F.A.C.E. to FACE   F.A.C.E. BULLETIN 4/12/06   Dear Friends,   It was great seeing many of you in person in my travels the last several months.  Your continued faithfulness to the cause is a source of energy to me.   Last Tuesday was another intense day for the school choice movement in Florida. This is an eyewitness account of what happened and one that you will never read about it in the Florida press.   On Thursday the 30th, the bill to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November barely escaped the Senate Judiciary Committee. We did not expect it to move to the Senate Education Committee for at least a week or two.   Parents have been conducting a letter writing effort to certain Senators. Session started with 25 firm committed votes in the Senate (24 are needed). Some of you may be aware that an attempted coup later occurred in the Senate Republican caucus over future leadership. Four of the Senators who had given their commitment later withdrew their support, with some denying they ever made the promise.   On Friday 31st we were stunned to learn that the bill had been calendared for Tuesday April 4th in the Senate Education Committee.  Over the weekend we were able to arrange for 15 parents and children to come to the capitol, Tuesday April 4th, from Senator Bullard’s district in Miami. They started driving at 1am this morning. The parents went in to Sen. Bullard’s office and to the committee meeting. We also arranged for a McKay parent from Senator Lynn’s district to come and speak.   The hearing captured the politics of school choice. Sen. Frederica Wilson, from Miami, demanded of the sponsor his reasons for the amendment. “I don’t hear any parents in my district asking for this—they want more money for the public schools. Who wants this?” Applause broke out in the room—union and public school people. They cheered again when the teacher union lawyer told the committee there was no need for the bill.   The parent representing Sen. Bullard’s district spoke next. He is blind and his son led him to the podium. This distinguished man spoke plainly but powerfully about how the scholarship programs had saved his children. He urged the Senators to give the people the right to decide if they should continue. The McKay parent from Lynn’s district spoke of her two special needs children and how they needed the scholarship to continue their success.   Everyone in the room surely expected the Democrats to be in lockstep, and nobody knew what Sen. Lynn and Sen. King would do.  Sen. Bullard asked the group from her district to stand up. She said, “I’m for the public schools. I’m for them having more money. But how can I sit here and tell these people, these success stories that their scholarships should be taken away? I can’t do it. I’m voting for the bill”.   The union and public school people gasped. The vote went 6-1. Governor Bush was watching the vote from his office and asked to see the group from Miami in his office, at which time he thanked them personally for their efforts.   We have a very long way to go. The internal Senate politics still pose a huge hurdle. However we continue to see the power of parents to speak to the truth. When they did so that day the other side had no answer.   Remember this account when you read the articles in the paper and when you are called on.  Pray for us and the children.     Thank you for Stepping Up For Students,   Michael A. Benjamin Executive Director, F.A.C.E. Florida Alliance for Choices in Education We have tried to interest editorial boards and columnists in Florida to call out the ACLU out on their hypocrisy, but none are interested. We find it incredible that they are given a free pass on this. They filed suit the day OSP was signed into law, so concerned were they that money might flow to faith based organizations. Yet with the VPK Program, tens of thousands of children and tens of millions of dollars have already done so--and yet "they are studying the issue." They admit that Blaine is worse with the VPK Program, and yet offer no reason for not filing suit. With Bright Futures Scholarships, which are funded by state taxpayers, they claim "college is not mandatory", so it doesn't trouble them. OSP was voluntary as well--but whether it is or not isn't relevant to the constitutional issue at hand! Look below at the mission statements of just a sampling of colleges receiving funds under Bright Futures. They are more religious than any K-12 school in the OSP. The ACLU knows this and yet they don't file suit. There is a chance that they may not challenge McKay scholarships because these kids "aren't well served?" Were the OSP kids being well served? Again, whether the children are or not is totally irrelevant to the constitutional issue the ACLU raised. The real reason is so clear: they don't want to challenge Bright Futures because it is tremendously popular with upper middle class voters. They haven't filed their suit on VPK yet because they don't want to make plain their intention to sue until after the November elections, when there may be on the ballot a constitutional amendment protecting school choice from VPK to college. They communicated to the House Speaker and Senate President last year threatening litigation if faith based providers were allowed in the VPK program. They were and there is still no suit.  