Q&A of the Day – What’s the top priority for Florida this year? Part 2
Bottom Line: Governor DeSantis dubbed 2020 “The year of the teacher”. That was the theme of the 2020 legislative session. Of course, the pandemic which hit shortly after the governor outlined that agenda, largely cast a shadow over everything else in education last year. Still, record pay raises passed in last year’s session provided Florida’s teachers with a pay scale that’s competitive with the top states in the country. I’d like to see the 2021 session be the year of “Choice”.
Last year the legislature took a big step in the school choice direction as an additional $130 million was set aside for adding an additional 18,000 low-income families into Florida’s school voucher program. Progress is progress. We’ve come a long way since 2006 when the graduation rate stood at 58.8% and the Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor of teachers’ unions which opposed school choice (they blocked the state’s Opportunity Scholarship Program). It’s no coincidence that as Florida’s voucher programs expanded Florida’s academic results improved. According to the National Center for Education Statistics 69% of Floridians using school choice programs are minorities with families living near or below the poverty level. The very people who are most vulnerable and in need of opportunity beyond whatever schools are thrust upon them by a bureaucrat who draws lines on a map.
Last year Florida’s Tax Credit Scholarship Program was the largest in the nation. Participants in the program have proven to be more likely graduate, attend college and graduate from college than nonparticipants. Clearly it works and is most effective for those most in need of opportunity. So, my point is yes, I want to see school choice expanded, but my real goal isn’t just to continue to make incremental process. It’s for complete school choice. We should look at education exactly the opposite of how we do today. What money pays for public education? Ours right? Who chooses where our kids can go to school? Not us. My top priority is for complete school choice.
According to the Florida Department of Education, as of the 2019 school year total per pupil spending equaled $10,856. It’s my belief that every parent should have a voucher for $10,856 per child (or whatever the current total spending is per pupil) to use at any accredited school of their choice. The biggest flaw in our system from my perspective is that we pay taxes into a system for education that then determines what that education will be for us with that money. That’s exactly backwards.
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