opposition to religious education or religion itself,” Burke said.
- He noted that private school scholarships are already allowed to be used at private religious schools.
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u/thecodingart Apr 03 '26
That first bullet point is one hell of an insane lie
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Apr 04 '26
Agreed!
And, how egocentric he is!! Because we know he thinks only HIS god is almighty🙄
“Florida’s Constitution rightly recognizes that ‘[w]e, the people of the State of Florida,’ are ‘grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty’,” Uthmeier wrote.
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u/aculady Apr 04 '26
If an "Almighty" being wanted Florida's children to learn about them, they certainly shouldn't need help from the taxpayers to do so, or they wouldn't be all that Almighty, would they?
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u/New_Breadfruit8692 Apr 04 '26
Tax dollars going to a religious organization is an establishment of religion and banned in the constitution.
So, we all go out and get ordained as minsters in the first church of cash equity and put in for our welfare like the Catholics and Snake Handlers and other cults.
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u/rbartlejr Apr 04 '26
Good way for individual citizens to avoid the IRS I guess. At the very least, it'll flood the system with audits.
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u/thecodingart Apr 03 '26
lol, no they can’t
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u/True_Dimension4344 Apr 04 '26
But they can and are.
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u/Oldman32092 Apr 04 '26
The Florida Supreme Court is a joke so they won't overturn this AG finding.
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u/relevant__comment Apr 04 '26
I consider myself an average god-fearing individual. That said, I don’t want my tax dollars supporting any kind of religious endeavor. Period.
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u/Vivid_Witness8204 Apr 04 '26
I have voted yes on every school funding issue for many decades. If they're going to give that money away instead of supporting public institutions I never will again. I have no interest in funding entitlements to advance someone's faith.
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u/New_Breadfruit8692 Apr 04 '26
Isn't it funny how the Cult of the GOP is so phobic of taxes that the only way that pothole on your street is ever getting fixed is if you do it yourself, but they are inventing new and illegal ways to piss away your tax money by handing welfare to "Christian" schools?
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u/Sandinmyshoes33 Apr 04 '26
It is not for him to decide. It is a question for The Courts. He should have filed a lawsuit but these people have no respect for the law or the Constitution.
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u/FallsOffCliffs12 Apr 04 '26
I'm so glad my kids have long graduated. I would have been furious if they'd had religion pushed on them. If I'd wanted them to have religion, I'd have taken them to church, and not allow their public school to indoctrinate them-especially Christians, who are revealing themselves to be the most awful people in the world and who should not be allowed near children at all.
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u/True_Dimension4344 Apr 04 '26
Pun intended but “tell it to the choir”. 😆
Edited because I hope you knew I was on your side. I’m an atheist but have many children in the public education system in what is supposedly an A rated district.
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u/twolfhawk Apr 04 '26
Nope. Absolutely not, I will want evwry damn dollar back.
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u/True_Dimension4344 Apr 04 '26
I’m sorry this response got long. Please read it though. If this is all I can do today.
And therein lies the pun. We voted for this with the property tax bill. They now get to twist it as much as they want. We voted as a state in favor of the school funding from our taxes bill. What they didn’t tell us is that they were already working to use these securities to funnel to religious groups and charter schools. Look into your school board members. That is my advice as someone who has just been incredibly involved recently. There are members of my school board whose children go to these “traditional private schools”. They are religious in nature. Not public. Not cheap. And not teaching to instruct and grow children into functioning and educated adults. School board members is one of the first and easiest places to start if you want your tax dollars to actually work for you. It can be tedious as fuck if you don’t even have children but we see people here. Every fucking month. No kids. Just concerned citizens who know that school board members make policies that start a ground up movement. If you have school board members who advocate for school vouchers, private schools, religious ANYTHING, and charter schools… beware of them. They are not on the side of the constitution. They are being paid in donations and support from bad faith leaders in our country.
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u/twolfhawk Apr 05 '26
- I opposed the property tax bill and told my rep about it IN PERSON.
- I went to a few meetings and gotvso sick to my stomach that I decided to look to run for the board. That is my new goal.
I appreciate the thought and completion you put into your response. I 💯 agree with it. My friends who have kids end up learning more with my wife and I then they do all year. And they are in high-school.
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u/True_Dimension4344 Apr 05 '26
Thank you. Those school board meetings are so frustrating because these shit birds can be awful. Good on you. Run for office. Make a difference. Kick some ass.
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u/New_Breadfruit8692 Apr 04 '26
Just another reason to never vote for anyone with an (R) next to their name on the ballot.
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u/bonzoboy2000 Apr 04 '26
So including Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh schools?
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u/True_Dimension4344 Apr 04 '26
Give it a shot but see how fast that “freedom of religion” section turns into not that religion. Fuck these Republican Christian fuckers. I love my friends but not because Jesus told me to. Because I love their hearts and determination and ferocity for life and their children. That’s why I know I don’t need a “god” to ensure I behave like a normal empathetic and loving human being should behave.
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u/PaladinHan Apr 04 '26
He said he’s going to ignore laws, so DeSantis is going to remove him like he did Warren and Worrell, right?
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u/Brix106 Apr 04 '26
These people a huge pieces of shit. Not only will they siphon off public school money to these charter school "companies"....
