While school choice in Florida has continued to mature, the array of options – and the information parents receive – can vary greatly from one school district to the next.
That’s one of the findings from a recent report produced by the state Department of Education, which is intended to measure school districts’ compliance with state school choice policies.
The data can be surprising. The proliferation of charter schools might get a lot of ink in Florida’s seven largest urban districts. But as a percentage of enrollment, they play a larger role in a handful of rural areas and exurban enclaves.
In Franklin County, a single charter school serves nearly half the district’s students. In Glades County, a K-8 devoted to preserving the traditions of the Seminole Tribe serves nearly 15 percent of the student population – a larger proportion than urban Miami-Dade (where charters serve about 13 percent of students) or Palm Beach (7 percent).
The enrollment figures are from last fall, and they’re derived from the last enrollment survey of the 2012-13 school year. They paint a nuanced picture of a state where more than a million students take part in some kind of educational choice program.
But busting stereotypes is not the report’s primary purpose. The Legislature commissioned the report in the fine print of last year’s state budget to gauge how well school districts provide students with access to choice options, and information about them.
For example, state law requires school districts to inform students about acceleration options available to them, including courses provided through Florida Virtual School. The report notes concerns that some districts may still be steering children toward their own virtual course offerings, instead of Florida Virtual School.
All but one of the 62 districts that responded to the survey said they inform parents about McKay scholarships for students with disabilities. On the other hand, half of them said they informed parents about the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program, which is administered by Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog. Districts are required by law to notify parents about the former, but not the latter.
The survey information comes with an important caveat: It is in some cases self-reported by the districts. The department gleaned other facts through a review of the district’s student progression plans.
Still, the report is worth a look, and it’s another window into the tensions and the diversity of parental choice in Florida.
