Dear Friends,
Update
on the accountability bill: The House
Education Appropriations and the House Education Council
passed the House “accountability” Bill (HB1163)
unanimously. It was encouraging to see several Democrats
vote for the more equitable House version. Rep. Jennings
was instrumental in making that happen. The Senate
“accountability” Bill (SB02) bill is not as reasonable.
Please see the posting, the Comparison of Senate (SB 2) and
House (HB 1163) on the Legislative Update page of
the website. You can click on the link provided.
http://www.flace.org/legislative_updates.htm
The Florida Education Freedom
Foundation (FEFF), through the efforts of Denise Lasher, was
successful in their efforts working with the Senate to
persuade them to agree to the amendment sponsored by Sen.
Bullard, raising the income limits for renewal CTC families to
200% poverty. We anticipate getting this through to the
final version.
We
will soon have an updated page on the F.A.C.E. website that
will put members and visitors in direct contact with their
legislators. Supporters of school choice can enter their home
address to:
1)
learn about current school choice bills
2)
find out whether their senators’ and
representatives’ support them and,
3)
contact their legislators.
This
program is the easiest way to stay abreast of laws that will
affect school choice, let your voice be heard in Tallahassee
and put your FACE on the issues that affect the educational
future of Florida’s children.
Thank you for Stepping Up For
Students,
Michael A. Benjamin
Executive Director,
F.A.C.E.
Florida Alliance for Choices in
Education
Tampa
Tribune
Mar
12, 2005
McKay
Scholarships
The
House Education Appropriations Committee voted 16-0 Friday for
a bill that would give the Department of Education more
regulatory responsibility over vouchers for students with
disabilities or from low-income families to attend private
schools.
House
Bill 1163 also would give the state's education commissioner
authority to deny, suspend or revoke a private school's
participation in state voucher programs.
Nearly 14,000
students attend private schools using vouchers called McKay
scholarships, which were created for children with
disabilities, and 10,000 low-income children attend private
schools on scholarships paid for by businesses that receive
tax credits from the state.
House committee
approves expansion of
vouchers
JACKIE
HALLIFAX
Associated
Press
TALLAHASSEE,
Fla. -
A proposal to let thousands of struggling
readers transfer to private schools on state dollars moved
through its first legislative panel Tuesday.
The bill, a priority for Gov. Jeb
Bush, would let students who score at the lowest level of the
Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test for two years out of
three get a voucher to attend a private
school.
"This is a bill that's unafraid to put
kids above institutions, parents above bureaucrats and reading
above everything else," said Rep. Anthony Traviesa, the Tampa
Republican who sponsored the measure.
The legislation (CS-HB 1021) was
approved 6-1 by the House Choice and Innovation Committee. It
is scheduled to be reviewed by two other House panels. Similar
legislation in the Senate has not yet been considered in
committee.
The House panel changed the bill to
make about 100,000 more kids eligible for the
vouchers.
Initially, the bill would have
provided vouchers to students based on FCAT scores for the
past two years. That would mean an estimated 260,000 children
would be eligible for a reading voucher and a fraction of
those - 4,500 - would be expected to opt for
one.
But the committee changed the bill to
make students who score at the lowest FCAT level two years out
of three eligible. That would increase the pool of eligible
students by about 100,000 and boost the predicted
participation to 6,000.
The Senate bill (SB 2480) would give
the reading voucher to students who have struggled for three
years.
The constitutionality of the state's
first voucher law is pending before the state Supreme
Court.
The 1999 law offers vouchers, which
supporters call "opportunity scholarships," to students at
chronically failing public schools.
The 1st District Court of Appeal has
ruled that the law violates the church-state provision in the
Florida Constitution because it allows students to use the
vouchers at religious schools. The law might also violate a
provision in the state constitution that requires the state to
pay for a system of free public schools.
Florida's high court has not yet
scheduled oral arguments in the case.
"It's a mistake at this juncture to
proceed with creating another voucher scheme," said Ron Meyer,
a lead Tallahassee attorney for voucher
opponents.
