JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Is your child heading to private school Monday morning for the very first time?
This year, any Florida student can apply for a private school voucher due to new legislation expanding the program, which has been controversial. One hundred thousand additional students this year will now be using vouchers in private schools across Florida, according to the president at Step Up for Students, the nonprofit that connects families to the program. Duval County is a top county where students are using them.
Is the expanded voucher program giving families more choices in which schools to send their children to? Or is it defunding public schools? These are arguments for and against Florida's newly expanded private school voucher program, called the Family Empowerment Scholarship. For the first time this school year, there's no limit on how many can do it and every Florida student is eligible for a voucher to private school, which is about $7,000 to $8,000 in Duval County.
"We want every family to have choices, not just the affluent," said Doug Tuthill, president of Step Up for Students.
"It is a horrible idea," said Chris Pagel, president of the Nassau Teachers' Association.
Pagel believes families who can already afford private school will use the vouchers to save money.
"Anyone from someone making as much money as Tiger Woods to an unemployed individual can just carte blanche get a voucher for over $8,000," Pagel said. "No accountability."
Tuthill says Pagel's Tiger Woods example isn't the reality.
"Historically, we've always served low-income families and working class families primarily," Tuthill said. "That's not changing this year either."
A large portion of Florida public school state funding is determined by the number of students. Close to 10 percent fewer students are in traditional Duval County public schools compared to five years ago, according to data from a school board workshop.
On the first day of school, inspiration can be found no matter which side of the voucher argument you're on.
"A couple times a year I'll talk to a grandmother who will say, 'My grandchild got on scholarship and it's really changing his or her life and I've been so thrilled by what I'm seeing with my grandchild that I actually go back to school to get my GED,'" Tuthill said.
"We're gonna make a positive for the kids," said Pagel. "Because that's why we're here."
Not every private school accepts vouchers. For instance, The Bolles School doesn't, according to their spokesperson.