Ana Ceballos
In a priority for Republican leaders, the House on Thursday began moving forward with a dramatic expansion of school vouchers, including allowing middle-class families to apply for state-funded scholarships to send children to private schools.
The GOP-controlled House and Senate and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis all want to expand voucher-type programs and point to a waiting list of about 14,000 students in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program, which serves low-income children.
But the voucher proposals that have emerged from the House, Senate and DeSantis’ office vary on details such as student eligibility and will have to be negotiated before the scheduled May end of the annual Legislative Session.
The House Education Committee on Thursday approved a bill (PCB EDC 19-01) that would create a new voucher program, known as the Family Empowerment Scholarship program, which would be open to many middle-class families.
If approved, the program would be available to families whose incomes are up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level during the 2019-2020 school year — a calculation that equates to $77,250 for a family of four. The threshold would gradually increase, with a family of four making $96,572 eligible for the vouchers in the 2022-2023 school year.
Rep. James Bush, a Miami Democrat who supports school choice, said he is worried the House is moving away from the goal of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program, which was to help low-income children attend private schools.
“My only concern is keeping the original intent of helping low-income children,” Bush said.
By comparison, the Senate proposal (SB 7070) would create a program that would provide vouchers to families up to 260 percent of the federal poverty level — the equivalent of $66,950 for a family of four.
Senate Education Chairman Manny Diaz Jr., a Hialeah Republican, and Senate Education Appropriations Chairwoman Kelli Stargel, a Republican from Lakeland, said they think that’s a better approach.
“In the real world, depending on where you live, if you look at a family of four and say they make $96,000, it sounds like a lot. But sometimes it is deceiving,” Diaz told The News Service of Florida. “But I do believe that our position is more in line with the intent of addressing the need of those who would benefit from the Tax Credit Scholarship program.”
Diaz, however, was careful about calling the House’s household income threshold a middle-class family.
“We all know the truth,” Diaz said. “They are working class, obviously.”
Vouchers have long been a controversial issue in the Legislature, with supporters saying private-school scholarships offer needed choices to families and opponents saying they strip money from traditional public schools.
On Thursday, Republicans on the House Education Committee lauded Chairwoman Jennifer Sullivan, a Republican from Mount Dora, for her “bravery” in spearheading the effort on the contested issue. Other GOP members got emotional during debate, sharing personal experiences.
Republican Rep. Randy Fine of Palm Bay said he is able to pay tens of thousands of dollars every year for his children’s tuition but added that he wants the bill because not every parent can do so.
“It is a crime that not every parent has the same choice than I do,” he added.
A teary-eyed Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Naples said the school choice issue is the reason he got into public office.
“Parents, we are going to be here for you because they are your children, they are not the state’s children and they are not the school district’s children,” Donalds said.
If the House proposal is signed into law, the Family Empowerment Scholarship program would create about 28,000 scholarships for the 2019-20 school year. Sullivan said the bill also would eliminate the waiting list in the Tax Credit Scholarship program, which serves about 100,000 students.
But the Florida Democratic Party blasted the proposal, in part raising questions about whether it would be constitutional to use tax dollars for the new program. The state Supreme Court in 2006 struck down a voucher program backed by former Gov. Jeb Bush.
“House Republicans are abusing the legislative process to rush this bill through because they know it would never hold up under sustained scrutiny,” Democratic Party spokesman Kevin Donohoe said in a prepared statement.
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Republished with permission of the News Service of Florida.
One comment
Jan
March 17, 2019 at 11:59 am
Florida should fund it’s public schools adequately because this bill is a disguise to eventually privatize Florida education. In 2018, Florida ranked 42 out of 50 states in per student spending and this bill will further erode funding for the public schools. Also, since the medium income for a family of 4 in Florida is approximately $66,900, this bill also opens the door for the middle class to obtain vouchers, which defeats the original purpose.
Private schools make their own standards and do not have to follow state pupil progression plans, minimum state graduation requirements or give state standardized assessments (FSA, EOC exams).
Teachers at private schools generally earn 28% less than their public school counterparts, have no union contract or representation and can be fired on a whim. In addition, many private schools do not require state teacher certification for their staff and can hire who they want. As a result, most qualified teachers seek employment in the public schools.
As for students who attend private schools, they may not have any student support services available to them, there may be no programs for students with disabilities or students may not be offered advanced math and science courses due to the limited curriculum of private schools. As a result, many private schools use On-line Curriculum, like FLVS but taking Pre-Calculus, AP English or Physics is extremely difficult without a live teacher.
As a public school counselor for 35 years, there has been, and always will be, a place in education for private schools–some students thrive there. However, I do not believe it should be at the expense of public school funding and public school students. Taxpayer dollars should go to support public education.
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