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VOUCHERS FULL STEAM AHEAD AFTER SENATE COMMITTEE
By KATHLEEN HAUGHNEY
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, March 11, 2010..... A panel of lawmakers gave the green light Tuesday to a big expansion of a state voucher program that gives low-income students an opportunity to attend private schools.
The Senate Finance and Tax Committee passed SB 2126, which would allow more students to apply for the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program. The program provides 25,000 low income Florida students with a $3,950 voucher to attend a private school. The money comes from businesses, which get a corporate tax credit in exchange.
The vote on the bill was 4-1, with Sen. Charlie Justice, D-St. Petersburg, the lone "no" vote.
Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, who is sponsoring the measure, said that he believes all parents should have the right to choose which school their children to go to regardless of income and the available public school.
"They're not your children," he said to other members of the committee. "They don't belong to you. They don't belong to the public."
The program, established in 2001, has long been capped at $118 million. Under the proposal, the limit would expand to $150 million and then expand by 25 percent whenever the donations reach 90 percent of the cap.
It would also expand the types of tax credits that donors could get, allowing for scholarship credits for donors who pay oil and gas severance taxes, beverage taxes on alcohol and other types of business taxes.
Former Gov. Jeb Bush was a major proponent of vouchers, but his initial program, which directly used state money for private schools, including some religious institutions, was struck down by the Florida Supreme Court. The state teachers' union and Florida Parent Teacher Association have been fervently opposed to vouchers, arguing that they take money away from public schools.
"We believe that all public schools should be improved," said Latha Krishnaiyer, representing the PTA. "The money that you're using, the money you're taking away should be used to improve all public schools."
State economists determined last week that the additional tax credits authorized by the bill would reduce state general revenue collections by $31 million in fiscal year 2010-2011 with a recurring reduction of $228.8 million.
But Negron and other bill supporters say that the state would have to pay more if all private school students went to public schools. The scholarship currently doles out $3,950 per student, but the per pupil funding provided by the state to public schools is $6,873. Under the legislation, the award per student would increase so it was 80 percent of the per pupil funding at public schools.
The legislation would also require private schools with scholarship recipients to follow new accountability measures. Schools receiving more than $250,000 in scholarship funds would have to provide stricter accounting of the money. It would also require independent organizations to report and analyze learning gains of scholarship recipients and compare them to public school students.
The measure is now before the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The House version, HB 1009, has been referred to the House Finance and Tax committee, but it has not yet had a hearing.
Voting for the measure in Finance and Tax on Tuesday were Sens. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, Jeremy Ring, D-Boca Raton, Ronda Storms, R-Tampa and Thad Altman, R-Viera.
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SENATE DEMS DIG-IN TO FIGHT CLASS-SIZE OVERHAUL
By JOHN KENNEDY
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, March 16, 2010...Senate Democrats dug-in Tuesday and approved a caucus position opposing the proposed ballot initiative aimed at softening the class-size standards approved by voters in 2002.
Ron Meyer, attorney for the Florida Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, told the caucus the push by Republicans in the House and Senate was really designed to trim $350 million from this year's school spending that otherwise would go to reducing class-size.
But if the proposed constitutional amendment pushed by Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, and Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, (SB 2, HB 7039) fails to win support from the needed 60 percent of voters, it could leave schools short of cash this fall.
"There is going to be a crisis unless there is a legislative fix, instead," Meyers said.
Republican leaders so far haven't shown interest in adopting a measure aimed at allowing schools to deal with the stricter, per-class-size standards set to take effect this fall. Until now, easier-to-reach, school-wide averages have been used to distribute children among classrooms.
But Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, said the ballot drive is merely the latest Republican strategy to dismantle class-size limits party leaders have long opposed. "The Legislature has tried to make it as difficult to implement as possible right from the beginning," Gelber said.
Still, the caucus stand looks likely to fall short. The legislation has cleared all committees in the Senate and is ready for the floor in both chambers.
Within the 14-member Democratic caucus, Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Boca Raton, refused to join the opposition. If 13 Democrats try to stop the amendment, that would fall short of the 17 votes needed to prevent it from gaining the three-fifths support needed in the 40-member Senate.
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| SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES RACE-TO-TOP INCREASE IN GRADUATION STANDARDS
By KATHLEEN HAUGHNEY
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, March 16, 2010..... A key Senate committee gave its OK Tuesday to a bill that would make it more difficult to graduate high school in Florida, putting more emphasis on high level science and math classes.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee voted in favor of SB 4, which heightens graduation standards, a promise the state made in its application for Race to the Top, a $4.35 billion federal grant that could bring $1 billion in additional dollars to Florida for education reform.
