With massive growth in school voucher programs, the Florida Senate on Friday released a plan that, in part, would seek to address funding concerns as students move between schools. The Senate Pre-K-12 Education Appropriations Committee is scheduled Wednesday to take up the bill (SPB 7030), which would make changes affecting public schools and voucher programs.
“Over the last few years, we have learned that for the money to truly follow the student, we need better ways to track where students are at key points throughout the school year,” Sen. Don Gaetz, a Niceville Republican who will take a lead on the legislation, said in a prepared statement Friday. “We also need to ensure money appropriately follows the student to the family’s provider of choice, including when they move back and forth between providers. With input from stakeholders across the spectrum of school choice, this bill creates reasonable timeframes and mechanisms to improve both transparency and efficiency in education funding.”
The bill, among other things, would create what is known as a “categorical” budget fund for the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program, a major voucher program. Categorical funds are earmarked for specific programs. Also, the bill would use an “educational enrollment stabilization program” to provide supplemental money to address enrollment changes during the course of the academic year in public schools and voucher programs.
“In the new environment of universal choice, where the money follows the student, we know everyone is working diligently to ensure students have access to the educational settings their parents choose,” Pre-K-12 Education Appropriations Chairman Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, said. “However, as our choice programs expand, mid-year transitions have proven difficult to keep track of. Additionally, parents with students in the personalized education program and unique abilities program (voucher programs) have been frustrated by the reimbursement process, which can be quite time consuming and at times inefficient. This legislation is about lessons learned over the last few years.”
–News Service of Florida
Deborah Coffey says
Voucher programs are one of the most despicable things that Republicans have ever done to America…aside from ever putting Donald Trump in our White House. You couldn’t destroy this country even more with six nuclear bombs.
just saying says
Just another step towards stealing funds and thus eliminating public schools, enriching rich donors that own/control private and religious schools. I find it interesting that the political right who has put forward the idea that students are being indoctrinated in public schools are pushing for transferring students to private and religious schools which definitely indoctrinate their students.
I don’t want my tax dollars being stolen and funneled to pay for a student’s religious indoctrination and then having to pay higher property taxes in an attempt to replace those stolen tax dollars.
Graduate says
That school looks exactly the same today as it does in that postcard – tens of millions of dollars have been spent on keeping its original structure and updating it for modern conveniences. Very strange post.
Alaso Just Saying says
So the tax dollars are “stolen” and you will have to pay higher taxes. Where is your logic? The same tax dollars are spent for the eduucation of the student at either a “Public” or “Private” school. Also, do you think your student is getting the same quality learning at both choices? If something is broken either fix it or replace it. Einstein had it nailed when he said doing the same thing over and eover and getting the same result is a form of insanity!