Rally-goers fill the streets in front of Florida's Supreme Court building.
"My grades got better, and so did my behavior," said Gaitan, now a high school senior contemplating college. "Here I got my focus, and started paying attention more."
Stories like Gaitan's are familiar among school choice supporters. On Tuesday, she was surrounded by a sea of students, many with stories sounding a lot like hers, as some 10,000 people rallied in Tallahassee to defend the scholarships that make academic turnarounds like hers possible. (more…)
Martin Luther King, III leads a march for tax credit scholarships in Tallahassee.
Thousands of parents, children, educators and activists rallied near Florida's State Capitol Building this morning. Their message: Support the nation's largest private school choice program, which helps more than 78,000 low-income students afford private school tuition, and end the lawsuit challenging its constitutionality.
Martin Luther King, III addressed a throng of more than 10,000 people on Duval Street behind the State Capitol Building.
"I just find it interesting that in our country we have the gall to debate about how our most precious resource — our children — are treated," he said.
"My dad, I don’t really know if I can actually speak to what he would speak today, but I can say is that he would always stand up for justice," he added. "This is about justice."
Before the rally began, cheers rang out as hundreds of buses pulled in to Tallahassee's Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.
"What do we want?" asked students and teachers from New Life Academy in Fort Myers. "Choices!"
For some parents at the small Christian school, choices meant access to a school where educators recognized their potential. Principal Denise Johnson said she started the school three years ago, with nine students and basically no revenue.
The scholarships helped her school grow to 51 students, as it attracted parents like Loida Gonzalez. She said she started looking for options after her daughter, Jenny Gomez, was told in second grade that she didn't know how to read. Jenny's teachers grouped her with special-education students, and told her she had attention deficit disorder.
Students from James E. Sampson Memorial School in Fort Pierce get ready to rally.
Thousands of parents, students, educators and activists are expected to rally for school choice today in Florida's capital.
They plan to support the state's tax credit scholarships, which help some 78,000 low-income students attend K-12 private schools, and denounce the lawsuit challenging the program. According to multiple media reports, state capitol police say they're preparing for crowds of up to 10,000. We'll be providing continuous updates below. See our developing story here.
https://twitter.com/emily_bard477/status/689525710512324608
The Florida Tax Credit - Today there are 13,369 Catholic students who receive support -1,380 are students in our diocese. #dropthesuit
— Cristo Rey Tampa Salesian High School (@cristoreytampa) January 19, 2016
Update (1:08 p.m.) The statewide teachers union has responded to the rally with a statement saying it will not back down from its lawsuit. Also, here's coverage from the Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau, the Orlando Sentinel and Sunshine State News.
MLK III for #schoolchoice #dropthesuit pic.twitter.com/2pQTXtmPaU
— Paul Dauphin (@PaulDauphin) January 19, 2016
https://twitter.com/StrategyShawn/status/689505390028001280
That's why we're here today, because we're standing on the right side of what's right for our children - @OfficialMLK3 P2-4 #dropthesuit
— Matt Frendewey (@mattfrendewey) January 19, 2016
Update (12:30 p.m.): Martin Luther King, III addressed the rally with a statement of purpose.
"Over 10,000 children and families have journeyed to your state capital here in Tallahassee to really say, not just to the union, but to say to any and everyone that is listening: Drop the suit," he said.
He added: "No one is saying that public education should not be funded. What we are saying is families and kids need options. One option will not work."
After singing "We Shall Overcome," the crowd is starting to disperse.
Thousands rallying in Tallahassee for the tax credit scholarship, waiting for @OfficialMLK3 to speak! #dropthesuit pic.twitter.com/z133Kfhu4m
— Sara Clements (@SaraSClements) January 19, 2016
Parents and school leaders ready to march! #RallyInTally #DropTheSuit pic.twitter.com/64XOErsD5t
— Hispanic CREO (@HispanicCREO) January 19, 2016
#dropthesuit pic.twitter.com/nAHlb1BKCa
— Nelson Perdomo (@PerdomoNelson) January 19, 2016
https://twitter.com/ByKristenMClark/status/689495398457573376
Thousands march in Tallahassee.
Update (11:38 a.m.) Bishop Victor Curry, an influential South Florida pastor, called the lawsuit by the statewide teachers' union and other groups "misguided."
Noting the Florida Education Association has recognized his advocacy for public education, he said a lower-court judge threw out the legal challenge in part because the union could not show scholarships hurt public schools.
"The tax credit scholarship, which is now 15 years old, is an equalizer," he told the audience. In a state that provides multiple school options to families, he wondered why a scholarship program for low-income parents was under threat.
"Maybe they think we're an easy target," he said.
Update (11:20 a.m.) Supporters have marched to a massive rally near the Florida State Capitol Building.
