F.A.C.E. to FACE
F.A.C.E. BULLETIN
May 14, 2009
Dear Friends,
Not sure why the word "choice" is in quotation marks. We hope that the editor is not saying that we are being ironic in our use of the word. Can an editor who doesn't like parental school choice do that… You decide…
An update from the Coalition of McKay Scholarship Schools.
Thank you for Stepping Up For Students,
Michael A. Benjamin
Executive Director, F.A.C.E.
Florida Alliance for Choices in Education
www.stepupforstudents.com
www.flace.org
May 13, 2009Doug Tuthill: Lawmakers use 'choice' to help poor children
Doug Tuthill
My View
Re: "Scholarship tax-break program should be vetoed" (My View, May 8).
We're all concerned about the financial duress our public schools are feeling, but that doesn't mean an important lifeline for poor students must therefore be discarded.
Kent S. Miller, a distinguished professor emeritus from Florida State University, draws that untenable conclusion in a recent column in which he labels the state scholarship program serving 23,400 low-income children "an outrage." His question to readers: "How can we justify diverting another $118 million from a badly bleeding public education system?"
The correct answer is that we don't. The Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship program does not divert tax money from public school children. Rather it takes taxes that would otherwise go to the state treasury and directs them to students who suffer the greatest odds in modern education. It creates a learning option that economically disadvantaged children would not otherwise have, one that a University of Florida report concluded last year is attracting some of the state's poorest and lowest-performing students. Three-fifths of them come from single-parent households, two-thirds are black or Hispanic, and the average household income for four is $25,000.
These children use the scholarships to attend roughly 1,000 private schools around the state, but that doesn't make their choice an affront to public education. In Florida, students choose from all types of customized options — magnet and fundamental schools, career academies and International Baccalaureate programs, advanced placement or online courses or dual enrollment on college campuses. Last year, 105,239 students attended privately run charter schools, 19,582 students with disabilities used taxpayer funds to choose private schools, and 136,346 4-year-olds used vouchers to go to mostly private prekindergarten schools.
These options recognize a fact of life: Different children learn in different ways. Far from undermining public education, these programs expand and strengthen it.
The money spent on Tax Credit scholarships does deserve scrutiny, and three credible independent reports have all concluded the program saves tax money. Qualifying students receive a maximum scholarship of $3,950. The Legislature's per-student state allocation for public schools next year is $6,783. That's 71 percent higher. Those who would then suggest the savings disappear if 40 percent of the students can pay their own tuition or find charity are showing an almost willful disregard for their desperate financial plight. These scholarship students are not draining away tax dollars.
The question of academic accountability is also worth examining. Miller is right that most scholarship students don't take the FCAT, but that doesn't mean they aren't tested. All students are required to take a nationally norm-referenced test approved by the state Department of Education, and most of them take the prestigious Stanford Achievement Test. Their scores are reported to a research team hired by DOE, and the first report on learning progress is due later this month. One advantage of the Stanford over the FCAT is that it gives families, schools and DOE a chance to compare scholarship students with students nationally.
The Legislature this session did decide to let insurance companies share in the tax credit for this program, but Miller may have missed the extent to which lawmakers are coalescing around this effort to help poor children. A program created eight years ago with the vote of only one Democrat was supported this year by a combined House-Senate vote of 123-34, including nearly half the Democrats, a majority of the Black Caucus and all of the Hispanic Caucus.
Said Rep. Darryl Rouson, a black Democrat from St. Petersburg: "In these days of technology and access and educational advancements, we need to give families choice. And young children, whether they're black or Hispanic or Asian, ought to have access to the same kind of private privileged education that some of our other children have just because of who their parents are."
This program is no magic bullet, but neither is it "an outrage." Our goal is to help level the playing field for our neediest children, which is a fundamental promise of public education.
Additional Facts
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Doug Tuthill, a former teachers' union president, is president of the Florida School Choice Fund. The fund oversees the scholarship funding organizations that run the Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship program. Contact him at dtuthill@stepupforstudents.com.
McKay Scholarships Should Stay the Same!
With the budget finalized, the legislature has kept the per-student funding the same amount as last year. Since the McKay Scholarship is based on per student funding, this should mean that the scholarship will stay the same as last year as well.
We are using the term should because some of the per student funding is coming from the stimulus package. Private schools can not receive federal stimulus funding, but our understanding is that state funds will be used to make up any difference in the per student amounts going to McKay Scholarship.
No New Legislation for McKay
The legislators ended the session on Friday with no new legislative actions that will impact the McKay Scholarship. Sen. Gardiner’s Bill 2478 and Sen. Ring’s Bill 1010 were both indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration.
The Coalition had been communicating with Sen. Gardiner concerning SB 2478. We approved of several of the measures in this bill but were concerned about tuition refunds. In the coming months, we will continue to work with him on language and policies we can support which will assist more children to access the McKay Scholarship.
Contact Your Legislators
It continues to be crucial to build relationships with our legislators. They need to be educated on what the McKay Scholarship Program is and what benefits it has for the children in their districts. Too many of our new legislators do not really understand the McKay Scholarship. It is important to have them hear from parents and students as to the importance of the McKay Scholarship. Please make efforts this summer to make contacts.
Corporate Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program
HB 453, sponsored by Rep. Weatherford, was passed. This legislation enables insurance companies to participate in the program through an insurance premium tax credit and renames the program to The Tax Credit Scholarship Program.
Fall Conference – Save the Date
We will be hosting the Fall Conference in two places this year, Orlando and Miami. Orlando’s conference will be held October 9 and Miami will be held October 16th. We will be sending out more information early this summer.
Have a great end of the year.
Robyn A. Rennick, MS
Newsletter Chair
The Step Up For Students (SUFS)/Florida Tax Credit (FTC) Scholarship Program currently provides K-12 scholarships to over 23,000 low-income Florida students to attend eligible private schools or out-of-district public schools throughout the state.
Income Eligibility Guidelines
Income Eligibility Guidelines
Number of people in household
Total Annual Household Income for New Applicants
Total Annual Household Income for Renewal Applicants
2
$26,955
$29,140
3
$33,874
$36,620
4
$40,793
$44,100
5
$47,712
$51,580
For each additional member add $6,919
For each additional member add $7,480
Florida Alliance for Choices in Education (F.A.C.E)
If you no longer want to receive this mailing or you wish to unsubscribe from
F.A.C.E mailings, please send an e-mail with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line to mbenjamin@flace.org.