But Michelle McNab-Hemans, a Miramar
woman, told the committee her son has seen a big improvement
since he transferred to a private school two years ago on a
McKay voucher, which is the state's largest voucher program
and is open to students with learning and other
disabilities.
"I am here today in support of this
program," McNab-Hemans said, calling parental choice
invaluable. "Having that choice made all the difference in my
son's life."
Education package clears first
hurdle
By Linda Kleindienst
Tallahassee
Bureau
March 16, 2005
TALLAHASSEE -- An
education-reform package that could make private-school
vouchers available to 350,000 public-school students and would
trade strict class-size limits for higher teacher pay passed
its first legislative test Tuesday.
The House Choice
and Innovation Committee overwhelmingly endorsed two bills
that would expand Gov. Jeb Bush's A-Plus education plan that
was adopted by the Legislature in 1999, Bush's first year in
office.
The "Reading Compact Scholarship Program,"
first proposed by Bush last month, would allow public-school
students with failing reading scores to transfer to a better
public school or use a tax-funded voucher to attend private
school.
Although the governor's original plan would
have applied only to students who failed the Florida
Comprehensive Assessment Test three years in a row, the House
proposal would give vouchers to students who scored at the
lowest level of the FCAT for two out of the past three years
-- doubling the number eligible.
Bush's original A-Plus
reforms led to the state's current school grading system and
set up the nation's first statewide voucher program, allowing
students in chronically failing schools to attend private
schools with tax-backed "opportunity
scholarships."
That program, which now provides
private-school vouchers for 710 students across the state, has
been declared unconstitutional by a circuit judge and appeals
court because it allows state dollars to go to religious
institutions. The Florida Supreme Court is expected to hear
arguments in the case this spring.
The education
package, known as the "A-Plus-Plus" plan, also calls for a
differential pay scale for educators who teach in troubled or
poor schools and a minimum $35,000 starting salary for Florida
teachers.
The higher pay, however, would be tied to a
more lenient class-size mandate that uses districtwide
averages.
Linda
Kleindienst can be reached at 850-224-6214
or
lkleindienst@sun-sentinel.com.
|
DIRECTOR OF
FLORIDA'S VOLUNTARY UNIVERSAL PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM
NAMED |
|
TALLAHASSEE--
Susan Pareigis, Director of the state Agency for
Workforce Innovation announced today the appointment of
Gladys W. Wilson as Deputy Director of the agency in
charge of the Office of Early Learning. The
newly-created Office of Early Learning within the Agency
for Workforce Innovation is the result of legislation
signed on January 2, 2005 by Governor Jeb Bush,
approving House Bill 1A passed in the Special Session of
the Legislature. The legislation implements the
constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2002
creating a Voluntary Universal Prekindergarten program
in Florida for four-year old children.
"Our agency prides itself on
assisting employers in finding the right person for the
right job and we have certainly succeeded with the
appointment of Ms. Wilson," said Susan Pareigis,
Director of the Agency for Workforce Innovation. "Ms.
Wilson brings to the Office of Early Learning an
impressive set of academic credentials, an extensive
professional background in early learning and a passion
for helping children succeed. She has been thoroughly
engaged in the creation of Florida's Voluntary
Prekindergarten program and this is helping us get the
program quickly into place."
Gladys W. Wilson has been the
Interim Executive Director for the Florida Partnership
for School Readiness in Tallahassee, Florida since
February of 2004. Previous to that appointment she was
the Deputy Director for Program Performance and
Accountability for the Partnership. She holds a BA in
Early Childhood & Elementary Education from the
University of South Florida, Tampa and an MA in Learning
Resources from Nova University, Fort Lauderdale.
Before coming to the Florida
Partnership for School Readiness in 2001 Ms. Wilson
served for four years in Martin County, Florida, as the
Coordinator for Pre-K Programs which included the
following programs: Even Start, Florida First Start,
Pre-K Exceptional Student Education, Pre-K Migrant and
Head Start programs.
In addition, Ms. Wilson served
as the Head Start Director for the Martin County School
District Head Start Program. Ms. Wilson has also been a
pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teacher as well as a
Media Specialist in her education career that spans over
twenty-five years.
