Hurting public schools or giving students more freedom?
The legislature is making moves toward expanding the voucher program that helps middle- and low-income families send their kids to private schools. Committees in both the Florida House and Senate advanced bills for the program's expansion in late February.
But Floridians are divided on this. The leaders of some teachers unions believe it would hurt students in public schools.
For this school year 18,000 students can receive Family Empowerment Scholarships. What the bill in the Senate would do is make more students eligible and increase that number to add almost 30,000 new students to the program ever year.
Step Up For Students connects families to the scholarships.
"Education is not 'one size fits all,'" said Patrick Gibbons, public affairs manager for Step Up For Students.
Gibbons said families use the scholarships for a variety of reasons.
"She felt like the school was able to reach her kids in ways that the prior school couldn't," he said about one parent. "We've heard stories of kids being bullied in their school near to the point of suicide. The public school may be fine but not fit that particular student's need."
But the leaders of teachers unions see this as taxpayer money taken away from public schools and going to less accountable entities. Some of the private schools getting vouchers have anti-LGBTQ policies, the Orlando Sentinel revealed in January.
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"That's money that could be used to fill those critical shortage areas like teaching and bus drivers," said St. Johns Education Association President Michelle Dillon.
The Florida Education Association reports classrooms were more than 4,000 teachers short in the fall of 2018. Dillon said she worries about any money not going toward public schools.
"It's the 'what if' that worries me, what could be cut," she said. "Our neighborhood schools, I believe, truly have what every child needs.
Senator Manny Diaz, the sponsor of the Senate bill, told First Coast News they want to cut down the wait list for the program, which has 35,000 kids.
"If we properly funded and gave the resources to our neighborhood schools I don't even think this would be an issue," said Dillon.
But Gibbons believes more families need more freedom to choose where their child should get an education.
"We've got to create as many options to satisfy the needs of parents and students and help them find schools where they can succeed," he said.
Diaz said they are in the process of fine-tuning Senate Bill 1220. The FEA is calling for $22 billion to be invested in education. Diaz argues the school voucher program is a small part of it.
“Cost would be net neutral for students coming in," Diaz said. "If tax credit loses revenue and students are transferred over, then there would be per student cost of about $6500.”
The Family Empowerment Scholarship was created last year.
See these links to learn more about the Family Empowerment Scholarship and the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship.
Learn how Step Up For Students connects families to the income-based scholarships here.