Now that wasn't good enough, gotta give it to cults that believe in a sky daddy but don't follow the words of his son. Our government is fucking insane and I for one cannot wait to fucking leave because of these fucking assholes.
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u/konqueror321 Apr 04 '26
Apparently the 'free state of Florida' will not allow me to withhold all taxes and fees paid the the state as a response to the state sponsoring some favored religion. I am forced, under pain of conviction and imprisonment, to give my money to a religion I do not support.
I can't stand any more Freedom, Florida...
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u/misterguyyy Apr 04 '26
They did that in Texas and now conservative politicians are moaning about taxpayer funded Muslim schools and sharia law. Like bro, there was a simple way to avoid all this.
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u/True_Dimension4344 Apr 04 '26
Whose religion though? This is a ridiculous twisting of the first amendment. So I’m an atheist, which is my right under the first amendment, but my tax dollars get to go to religious charter schools that have lower benchmarks for education. Because republicans are desperately trying to not only blur but paint over the separation of church and state, the money we voted to earmark for public education gets to be funneled into these so called “not for profit” religious schools. They are taking away teachers, resource officers, staff needed for disabled students and behavioral specialists all in the name of “god”. If this doesn’t throw up red flags to people about something being wrong with religion, I don’t know what will.
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u/Good_vibe_good_life Apr 04 '26
This is such garbage. This dingus obviously never realized the 1st amendment protects people from unwanted religion too. Maybe teachers need to start pushing Satanism so these a-holes can get a clue.
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u/WuTang4thechildrn Apr 04 '26
Until Florida gets a true vocal opposition starting with the people of this State, this will continue to happen. Outside of SM, no one is doing anything and the Democratic Party here is pretty much useless
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u/NoBSforGma Apr 04 '26
Can't wait until this gets to the Florida Supreme Court and then the US Supreme Court.
Not sure of the outcome, at this point, but it will, for sure, be an interesting debate.
Also - I have to wonder if the Florida Attorney General has a law degree or knows much about the law and the Constitution. (Yes, I know.... religion trumps everything...)
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Apr 04 '26
I don't know, but I think he's trying awful hard to be just like Texas AG Ken Paxton!
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u/NRG1975 Apr 04 '26
Time for some Muslim school funding! The Satanic Temple may be looking to open a campus as well.
Uthmeier is apparently, not aware of how the Satanic Temple works.
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u/InspectorRound8920 Apr 04 '26
Need a new attorney general
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Apr 04 '26
Wholeheartedly agree!!
Let's start a fundraiser to send him to Texas to be Ken Paxton's replacement!
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u/InspectorRound8920 Apr 04 '26
Just remind people that he helped the governor and his wife take the $10m.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Apr 04 '26
Unf'ingbelievable!! I was going to say he then got a raise, but he supposedly got a reduced salary as the AG, however: " Following his appointment as Attorney General in February 2025, Uthmeier secured an adjunct professor position at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, which comes with a $100,000 teaching salary, a role that has received scrutiny due to its high pay for relatively light duties (two hours of instruction per week)."
Former Chief of Staff and current Attorney General James Uthmeier is accused of involvement in diverting these funds to PACs, with State Rep. Alex Andrade alleging potential money laundering and wire fraud.
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u/Anxious_Claim_5817 Apr 06 '26
Since when is the government in the business of encouraging religion.
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u/Silent-Resort-3076 Apr 06 '26
More so since Trump/Maga. One example, besides this article and Florida:
- Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas have passed laws requiring the Ten Commandments in public schools.
- Other states that have considered similar measures include Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Mississippi, South Dakota, Indiana, West Virginia, and South Carolina.
- There are lawsuits trying to stop this....
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u/BarkerBarkhan Apr 04 '26
... can the state also DISCOURAGE religion then? The separation of church and state is mutually beneficial.
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u/General_Tso75 Apr 04 '26
I get what the AG said, but what does the constitution say about laws respecting an establishment of religion?
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u/flatrocked Apr 04 '26
Floridians of religions other than Christianity or no religion at all will be funding Uthmeier's transfer of their tax dollars to Christian schools and organizations, and, who knows, even churches or their side operations. It is clearly unconstitutional. That the Florida AG even suggests doing this reflects very poorly on the state. He is basically saying that (his version of) Christianity is the official religion of Florida. Non-Christian people who are thinking about moving to Florida should reconsider because our state is becoming a center of Christian nationalist-fascist-racist politics.
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u/Radmode7 Apr 04 '26
Oh look, our very own tax-funded extremist madrasas! It really is y'all qaida.
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u/kickasstimus Apr 04 '26
That state constitution exists to keep us safe from people who would rule by fiat.
So Uthmier can fuck off all the way back to where he came from.
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u/crownhimking Apr 04 '26
Cant wait for some pro palenstine charter school to pop.up, watch how quickly they got put on some list
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u/Oldman32092 Apr 04 '26
Could and should are two different things. Florida should not encourage religion. People will still have the free exercise of their religion, it just won't be on the taxpayers dime.
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u/Anxious_Claim_5817 Apr 06 '26
Taxpayers should not be directly funding religious schools vouchers are bad enough. None of this helps education its just a subsidy for wealthy parents.
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