Voucher expansion: The House Education Committee approves a bill that would use the state's general revenue to expand a state scholarship program for students to attend private schools. The Family Empowerment Scholarship would be open to about 28,000 students, twice as many as the Senate is proposing, and students from families of four with incomes up to $77,250 would be eligible. That threshold is about $10,000 higher than the Senate's, and it would increase each year. By 2023, any family with an income of up to $96,572 would be eligible. Both chambers' bills are aimed at reducing the 14,000-student waiting list for Florida Tax Credit Scholarships (FTC). Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the FTC program. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. Orlando Sentinel. GateHouse. Florida Phoenix. redefinED. Gradebook. Politico Florida. WFSU.
Bright Futures: If history is a guide, the Senate's proposed bill to raise test scores needed to qualify for Bright Futures scholarships is likely to disproportionately affect minority students. In 2010, Florida began bumping up the standards to qualify for Bright Futures. Between 2013-2014, when the new standards were fully in effect, and 2017-2018, the number of black students qualifying dropped by 53 percent, from 10,587 to 5,582. In that same time period, the number of white and Hispanic students qualifying fell 39 percent. Florida Phoenix. (more…)
Bullying scholarship verification: The Florida Department of Education is advising school districts not to verify students' bullying claims before deciding whether to award them Hope Scholarships to attend different public schools or private schools. Doing so would violate state law, the DOE told superintendents in a memo that also warned that "any district that is adding this requirement is in violation of statute and administrative rule and will be dealt with according to law.” The Pasco County School District, which had announced it was considering verifying incidents before offering the scholarship, has abandoned that idea. Gradebook.
Teachers protest: Teachers around the state rallied Monday for more financial support for schools from the Legislature. The “fund our future” events were organized by the Florida Education Association, the state's largest teachers union. The union wants a boost in per-student spending of $743, or about 10 percent, to better fund schools and would allow higher pay to combat the shortage of teachers statewide. The 60-day legislative session begins today, and Gov. Ron DeSantis will deliver his State of the State message at 11 a.m. Orlando Sentinel. Keynoter. Florida Phoenix. Florida Politics. WKMG. WINK. Daytona Beach News-Journal. (more…)
Federal scholarship proposal: A $5 billion-a-year federal tax credit scholarship program is proposed by U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. If approved by Congress, the program would offer federal tax credits for corporations that contribute to groups that give students scholarships to private schools. Similar tax credit scholarship program exist in 18 states, including Florida. Step Up For Students (SUFS), which hosts this blog, helps administer the Florida program. The 74. Florida Politics. WLRN. Education Week. Since Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his intention to eliminate the 13,000-families waiting list for Florida Tax Credit Scholarships, SUFS is receiving about 800 applications a day. redefinED.
Legislative session preview: Education funding, the expansion of school choice and security in the state's schools are among the top 10 issues to watch in the 60-day legislative session that begins Tuesday. News Service of Florida. State Rep. Kim Daniels, D-Jacksonville, will miss the opening of the session to make an appearance on the 700 Club, a religious program on the Christian Broadcasting Network. Florida Politics. (more…)
