LWVeducation
Governor Scott’s decision to sign HB 7069 was no surprise. What needs to surprise our Governor and our legislature is our response. We must focus like a laser on the November 2018 election.
We have to arm ourselves not only with the facts, but also with specific examples of what we want and do not want. The local LWVF study process must go into a higher gear.
Here are some suggestions to build a story about your school district:
Governor Scott to sign HB 7069 today. In a symbolic act, Governor Scott is set to sign HB 7069 at Morning Star Catholic Church in Orlando today. Is private school what we want for our children? We know that Speaker of the House Richard Corcoran wants to start a steam roller to privatize our schools. He has said so publically. The time has come for citizens to stand up for equal access for a high quality public education.
HB 7069 uses charter school expansion to fuel that initiative. Charter schools are privately owned and managed but funded with our tax dollars. Now, our local districts will have to give up some of their local facility funding to charters so they can pay whatever lease and bond payments private charter management firms require.
This is a serious blow to public schools whose facility funding has been sharply cut for thee past ten years.
Rod Jurado of CSUSA did not like my article in the Gainesville Sun: Consequences of School Choice. I described what is happening to local schools and neighborhoods as choices proliferate and funding decreases. I also mentioned that CSUSA, a for-profit charter management company has submitted a proposal to Alachua County Schools.
Mr. Jurado argued, ineffectively, that charters out perform public schools. I disagreed. Here’s the response I submitted as a Letter to the Editor.
The revisions Governor Scott proposed to the 2017 budget fall short. Our public schools have to maintain their air conditioning, roofs and science labs. We cannot divert money to privately owned charter facilities. As Governor Scott has said in his other veto messages this year,
“The following is vetoed because there is not a clear statewide return on investment for the renovation (or construction) of a facility not owned by the state.”
Charter schools are not owned by the state. Ask Governor Scott to veto sharing local property taxes for public schools with privately owned charters. Dividing the same amount of money among more schools only ensures no school is adequately funded.
SEND YOUR MESSAGE TO: [email protected]
Some specific items on Governor Scott’s veto list include:
There are also several special programs that made the veto list. All of these items will be reviewed during the special session. As of now, HB 7069 has not been vetoed.
Jefferson County schools in the Florida Panhandle, will become the State’s first charter district. The takeover by the Florida Department of Education was the result of a decade long struggle to improve the schools that simply made things worse. This latest move is a disaster for the teachers and staff. One half will lose their jobs for reasons that have little to do with their competence.
What happened in Jefferson County, Florida to cause the State to turn the district over to Somerset, a privately run school board that is part of the for-profit Academica charter school chain?
In this NPR interview, the plight of parents who take vouchers is exposed. Parents explain their search and frustrating when choosing private schools; they lose their right to have their children served. If they are dissatisfied, their only recourse is to try a different school. When their child has a disability, there may be no school within reach that will accept the child. Attorney and League member Kimberley Spire-Oh provided the information leading to these interviews.
Some background on Florida public school support for students with exceptionalities provides perspective on the availability of support for these children whether in public or private schools.
Teachers certified to work with children with disabilities are scarce and tend to work for public, not private schools. Supporting these children in private schools is expensive, and they have no obligation to accept children. The State provides McKay Scholarships for students to attend a private school if they have an IEP or 504 program . For students with a high level disability defined in law, Gardiner Scholarships are available. Having the scholarship allows parents to shop in the private sector for a school. It does not require private schools to accept those students.
Parents have the right to send their children to public schools, but not to private schools. You can see the right for your child to be education on the Office of Civil Rights website. An overview of the disability discrimination laws that protect children’s right to a public education are here. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) outlines the responsibilities that public schools have.
Support for educating students with disabilities is dependent upon funding. This year funding for students in public schools from federal IDEA sources was reduced to $1,301 per student.
The Florida Department of Education website for Exceptional Student Education is located here. State ESE funding is part of the FEFP per student funding formula and included $1,055,304,596. Note that the funding is part of the weighted per student state allocation. Weighting is the same for ESE students as for other students except for Levels four and five. These students with higher level disabilities receive more intense, specialized services as defined here.
We need to do a study of the every day realities of providing support for students with exceptionalities.
The Florida News Service reports the mounting pressure on Governor Scott to veto HB 7069 and part of the State budget. We need to keep the pressure up. Call his office and send a message:
Tell the Governor that:
The Senate proposal for education was a practical, reasonable approach to education funding. Ask the Governor to reconvene the legislature and do what is needed.
This article from the League was published in the Gainesville Sun. It delineates the consequences of School Choice in Gainesville. For-profit, self dealing CSUSA charter schools want to come to Gainesville.
The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research says that 58% of people don’t know much about charter schools. Even more, 66%, know little or nothing about private school vouchers. Nevertheless, 47% favor expanding charters and 43% would expand vouchers. Media headlines say most Americans support choice, but this is misleading. Most Americans either are opposed or have no opinion. The report found that four in ten believed that the country in general would benefit from more choice.
The poll has value. It made me think. See what you think!