Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorDecember 13, 2017

I considered myself Campbell Park Elementary family. Not only did four of my children attend this school, but I was so actively involved in mentoring students, volunteering and attending PTA meetings that I was often mistaken for staff. So, it was a surprise to me that my daughter Tanijah was bullied as long as she […]

Phil AmmannMay 5, 2017

Florida senators, including some reluctant Democrats, voted to expanded two of Florida’s de facto education voucher programs that aid low-income students and those with disabilities. The Tampa Bay Times reports HB 15 passed 27-11 Friday morning, on a vote where four Democrats joined Republicans. The bill returns to the House this afternoon for final approval […]

Erin ClarkMarch 17, 2017

A recent report by Florida TaxWatch refutes one of the key arguments made by school choice opponents — namely, that charter and choice schools end up hurting traditional schools by diverting funding. Further, the paper says that voters might be missing a larger part of the picture: how much taxpayer money is actually going to K-12 […]

Guest AuthorDecember 8, 2016

Five years ago, my daughter Samantha was struggling in sixth grade and not getting enough help, because her teachers were dealing with too many struggling students at once. It wasn’t long before she began hanging out with the wrong crowd, and acting up in school and at home. I knew I had to make a […]

Guest AuthorSeptember 28, 2016

W.E.B. Dubois once said, “To stimulate wildly weak and untrained minds is to play with mighty fires.” I hear Dubois when I see the academic results for black students. Year after year, the outcomes remain unbearable and unconscionable. More than 60 years after the U.S. Supreme Court declared an official end to separate-but-unequal schools, only […]

guestMay 10, 2016

By all accounts, the Jericho School, a private facility opened 21 years ago in Jacksonville, does a wonderful job helping students with autism and other special needs succeed academically. That nearly all of its students are enrolled through two state voucher programs also reflects the fertile nature of Florida’s expanding educational choice landscape. In a […]

Peter SchorschApril 29, 2016

In an impressive display of how to dismantle an opponent’s arguments point by point, school choice advocate John Kirtley this week made a compelling case for Florida’s Tax Credit Scholarship program. His argument: The program fits squarely within the state’s overall approach to education, despite critics’ claims that it violates the Florida Constitution. It is a part of, not […]

Peter SchorschApril 19, 2016

Kudos to Florida Supreme Court Justice Fred Lewis. As detailed in an article in the Ocala Star-Banner, Lewis took the time to speak to students at Ocala’s Trinity Catholic High School. He did so as part of the court’s Justice Teaching Initiative, which he founded in 2006 to help Florida’s K-12 students understand the state’s laws and justice system. It’s a free program […]

Bob SparksJanuary 21, 2016

On Monday we celebrated the birth of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On Tuesday, Dr. King’s son, Martin Luther King III, was in Tallahassee for an important civil rights cause in Florida. The issue of education is front and center in today’s discussion of civil rights. The opportunity to have a better life […]

Bob SparksJune 18, 2015

Recently, New York Times columnist David Brooks described the group of Democrats blocking President Obama’s expanded trade authority as the “Democrats’ Tea Party.” By their rigid stance in obstructing the president from negotiating a fast-track trade agreement with Asian countries, Democrats are violating their own principles. By taking Big Labor’s lead in opposing such agreements, […]

Tag: Florida Tax Credit Scholarship

Chikara Parks: Finding a safe school is better than waiting for one

Senate advances voucher expansion bill, goes to House for final vote

Florida TaxWatch: School choice options a better bargain for state

Heidi Gonzalez: Lawsuit against school choice will hurt children like mine

Mark Coats: Time to stop fighting school choice

Jon East: Tax-credit scholarships benefit 78,000 of Florida’s poorest schoolchildren

School choice advocate makes compelling case for Tax Credit Scholarships in Tallahassee speech

Justice Fred Lewis addresses Catholic high school students

Bob Sparks: Black leaders to the teachers’ union: Drop the suit

Bob Sparks: Progressive extremism, Florida style