Florida School Boards Association
Tallahassee, FL – Week 7 is in the books. Watch this FSBA Legislative Weekly Update for highlights. Be sure visit the FSBA Session Spotlight Blog and 2017 Legislative Session page for in-depth summaries, resources, and analyses.
For many parents with disabled children in public school systems, the lure of the private school voucher is strong. Vouchers for special needs students have been endorsed by the Trump administration, and they are often heavily promoted by state education departments and by private schools, which rely on them for tuition dollars. So for families…
Florida has channeled billions of taxpayer dollars into scholarships for poor children to attend private schools over the past 15 years, using tax credits to build a laboratory for school choice that the Trump administration holds up as a model for the nation. The voucherlike program, the largest of its kind in the country, helps…
A bill that would expand two of the state’s school-choice programs is heading to the House floor after gaining approval Thursday from the House Education Committee. The proposal (HB 15), sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Sullivan, R-Mount Dora, was amended Thursday to add back provisions that would expand the reach of the Gardiner Scholarship program, aimed…
President Donald Trump will call the nation’s attention to one of Florida’s most controversial school choice policies for the second time this week during a planned visit to a Catholic school in Orlando on Friday. During Trump’s speech to Congress earlier this week, he urged lawmakers “to pass an education bill that funds school choice…
The Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos on Tuesday as education secretary, approving the embattled nominee only with the help of a historic tiebreaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence. Read More
The DeVos nomination moved out of committee today on a 12-11 party vote and now goes to the full Senate, which is expected to confirm her as U.S education secretary. A billionaire school choice advocate from Michigan, DeVos requires a simple majority to win. Read More
A pair of Florida court decisions this week dealt severe blows to traditional public education, in one case upholding corporate tax vouchers for private schools, in another, diminishing the role of local school boards in deciding what charter schools may operate. Read More
The long legal fight against Florida’s corporate tax credit scholarship program appears to be over. The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to hear the Florida Education Association’s petition seeking standing to challenge the program. Read More
Charter schools. Vouchers. Tax-credit scholarships. Education savings accounts. What are these things and how do they relate to school choice? Education Week reporter Arianna Prothero breaks down the different forms of public and private school choice. Read More