After hearing from parents, a Florida House panel approved private school choice legislation unanimously.
With a few tweaks made this morning, HB 15 would expand the pool of children who qualify for Gardiner scholarships, which provide education savings accounts for children with special needs.
The bill, now ready for a vote on the House floor, would expand eligibility for the program to include children who are deaf or visually impaired, as well as those with rare diseases or traumatic brain injuries.
The bill would prevent double-billing for services families have already paid for using Medicaid or health insurance. It would also increase the per-student funding amount for Florida’s tax credit scholarship program. Step Up For Students, which publishes this blog, helps administer both scholarship programs.
“This bill specifically helps our most vulnerable students,” bill sponsor Rep. Jennifer Sullivan, R-Mount Dora, told the House Education Committee. “Those that find themselves in financial obstacles and also physical obstacles. This bill addresses both of those to set them up for success in the future.”
The provisions dealing with Gardiner scholarships were removed last week, but Sullivan put them back in.
Rep. Elizabeth Porter, R-Lake City, and Shevrin Jones, D-West Park, said they had concerns about expanding eligibility for Gardiner scholarships, which could raise the cost of the program or leave insufficient funds to serve families with the greatest needs.
The Senate’s budget proposal would increase funding for Gardiner scholarships by $34 million, or roughly 46 percent. The House’s spending plan would keep the program’s funding level, at just above $73 million.
“It gives me great concern that students who really need this will not be able to get the Gardiner scholarship,” Jones said.
Rep. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, who oversees the education budget, said lawmakers would continue seeking funding increases to avoid waiting lists for the program. He said he didn’t want the Legislature deciding whether one child was more deserving of support than another.
Daniel Whitmore, a parent of two children with severe autism diagnoses from Brevard County, said the scholarships made a difference in his children’s lives.
“The success we have seen in just a short time is nothing short of amazing,” he said, explaining one of his sons made progress in reading after receiving the Gardiner scholarship because he was able to attend a school where his parents could customize a learning program for him.
Tiki Freeman, from Taylor County, said as a single mother it would be impossible for her to pay private school tuition for her children. She said tax credit scholarships helped both of her children excel while attending Next Generation Christian Academy.
“My son has received many awards last year including the principal’s award … and the school is encouraging and helping my son to prepare for dual enrollment in college,” she said.
Rep. Larry Lee, D-Port St. Lucie, said he was inspired by the parents’ testimony, which helped marshall unanimous support for the bill.
“While I do have some problems with some aspects of the bill, I cannot not afford you the opportunity to provide what your child needs,” he said. “We should do all that we can to provide opportunities for all children to learn, especially our special needs students. Someone once said, ‘We shouldn’t let perfect get in the way of good.’ While this may not be a perfect bill, it is a good bill.”