"The Office of Early Learning
will create a truly seamless system for the children and
families of Florida," Ms. Wilson said. "There is much to
do, but I am excited and encouraged by the increasing
opportunities that will be available to families living
in Florida."
Florida's new Voluntary
Universal Prekindergarten program adds a strong emphasis
on early literacy as a foundation for later educational
success and requires quality instructional staff with at
least a Child Development Associate credential or
equivalent. Each Pre-K class will consist of at least
four and not more than eighteen children with two
instructors required for more than 11 children.
The existing system of school
readiness coalitions are in the process of being
consolidated into 30 or fewer Early Learning Coalitions
as required in the legislation. Every Florida child who
is four years old by Sept. 1, 2005 will be eligible to
attend the voluntary universal pre-K program in the fall
of 2005 with applications submitted by parents through
the Early Learning coalitions beginning in the late
spring of 2005.
The Agency for Workforce
Innovation is the state's lead workforce agency and
directly administers the state's Labor Market Statistics
program, Unemployment Compensation, Early Learning and
various workforce development programs. The agency
served as the administrative and fiscal entity for
Florida's school readiness system since 2000.
Workforce development policy and
guidance in Florida is provided by Workforce Florida,
Inc. Workforce Florida and the Agency for Workforce
Innovation are partners in the Employ Florida network
which includes 24 Regional Workforce Boards who deliver
services through nearly 100 One-Stop Career Centers
around the state. |
Foggy prekindergarten plans begin to
clear up
Most favor the new standards, but
providers still are concerned about costs and
regulation.
By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK, Times Staff
Writer
Published March 16, 2005
MIAMI -
After months of confusion, Florida's new voluntary
prekindergarten program is beginning to take
shape.
The state Board of Education on
Tuesday approved learning standards for the 150,000
4-year-olds expected to participate when pre-K debuts in
August. The standards are focused on language and
communication, and the skills that lay a foundation for
reading.
"This is a model," board member Donna
Callaway said. "You look for weaknesses or gaps, and they're
not there."
The state's Office of Early Learning
devised the standards after consulting with national experts.
Director Shan Goff called their adoption "a big
step."
"Everything revolves around
standards," said Goff, who said they undergird curricula,
instructional strategies and even classroom
organization.
Public response to the standards,
which have been available for review since February, generally
has been positive.
Nearly 100 people, most of them
educators but also some parents, e-mailed comments to the
state. Another 200 submitted comments at public meetings.
About three-fourths were positive.
Danny Morris, president of the Florida
Association of Child Care Management, said he is pleased the
Department of Education proposed standards reflective of early
learning needs.
"Appropriate language skills are more
important to a 4-year-old than reading skills," Morris
said.
Suzanne Gellens, executive director of
the Early Childhood Association of Florida, said she would
like to see tougher educational standards for prekindergarten.
But given the parameters set by state lawmakers, the DOE did
an admirable job, she said.
"They're doing what is right for
children," Gellens said.
Some of the negative comments focused
on serving children with special learning needs. Others
complained about the number of instructional hours the
Legislature approved for the program, or called for mandated,
rather than voluntary, curriculum choices.
The state board has no control over
those aspects of pre-K, and top lawmakers have said they do
not plan changes in those areas.
The new standards build upon those
already in place to evaluate whether youngsters are ready to
enter kindergarten. The additions focus on understanding words
and meanings, connecting sentences to build ideas and being
motivated to read and write.
Away from the meeting, potential pre-K
providers had other concerns. They wanted to know how much
money the state is prepared to give them to offer the program.
Most are asking for $2,750 to $3,000 per child, before
administrative costs.
That could cost as much as $80-million
more than what Gov. Jeb Bush has recommended, or about the
same amount the intangibles tax would generate if lawmakers
don't kill it as Bush has proposed. The providers also want to
see the state's rules for operating, which have yet to be
written. Public school districts are waiting to be told
whether class-size reduction mandates will prevent them from
offering prekindergarten.
The new standards can be viewed online
at www.myfloridaeducation.com/earlylearning
Jeffrey S. Solochek can be reached at
813 269-5304 or solochek@sptimes.com
©
Copyright 2003 St.
Petersburg Times. All rights reserved