They admit themselves - "we’ve become the target". So they wait until after the election… Is this is the organization that claims to be immune from bad publicity? Who takes the tough, unpopular but principled stands? That defends the right of Nazis to march in Illinois? No one in the Florida press will hold them accountable. The ACLU's real intentions and their hypocrisy go unnoticed. There are real consequences to this press timidity: our Senate may not put the issue on the ballot because there isn't enough sympathy in that body for 30,000 poor and handicapped kids. But if they knew that Bright Futures and VPK were at risk that might spur them to act.   Article published Mar 28, 2006 Pro-voucher politicians worry about lack of action on issue By JOE FOLLICK CAPITAL BUREAU jfollick@earthlink.net <mailto:jfollick@earthlink.net> TALLAHASSEE -- Hoping to mobilize support to protect vouchers, proponents of the now-unconstitutional Opportunity Scholarship Program have warned that the American Civil Liberties Union and others will attempt to kill some of the state's most popular educational plans unless lawmakers act. Not likely, said an ACLU lobbyist earlier this month, though he said the group is still considering legal action against the state's new prekindergarten program. Pro-voucher politicians, including Gov. Jeb Bush, have said the ACLU will not be satisfied with the Florida Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year that ended the OSP. That program gave about 700 students in failing public schools taxpayer money to attend private schools. The court did not rule on the ACLU's concerns that the program unconstitutionally used public money to send children to church-based schools. Instead, it said the program was unconstitutional since it created a separate education system that did not meet the same standards as public schools, such as requirements to take the FCAT standardized test. Voucher proponents say popular programs like the Bright Futures program, which allows Florida college students to use money to attend public and faith-based colleges, and the McKay Scholarship plan, which allows students with special needs to attend church-run schools, would also be in jeopardy unless the constitution is changed. But ACLU lobbyist Larry Spalding said earlier this month the group has no intentions of challenging either the McKay or Bright Futures programs. That drew an angry challenge from John Kirtley, a Tampa millionaire who has championed vouchers. "I think that's a ruse," Kirtley said. "They sued on the OSP program because they said money flowing to faith-based providers of K-12 education violates" the constitution. He said the ACLU's claim that the OSP was unconstitutional while ignoring other programs that allow state money to go to faith-based schools or colleges was "intellectually dishonest." Yet Spalding said OSP was different from Bright Futures and the McKay program. He said Bright Futures students are adults voluntarily choosing options and are not required to attend school like K-12 students. McKay addresses students with unique needs that cannot be served in public schools, he said. Kirtley said that is disingenuous and accused the ACLU of waiting until after a possible vote on a constitutional change this November to get involved, rather than becoming a lightning rod for voucher opponents to rally support. Spalding agrees an ACLU suit would draw flak. "If we go that route, then we're going to be the target," Spalding said. Voters in 2002 chose to require the state to provide a fully-funded option for 4-year-olds to attend pre-K classes. The state opted to pay private schools, including church-run facilities, to teach some of the participating students. Spalding said the lack of a public school alternative makes the pre-K program a more blatant violation of the constitutional ban on the use of taxpayers' money to pay for religious uses. "On the church-state issue, pre-K is worse," Spalding said. ACLU officials sent a letter to legislative leaders last year threatening legal woes if the pre-K plan allowed faith-based providers. Asked why the ACLU has not legally challenged the pre-K program that is now nearly a year old, Spalding said the issue was still being studied. The ACLU sued the state immediately after the OSP was put into place. Tens of thousands of children and their families are now enrolled in the pre-K program. Even lawmakers who have mixed feelings about vouchers feel programs like pre-K, McKay and Bright Futures may be left vulnerable to legal attacks unless lawmakers act. "If we don't do something this year," said Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville, the ACLU or another group "could bring the whole process of vouchers to an end." This year, sufficient legislative support appears to exist to change the law so that most of the students currently in the OSP program could receive the corporate vouchers to maintain attendance at their current schools. But Bush and others feel the constitution must be changed to not only resurrect OSP, but to protect the corporate