Dear Friends,
Associated Press article, Bill compensates for kids losing
vouchers-
Two
programs are left after one ruled unconstitutional.
Also, some behind the scenes from that
event. If you are not nor have never been, you can and
need to be involved in similar interactions with your state
legislators. Let us know if you are willing to help
us, help you, help the legislators understand how the school
choice scholarships help kids!
The New York Times article, Vouching For Good
Education, that appeared in the Tampa Tribune.
Thank you for Stepping Up For
Students,
Michael A.
Benjamin
Executive Director,
F.A.C.E.
Florida Alliance for
Choices in Education
Bill compensates
for kids losing vouchers
Two programs are
left after one ruled unconstitutional
BILL KACZOR
Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE - About
700 children in a voucher program that the Florida Supreme
Court has declared unconstitutional could remain in private
schools at taxpayer expense under a bill that cleared a
House committee Friday.
The measure also would increase
state regulation and accountability for private schools that
take voucher students under two remaining state programs,
including a requirement for fingerprinting and criminal
background checks of teachers and other
staff.
The Republican-dominated House
Education Appropriations Committee approved the bill 16-4.
The opponents, all Democrats, praised the accountability
standards but objected to letting students receiving
unconstitutional "opportunity scholarships" shift to another
voucher program for poor children.
The vote came after Ronald Manuel,
an air-conditioning worker from Orlando, told
the committee that his son, Ronald Jr., 17, was an A and B
student again after getting an opportunity voucher to attend
South Orlando Christian Academy. He said his son, who did
well in elementary school, had declined to a C, D and F
student at a failing public high school.
"That scholarship allows my son to
have a better chance of achieving a lot more than he would
have if he was going in the direction he was going in,"
Manuel said.
The Opportunity Scholarship Program,
a keystone of Gov. Jeb Bush's 1999 school accountability
overhauls, provided vouchers to students from public schools
graded F by the state for two years out of
four.
The Supreme Court ruled the program
violated a provision in the Florida Constitution that
requires a uniform system of public schools and that it must
cease at the end of the current school year. The justices
found it created a separate system for voucher schools that
are exempt from many rules and requirements that public
schools must meet.
Accountability measures in the bill
(HB 7041) sponsored by the committee's chairman, Rep. Joe
Pickens, R-Palatka, are designed to reduce those differences
for schools in the other two voucher
programs.
A proposed constitutional amendment
(HJR 1573) was introduced Tuesday to reverse the Supreme
Court's decision and let the Legislature establish voucher
programs for any purpose. The proposal, not yet scheduled
for a committee hearing, would go on the Nov. 7 ballot if
both legislative chambers approve it by a three-fifths
vote.
The Supreme Court ruling did not
affect the other voucher programs, but supporters are
worried they may be challenged next. Together they affect
about 30,000 students.
The McKay Scholarship Program is for
disabled children, including those with learning
disabilities, while poor children can obtain vouchers
supported through corporate tax credits.
Pickens' bill would continue to
exempt voucher schools from many requirements, including the
Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT, used to
grade public schools.
Rep. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall,
D-Miami, cited the bill's lack of an FCAT requirement as
another reason for her vote against the bill. Others
Democrats voting against it were Ron Greenstein of Coconut
Creek, Bruce Antone of Orlando and Charlie Justice of St.
Petersburg.
"We wish there were two separate
bills that we could stand alone so we can all hold hands and
'kumbaya' on the accountability," Greenstein
said.
The only other Democrat on the
committee, Rep. Shelley Vana of Lantana, voted for the
bill.
© 2006 Bradenton Herald and wire
service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.bradenton.com
BEHIND THE
SCENES
We arranged for Ronald Manuel, an
African- American single Dad, from Orlando to travel to Tallahassee to testify at
the House Education Appropriations Meeting this
morning. His son Ron, Jr. attended Jones High School
and then Oak Ridge High School, both double F schools,
before taking advantage of the Opportunity Scholarship
Program. He is now attending South Orlando Christian
School, is in the 11th grade and is very pleased.
Ron, Jr. had been an A student in
public elementary and middle school but fell to C/D student
once he began at Jones and the situation did not
improve when they moved to another part of Orlando only to
discover Ron, Jr. had to attend another failing school- Oak
Ridge
We prepared Mr. Manuel for some of
the hostile questions he would probably get from the
opponents. Rep. Vana took the lead on the questioning only
to discover she had met her match. On Class Size
question he stated that was not important to him - what
matter most was if son laws earning and doing his best.
He stated he had not visited the classroom to see how many
kids are in there. He meets with teachers after
school .She asked if he had the choice to send his
son to different a public school would he. He
said he actually only went looking at private schools as a
last resort- he preferred to send his son to a public school
but he could not find one that had the room to take his
son- most campuses are over capacity- and that was
convenient for him. She asked him what he thought was the
real problem at Oak Ridge and
Jones. Mr. Manuel said they were disorganized and did
not care what happened to his son. He asked the
assistant principal to direct him to the attendance office
and the principal said he did not know were it was. He
asked for a parent conference and only 2 the teachers
bothered to show up and told him his son was doing
great. The report card showed C's and D's. She
realized she was in over her head and stop.
He was upset Rep. Antone voted no as
well as Bendross-Mindingall. Rep. Antone even stated
at meeting he supported scholarship programs and was pleased
choice worked out well for his son. Rep. Vana and Rep.
Greenstein pulled Rep. Antone aside before the
vote and it appeared pressured him to vote
no.
When Chairman Pickens closed he said
he did not have to close as Mr. Manuel had already done that
for him and how could anybody not want Ron, Jr. to continue
attending his private school but rather make him return to
the failing school.
We also caught the Associated Press
TV cameraman attending the meeting and had him interview Ron
after the meeting.
We took Mr. Manuel to see Rep.
Bendross-Mingdingall and Rep. Antone after the
meeting. Rep. Bendross-Mingdingall said we have to
help all the kids not just a few and Ron replied how can you
expect my son to languish at the failing school while we
wait to fix it- he could be 22 years old before that happens
and then it is too late. She asked him to stay in
touch and keep setting a good example for other African
-American men.
Rep. Antone's district is very near
the private school and some of the parents live in his
district. Ron met with Rep. Antone for about 15
minutes. Rep. Antone said he voted no because of the
comments from members that if he voted no he was voting to
send these kids back to failing schools. Ron did not
settle for that and continued to probe, shared his personal
story, showed him his son's grades from Oak Ridge and South
Orlando Christian, and would
not back down. Rep. Antone said he realized
these programs can work and promised to vote yes when it
comes to the floor- gave Ron his card and asked him to stay
in touch.
We went to see Rep. Vana but she had
left already- Ron made an appointment to talk via phone with
her next week. It was a great afternoon and Ron is
charged and ready to help in any way he
can.
