School choice is on the march in Florida and across the country
On Wednesday, Gov. Rick Scott declared Jan. 22-28 National School Choice Week in Florida. In doing so, he joined more than 600 governors, mayors and local leaders across the country who publicly embraced school choice this week.
Since 2011, education reform advocates have organized rallies and events each January to raise public awareness about alternatives to traditional public schools. Those include public charter schools, magnet schools, online learning, private schools and homeschooling.
This year’s school choice effort is the largest series of education-related events in U.S. history, according to the official National School Choice Week website.
About 21,400 events are being held across all 50 states, with participation from 16,777 schools.
In Leon County, Fla., which encompasses the state capital, 29 events are taking place at area schools, a School Choice Week spokesperson told Watchdog.org.
But unlike 25 other states, no rallies are planned at the Florida Capitol this year. Perhaps because it’s already one of the most receptive statehouses to education reform initiatives.
“We are thrilled that Gov. Scott has proclaimed National School Choice Week in Florida,” said Andrew Campanella, president of National School Choice Week.
“Florida parents have more options for their kids’ education than parents in most other states, and we hope they will take School Choice Week as an opportunity to talk about their children’s schools with other parents and explore their options,” he said.
Last year, Scott signed landmark legislation allowing parents throughout the state to choose any traditional public school for their children regardless of location — effectively signing “school choice” into law.
As long as there’s room, parents can begin choosing public schools this August.
State law also permits public charter schools, public magnet schools, theme-based schools, homeschooling, and free full-time online schools offered by both the state and independent organizations.
Not everyone is on board, however.
The Florida Education Association, the state teachers union, says school choice “isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
“All of the rhetoric about about ‘school choice’ only obscures the real choice. Who do we want to control pubic education? Communities, teachers and education professionals, or billionaires and owners of companies like Walmart?”
One of Florida’s largest choice programs does, in fact, involve private funding.
The Tax Credit Scholarship program, or school vouchers, provides state-level tax credits for corporations that contribute money for low-income students to attend private schools.
The program is capped for the 2017-18 school year at nearly $700 million.
For the past three years the FEA tried to kill the voucher program, but last week the Florida Supreme Court ended the challenge by refusing to hear the union’s appeal, handing a significant victory to school choice proponents and 98,000 scholarship students.
On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union accused National School Choice Week supporters of pushing “alternative facts,” and the National Coalition for Public Education said not to “buy the bunk on school choice.”
“Yesterday marked the start of School Choice Week, an event conjured up by the forces that want to divert as much money as possible from the public school system to private (mostly religious) institutions,” the group said.
National School Choice Week organizers say they’re focused on “positive events” that will “draw attention to the need for even greater opportunities for children.”
“Our goal is that every child in Florida will receive a great education, no matter what type of school their parents choose,” Campanella said.
On Wednesday, Gov. Rick Scott declared Jan. 22-28 National School Choice Week in Florida. In doing so, he joined more than 600 governors, mayors and local leaders across the country who publicly embraced school choice this week.
Since 2011, education reform advocates have organized rallies and events each January to raise public awareness about alternatives to traditional public schools. Those include public charter schools, magnet schools, online learning, private schools and homeschooling.
This year’s school choice effort is the largest series of education-related events in U.S. history, according to the official National School Choice Week website.
About 21,400 events are being held across all 50 states, with participation from 16,777 schools.
In Leon County, Fla., which encompasses the state capital, 29 events are taking place at area schools, a School Choice Week spokesperson told Watchdog.org.
But unlike 25 other states, no rallies are planned at the Florida Capitol this year. Perhaps because it’s already one of the most receptive statehouses to education reform initiatives.
“We are thrilled that Gov. Scott has proclaimed National School Choice Week in Florida,” said Andrew Campanella, president of National School Choice Week.
“Florida parents have more options for their kids’ education than parents in most other states, and we hope they will take School Choice Week as an opportunity to talk about their children’s schools with other parents and explore their options,” he said.
Last year, Scott signed landmark legislation allowing parents throughout the state to choose any traditional public school for their children regardless of location — effectively signing “school choice” into law.
As long as there’s room, parents can begin choosing public schools this August.
State law also permits public charter schools, public magnet schools, theme-based schools, homeschooling, and free full-time online schools offered by both the state and independent organizations.
Not everyone is on board, however.
The Florida Education Association, the state teachers union, says school choice “isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
“All of the rhetoric about about ‘school choice’ only obscures the real choice. Who do we want to control pubic education? Communities, teachers and education professionals, or billionaires and owners of companies like Walmart?”
One of Florida’s largest choice programs does, in fact, involve private funding.
The Tax Credit Scholarship program, or school vouchers, provides state-level tax credits for corporations that contribute money for low-income students to attend private schools.
The program is capped for the 2017-18 school year at nearly $700 million.
For the past three years the FEA tried to kill the voucher program, but last week the Florida Supreme Court ended the challenge by refusing to hear the union’s appeal, handing a significant victory to school choice proponents and 98,000 scholarship students.
On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union accused National School Choice Week supporters of pushing “alternative facts,” and the National Coalition for Public Education said not to “buy the bunk on school choice.”
“Yesterday marked the start of School Choice Week, an event conjured up by the forces that want to divert as much money as possible from the public school system to private (mostly religious) institutions,” the group said.
National School Choice Week organizers say they’re focused on “positive events” that will “draw attention to the need for even greater opportunities for children.”
“Our goal is that every child in Florida will receive a great education, no matter what type of school their parents choose,” Campanella said.