Martin Luther King III joins scholarship supporters before a march near the Florida State Capitol.
Update (10:31): Thousands of supporters have arrived, and Martin Luther King III is here.
Latrisha Williams quickly asked for a photo opp with her family.
"I think it's inspirational that he is speaking today," said the Bunnell mom who brought her four children to the rally. "It shows our kids that they matter, this scholarship matters and our kids matter."
All four of her children receive the scholarship to attend First Baptist Christian Academy of Palm Coast. Two buses with about 40 families and school administrators traveled to Tallahassee early this morning to participate.
"I am a parent and advocate for choice," Williams said. "I feel like choice matters."
Update (9:41 a.m): Sally Noel and her son, Jannai Noel-Smith, 9, boarded the bus to Tallahassee at 12:30 am this morning at their school, West Palm Beach Junior Academy. They arrived at 8 am.
"I don't think I slept," Noel said between leading cheers and chants to support the scholarship.
Noel came to help convince the teachers' union to drop the suit.
"A lot of kids depend on this scholarship, she said. "If their scholarship was taken away from them, a lot of kids will be forced to go to schools we don't really want them in. We just want choices. We want choices."
About 43 students at the school use the scholarship, Principal Glenn Timmons said.
"The children are benefiting from it," he said. "The parents are happy because they have a choice and they see their children's lives transformed. And that's always good."
Update (9:06 a.m.): When his family moved from Palm Beach Gardens last year, 15-year-old Joey Tenore left his public school for Golden Rule Academy in Fort Pierce.
Students from West Palm Beach Junior Academy arrive in Tallahassee.
"It was an adjustment going from a public school with 2,000 students to a private school with 250 students," the ninth-grader said.
Joey came to today's rally because he wants to support his new school and the program that gives him the opportunity to get a better education.
"There are a lot if great people here who wouldn't be here without the scholarship - including me," said Joey, who serves on the student government council for his class.
Golden Rule students, parents and administrators boarded their bus at 11 p.m. Monday, hitting the road at 1 a.m. this morning to make the rally.
Students from Miami's Worshipers House off Prayer Academy arrive in Tallahassee.
Principal Frederick Williams said about three-quarters of his schools 207 students use tax credit scholarships.
"It has been good to us," he said. "It's allowed us to pull in families we wouldn't otherwise be able to reach. We literally bus kids from county line to county line."
Golden Rule has also opened a second campus to accommodate the growth, Williams said.
Update (8:40 a.m.): The first buses, from Miami's Worshipers House of Prayer, arrived at 7:35 a.m.
This morning, temperatures were a very un-Miami-like 34 degrees. More than 200 buses from around the state are expected to arrive at the Leon County Civic Center.
Original post
https://twitter.com/SPC_Lions/status/688081104125980672/photo/1
Thousands of parents, students, educators and activists are expected to rally for school choice today in Florida's capital.
They plan to support the state's tax credit scholarships, which help some 78,000 low-income students attend private schools, and denounce the lawsuit challenging the program. According to multiple media reports, state capitol police say they're preparing for crowds of up to 10,000.
Martin Luther King, III, who is scheduled to headline the rally, helped frame the event in an interview with Politico Florida.
King has been a national advocate for tax-credit scholarships since the late 1990s. But he was compelled to join the fight in Florida because he has worked with religious leaders in the state, he said.
He stressed that the debate shouldn’t be political.
He identifies as a Democrat but sometimes agrees with Republicans on certain issues, he said. While Republicans championed Florida’s voucher programs, Democrats have supported similar policies elsewhere. King specifically referenced a legislative fight over tax-credit scholarships in New York, where Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, has been a proponent.
“It is partisan, but it shouldn’t be. That’s part of the problem,” he said. “According to who brings an issue to the table, people will get up and support it. It shouldn’t be based on that. It should be based on whether the kids are performing or not."
National education advocates and some of Florida's leading clergy have reflected on the words and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., and what they mean for school choice movement. Their words offer a backdrop as thousands of parents, students, educators and activists prepare to rally in Tallahassee on Tuesday.
In the Tampa Tribune, Rev. Manuel Sykes highlights the upcoming rally, which Martin Luther King, III is scheduled to headline.
Explicitly racist laws no longer segregate our children, but yesterday’s curbs on educational freedom have been replaced by new barriers that are just as unjust. Low-income parents are awakening to this reality, which is why thousands of them will descend on Tallahassee on Tuesday to send a message to those who defend such a system.
Unlike more affluent parents, low-income parents can’t just move to suburbs where public schools have more resources, more experienced teachers, and atmospheres more conducive to learning. These schools are not “public” like our parks and libraries. They are reserved for the families who can afford to live near them.
At The Seventy-Four, Derrell Bradford recalls King's lament of "white moderates," whom he came to see as a primary barrier to progress. (more…)