voucher plan and the McKay Scholarships. The Florida House concurs, but the Senate has yet to even consider such a constitutional remedy, which would need a three-fifths approval in the House and Senate before facing a statewide vote in November. Senate Education Committee chairwoman Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, said that three weeks into this year's two-month-long session, she has yet to see any such proposals in the Senate. "If someone wanted to do the bill or have the bill, it would be floating around somewhere, and I haven't seen it," she said. King said it has been difficult to get a majority of senators to back vouchers in the past, and the Supreme Court decision has only added to their reticence. "I'm not so sure that the Senate in particular is that eager to jump into waters that they know now are tested," he said. King is pushing legislation that would enact stricter rules on private schools accepting voucher students. Whether that would be sufficient to meet the Supreme Court's concerns is unknown. It's a sign of the new defensive posture among advocates of school choice that OSP, once touted as an integral part of revamping education, is now portrayed as a tiny experiment. Colleges accepting Bright Futures: Barry University seeks to instill in its students St. Dominic’s vision of a world that celebrates God’s dwelling within us and among us, where life is reverenced and nurtured, where hatred and injustice are eradicated and where the intellectual life is promoted and supported. In so doing, Barry University is committed to forming students who…understand the value of seeking a personal response to the presence of God in their lives…and demonstrate concern for all individuals in an atmosphere where Gospel values prevail.   Bethune-Cookman College is an historically Black, United Methodist Church-related college offering baccalaureate degrees. The mission is to serve in the Christian tradition the educational, social, and cultural needs of its students--traditional and non-traditional--and to develop in them the desire and capacity for continuous intellectual and professional growth, leadership, and service to others.   Clearwater Christian College exists to provide an excellent liberal arts education centered on God's Word, with a focus on challenging students to love God wholly, to know Him intimately, and to serve Him fervently; educating men and women to minister faithfully and humbly with evangelistic zeal as they impact eternity for Jesus Christ in every avenue of life.   Florida Memorial College, a historically Black College related to Baptist Churches and traditions, is one of the oldest academic centers in Florida.   Pensacola Christian College was founded with the purpose of training young men and women for a life of service to the Lord Jesus Christ. The College is unlike any other institution. It has its own personality, character, and philosophy of education. God has called this institution into existence for His own glory; therefore, the administration, faculty, and staff are dedicated to training young people for His service. The mission of Pensacola Christian College is to glorify God through the ministry of education from a Biblical perspective and through ministries that edify and reach out to all people.   Embracing the principles of the Papal Document "Ex Corde Ecclesiae" and the mission of the Archdiocese, St. Thomas University consecrates itself without reserve to "the free search for the whole truth about nature, man, and God"; and the existential uniting of faith and reason in the search for truth, along with "the certainty of already knowing the fount of truth." St. Thomas University works in close relationship with the Archbishop, and parishes and schools throughout the Archdiocese to share expertise, resources and service opportunities.    Southeastern College, a Christ-centered college, fosters student success by integrating personal faith and higher learning.  Within our loving Pentecostal community, we challenge students to prepare professionally so they can creatively serve their generation in the spirit of Christ. The ACLU's hypocrisy is so ridiculous and obvious.  Yet it took literally months of badgering this reporter to pursue it. But to his credit, he does a great job. Bright Futures is different because college is voluntary? McKay is different because students are not being served well by public schools? What do these claims have to do with the constitutional question at hand? All that matters is the ACLU's claim that funds are flowing to faith based institutions. The compulsion of the program or whether its students are being well served has nothing to do with the case.  Hopefully these points will be as evident to readers and Senators.   