A key player in legislation to expand school choice scholarships in Florida said Monday he will fight to keep scholarship students from having to take the same standardized tests as their public school counterparts.
The comments from state Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, are squarely at odds with calls for a same-test mandate by Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, and suggest positions may be hardening over a critical potential piece of the legislation.
“I do want to see any mandates to require the state test,” Diaz, who is shepherding the bill for House Speaker Will Weatherford, said during a live chat with redefinED.
“I plan to fight to keep away from any mandate of state testing that would stymy innovation at these schools,” he continued. “Since there is no current new state test in Florida this would be a mistake. I believe that as we work this (through) the process we will find a solution that will show this program has accountability without placing it in a one-size-fits-all box.”
Diaz’s comments came on the eve of the bill’s hearing Tuesday in the House Choice & Innovation Subcommittee. So far, no testing language has surfaced with the House bill or its Senate counterpart, but Gaetz has indicated that additional testing requirements are a priority. Currently, tax credit scholarship students are required to take state-approved, norm-referenced tests in reading and math, but not the same tests taken by public school students.
Also during the chat, Diaz said he believed the bill will still earn some bipartisan support, as similar legislation has in recent years. No Democrats voted in favor of the bill during its first stop two weeks ago in the House Finance & Taxation Subcommittee.
“I know many members of the Democratic Caucus in the House believe this is a great program,” Diaz said. Asked why that support hadn’t translated into yes votes, he said, “I feel that the Democratic leadership has decided to take a stance against school choice bills this session even though school choice programs like the FTC Scholarship overwhelmingly help minorities from low income families.”
Full disclosure: The scholarship program is administered by Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog.
Diaz also weighed in on other issues, including one bill to help special-needs students through education savings accounts and another to streamline charter school applications. To see his comments in full, check the transcript below.
[…] with the Tax Credit Scholarship program. (See arguments given by House sponsor Manny Diaz here and Patrick Gibbons, who is a writer for redefinedonline and Public Affairs Manager for Step Up […]
[…] Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah, is the House sponsor. He said yesterday during an online chat at redefinED that the program allows parents of “vulnerable” children who are struggling in school […]
The legislator doesn’t even attempt to hide his hypocrisy. He does not want to stymie private school innovation through mandating high stakes testing but that is what he is mandating on my kids. Furthermore he says he doesn’t want a one-size-fits all system but that is exactly what this guy sports in the schools my children attend. I have news for this legislator. There are 2 million public school children whose parents are tired of being treated as 2nd class to the few who are in corporate charters and private schools. I say it is time to file a lawsuit against the entire voucher system. The constitution of FL calls for a U N I F O R M system of free public schools. There is nothing uniform about the attempt to create private schools financed on my dime that do things differently from the schools my children attend!!!!!!