"We are choosing to make courses more rigorous for college bound students and those headed into the workforce," said Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, the sponsor of the measure.
Under the bill, approved Tuesday, all students would eventually have to take geometry, two years of algebra, biology, chemistry or physics and an additional "rigorous" science course. The class requirements would be phased in over the next few years as will end-of-course examinations. The measure would still allow students who fail the exams in those classes to progress to the next grade, but they must pass it by the end of their senior year in order to graduate.
The legislation, Detert said, would make students more competitive in a global economy. Business organizations such as the Florida Chamber have been major backers of the measure, saying that Florida needs a more educated workforce to rebuild the economy.
"Our kids are not prepared for today's world, and all of the data we see from every source says the same thing," Detert said.
Similar legislation passed the House last year, but faltered in the Senate with many members concerned about how to fund the changes. Some lawmakers are still not convinced that the changes can be made without a significant infusion of money.
Legislative analysis indicates it will cost $1.5 million annually to implement the new exams, and there are still several unknown budget scenarios that could affect the overall education budget.
Stimulus money will eventually run out and it is still unknown whether the state will get the Race to the Top money. There is also a movement to change the class size provision in the Constitution, which would also save the state money; however, it requires 60 percent voter approval to make that change.
With all the unknowns, said Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston, it would be very difficult to implement these changes without putting major stresses on the public school system.
"I perceive that to be an unfunded mandate to our schools," Rich said.
Independent and Indispensable
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SCHOOL PRAYER BILL CLEARS FIRST HURDLE
By KATHLEEN HAUGHNEY
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, March 17, 2010..... A controversial school prayer bill cleared its first hurdle in the House, paving the way for teacher participation in student-sponsored prayer.
The House Pre-K-12 Policy committee voted 10-3 to forward HB 31, which would prohibit school districts from forcing teachers to enter an agreement that says they cannot participate in any religious activities initiated by students, a situation that occurred in Santa Rosa County.
Santa Rosa school officials said that under a consent decree, they have to leave a room or offer a disclaimer that they are not participating if their students bow their head in prayer or engage in some other religious-based activity.
Mickey Lindsey, the football coach at Pace High School in Santa Rosa County, said if his players decide to pray before a game, he must turn his back. If a player gets injured during a game and the parents say a prayer, he can't pray with them.
Because of the decree, he said, it looks like he is not being supportive of the boys he coaches.
"I completely agree that we shouldn't force religion on anyone, but we do have rights of our own," Lindsey told the committee.
Lawmakers have sponsored school prayer bills in the past, but failed to pass them. This week, the House committee offered up new language to the bill that changed the focus from the students to the teachers. However, it does still contain language that prohibits teachers from discouraging students from initiating the delivery of an "inspirational message" at a school event.
Rep. Greg Evers, R-Baker, who is a co-sponsor of the current legislation and has sponsored the bill in the past, said he believes the bill does have a better chance at making it through the legislative process than in past years because of the revamped language.
"It's not telling anyone that they have to [pray]," he said. "It's not telling anyone they can't."
But some lawmakers and interest groups say there are constitutional issues with the measure. The Anti-Defamation League and American Civil Liberties Union are lined up against the proposal.
An amendment was approved to remove the word "prayer" when describing the inspirational message, but some lawmakers still said they saw problems with the bill.
Rep. Marty Kiar, D-Davie, said the legislation was "blatantly unconstitutional" under the establishment clause, which states that the government cannot establish or prefer one religion. The bill, he said, could be unfair to Jewish or Muslim students who attend school with mostly Christian students who could initiate a prayer or religious message in opposition to those students' faiths.
Rep. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, one of the other "no" votes, added that the legislation could also create a scenario where a student could openly attack students who are gay or of a different race, and teachers would be unable to stop that.
"If you know students you understand this, you don't know what could come out of their mouths unchecked," Bullard said.
The legislation still has three more committee stops before it could go before the full House. The Senate has not yet taken up its version of the measure, which still includes the original language rather than the teacher-focused language.
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Pledge of Allegiance: Fl students can sit during pledge (with parent permission...most likely)
Florida students who have been excused from participating in the Pledge of Allegiance cannot be required to stand while others say it, according to a memo sent Friday to district superintendents.
In short, schools cannot follow Florida law because it is now in conflict with a court ruling from a 2008 case, says the memo from the Florida Department of Education.
Students who have written permission not to take part in the pledge can sit quietly during its recitation, it adds.
This issue has been a confusing one, as we wrote about Orange County's struggle with it here.
And there is still some uncertainty, the memo notes, whether all students need parent permission to opt out or whether some have the "maturity" to opt out on their own.
Here is the memo from Chancellor Frances Haithcock: pledge
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