Advocates Push Troubled Program Some say banning vouchers threatens Bright Futures, McKay programs. By Joe Follick Tallahassee Bureau TALLAHASSEE -- Hoping to mobilize support to protect vouchers, proponents of the now-unconstitutional Opportunity Scholarship Program have warned that the American Civil Liberties Union and others will attempt to kill some of the state's most popular educational plans unless lawmakers act. Not likely, said an ACLU lobbyist earlier this month, though he said the group is still considering legal action against the state's new pre-kindergarten program. Pro-voucher politicians, including Gov. Jeb Bush, have said the ACLU won't be satisfied with the Florida Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year that ended the OSP. That program gave about 700 students in failing public schools taxpayer money to attend private schools. The court did not rule on the ACLU's concerns that the program unconstitutionally used public money to send children to church-based schools. Instead, it said the program was unconstitutional since it created a separate education system that didn't meet the same standards as public schools, such as requirements to take the FCAT standardized test. Voucher proponents say popular programs like Bright Futures, which allows Florida college students to use money to attend public and faith-based colleges, and the McKay Scholarship plan that allows students with special needs to attend church-run schools would also be in jeopardy unless the constitution is changed. But ACLU lobbyist Larry Spalding said earlier this month that the group has no intentions of challenging either the McKay or Bright Futures programs. That drew an angry challenge from John Kirtley, a Tampa millionaire who has championed vouchers. "I think that's a ruse," Kirtley said. "They sued on the OSP program because they said money flowing to faith-based providers of K-12 education violates" the constitution. He said the ACLU's claim that the OSP was unconstitutional while ignoring other programs that allow state money to go to faith-based schools or colleges was "intellectually dishonest." Spalding said OSP was different from Bright Futures and the McKay program. He said Bright Futures students are adults voluntarily choosing options and aren't required to attend school like K-12 students. And he said McKay addresses students with unique needs that can't be served in public schools. Kirtley said that's disingenuous and accused the ACLU of waiting until after a possible vote on a constitutional change this November to get involved, rather than becoming a lightning rod for voucher opponents to rally support. Spalding agrees an ACLU suit would draw flak. "If we go that route, then we're going to be the target," Spalding said. Voters in 2002 chose to require the state to provide a fully funded option for 4-year-olds to attend pre-kindergarten classes. The state opted to pay private schools, including church-run facilities, to teach some of the participating students. Spalding said the lack of a public school alternative makes the pre-K program a more blatant violation of the constitutional ban on the use of taxpayer money to pay for religious uses. "On the church-state issue, pre-K is worse," Spalding said. ACLU officials sent a letter to legislative leaders last year threatening legal woes if the pre-K plan allowed faith-based providers. Asked why the ACLU hasn't legally challenged the pre-K program that is now nearly a year old, Spalding said the issue was still being studied. The ACLU sued the state immediately after the OSP was put in place. Tens of thousands of children and their families are now enrolled in the pre-K program. Even lawmakers who have mixed feelings about vouchers feel programs like pre-K, McKay and Bright Futures may be left vulnerable to legal attacks unless lawmakers act. "If we don't do something this year," King said, the ACLU or another group "could bring the whole process of vouchers to an end." There seems to be sufficient legislative support this year to change the law so that most of the students currently in the OSP program could receive the corporate vouchers to maintain attendance at their current schools. But Bush and others feel the constitution must be changed to not only resurrect OSP, but protect the corporate voucher plan and the McKay Scholarships. The Florida House concurs, but the Senate has yet to even consider such a constitutional remedy, which would need a three fifths majority approval in the House and Senate before facing a statewide vote in November. Senate Education Committee chairwoman Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, said that three weeks into this year's two-month long session, she has yet to see any such proposals in the Senate. "If someone wanted to do the bill or have the bill, it would be floating around somewhere, and I haven't seen it," she said. King said it's been difficult to get a majority of senators to back vouchers in the past, and the Supreme Court decision has only added to their reticence. "I'm not so sure that the Senate in particular is that eager to jump into waters that they know now are tested," he said. King is pushing legislation that would enact stricter rules on private schools accepting voucher students. Whether that would be sufficient to meet the Supreme Court's concerns is unknown. It's a sign of the new defensive posture among advocates of school choice that OSP, once touted as an integral part of revamping education, is now portrayed as a tiny experiment.

 

Florida Alliance for Choices in Education (F.A.C.E)

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