Parents of students with special needs set to battle FL teachers union

Parents of students with significant special needs, including autism, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy, are taking on the Florida teachers union over a new educational choice program. Six families from across the state on Thursday are filing a motion to intervene in a lawsuit filed July 16 by the Florida Education Association.

The teachers union is seeking to nullify SB 850, the bill passed by the Legislature last spring that created a new type of K-12 scholarship called a Personal Learning Scholarship Account. The scholarship accounts are limited to students who fall into eight disability categories, and the Legislature set aside enough money to serve roughly 1,800 students.

The families are being represented by Clint Bolick, an attorney with the Goldwater Institute who is nationally known for his work on school choice cases.

SB 850 also modestly expanded the state’s tax credit scholarship program for low-income students. Step Up For Students, which co-hosts this blog, is authorized to administer both programs.

A press conference on the filing is scheduled for 11 a.m. today in Tallahassee. For updates, check back here and/or follow @redefinEDonline and @travispillow on Twitter.


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BY reimaginED staff

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