In vouchers, No. 1 and climbing

Gov. Charlie Crist has cemented Florida's status as the leading voucher state by expanding the corporate tax credit scholarship program. Crist quietly signed the expansion bill yesterday, according to a press release sent out at 5:50 p.m.

The new law expands the amount corporations can annually contribute to the program from $88 million to $118 million. Supporters say that's enough to give private-school scholarships to another 5,000 low-income kids. The program currently serves about 20,000. (To read more, click here.)

Even before the expansion, Florida was tops among states, with 38,855 voucher recipients, according to the Alliance for School Choice. Pennsylvania is No. 2, with 38,046, followed by Arizona with 27,734.

Also yesterday, Crist signed SB 1908, which among things changes the way high schools will be graded. To read more, see this St. Petersburg Times story here.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

'An unfortunate development'

Teachers unions and their traditional allies filed suit against Amendment 9 two weeks ago, but they aren't the only ones taking issue. A couple of prominent education researchers also see something wrong here.

Jay Greene and Frederick Hess can hardly be accused of being fellow travelers. Greene is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Hess directs education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. But neither are fans of the "65 percent solution." And neither likes the way Amendment 9 – pushed by Jeb Bush stalwarts on the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission - melds the 65 percent idea with a different policy issue involving vouchers.

"It confuses the issues (and voters)," Greene, best known in Florida for his research regarding vouchers, told the Gradebook via email. Two years ago, Greene laid out his objections to the 65 percent idea in this piece in National Review.

Hess also tore into the 65 percent solution two years ago. He told the Gradebook it's "highly unfortunate" that Amendment 9 has linked 65 percent and vouchers.

"The irony here is that 65% - which is probably a bad substantive idea – is being used with the aim of carrying the voucher proposal, which I find a good idea but one that tends to fare poorly in referenda," Hess wrote in an e-mail. "So while I understand the tactical politics, I think it is an unfortunate development."

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Jeb, vouchers, Martians and food fights

So where does former Gov. Jeb Bush stand on universal vouchers – the idea that all students should get vouchers? Ultimately, is that the best way to get more kids the education they need? We don't know.

The Gradebook asked the former governor at the Orlando summit yesterday, but Bush didn't say yes or no. Maybe Bush has answered this question before, but if so, we haven't seen his response.

We weren't gunning for a gotcha. The question was intended as a starting point: Will more vouchers mean more competition and more improvement? Does Florida have enough vouchers to maximize competition and improvement? Should it wait to see what more research shows before it offers more? (Are these reasonable questions?)

We also thought it relevant given that voucher opponents routinely bring up the Trojan Horse argument about Florida's current voucher programs, which are targeted to poor, minority and disabled kids. How in the world could anyone be against them? Because, opponents say, it's step one towards the vouchers-for-everyone that some folks do see as a solution.

Read on for Bush's response in its entirety.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Does voucher amendment hide the ball?

Did the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission stack the deck with Amendment 9 – which deals with both public funding for private schools and the "65 percent plan" – when it put this title over the ballot question: "REQUIRING 65 PERCENT OF SCHOOL FUNDING FOR CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION; STATE'S DUTY FOR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION"?

Voucher opponents, who filed suit against Amendments 7 and 9 this morning in Tallahassee (see the St. Petersburg Times story on that here), say yes.

"A more neutral title that did not seek to capitalize on the perceived popularity of setting a 65% floor on funding for classroom instruction while 'hiding the ball' about the voucher proposal would have identified both of the proposals in the same way," the plaintiffs argue in another document filed this morning.

"For example, it might have identified only the general subject matter of both: 'Allocation of school district funding; state's duty for children's education.' Or, the TBRC could have written a title that described the chief purpose of both proposals: 'Requiring 65 percent of school funding for classroom instruction; allowing state funding of private schools.' "

To see the lawsuit, click here. To see related court filings, click here, here and here.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Voucher lawsuit to be filed

A coalition of state education groups will file suit tomorrow in Leon Circuit Court against two proposed constitutional amendments that would insulate private-school vouchers against court challenges. According to a press release from the state teachers union, the suit will argue that the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission exceeded its constitutional authority when it placed Amendments 7 and 9 on the November ballot, and that Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning should remove them.

The plaintiffs include representatives of the Florida Education Association, Florida School Boards Association, Florida Association of District School Superintendents, Florida Association of School Administrators and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. A press conference is slated for 10 a.m. tomorrow.

Split decision on vouchers

The official polls say Floridians don't like school vouchers, though they'd stomach them to see 65 percent of education funding dedicated to the classroom. Our informal survey shows that Gradebook readers are fairly evenly split on the issue of using state money to cover private school expenses.

We asked, "Should Florida use taxpayer money to subsidize private school vouchers?" You said:

• Yes, it's my money and I should be able to send my kids where I choose. 272 votes - 49%
• No, the state should fully support the free public education system and not dabble in private education. 260 votes - 47%
• Forget about schools. I need health care relief and fast. 19 votes - 3%

Our new question focuses on graduation. A recent column in the Chronicle of Higher Education posited that a bachelor's degree is "America's most overrated product." We'd like to know what you think. And, as always, if you have any ideas for future questions, or any other thoughts about the Gradebook in general, please send an e-mail to solochek@sptimes.com.

Tricks and chicanery

Putting vouchers and the 65 percent plan in the same constitutional amendment is "just plain wrong," House Minority Leader Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, writes on his blog today in response to this morning's poll results. The poll found Florida voters were leaning against one of the voucher amendments proposed by the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission but leaning towards the other - with the difference being that the second one is hitched to an initiative, widely derided as a gimmick, that would require schools to spend at least 65 percent of their budgets in the classroom.

"While I recognize that Governor Bush (the invisible hand responsible for the measure) and others may be honestly passionate about school vouchers, it is less than honest and unbecoming for those given power and a public trust to intentionally try to trick voters," Gelber writes. "If former Governor Bush believes he is right on the merits and on principle, then he should support putting the measure up for a fair debate and an up or down vote, rather than resorting to chicanery to prevail."

Stay tuned. The latest round in The Great Florida Voucher Battle is just beginning to heat up ...

Poll: Voucher support hinges on class spending

A new Quinnipiac University poll shows that 55 percent of Floridians oppose tax-supported school vouchers on their own.

But the support rises to 63 percent in favor of vouchers if they are tied to a proposed requirement (to appear on November's ballot) that 65 percent of schools' budgets be spent in classrooms.

Quinnipiac polled 1,625 Florida voters from May 27 to June 1 with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percentage points. The poll also found 61 percent of Floridians approve of the job Gov. Charlie Crist, former education commissioner, is doing.

A second opinion on McKay vouchers

If you think McKay vouchers are working because of a recent analysis by researchers Jay Greene and Marcus Winters, think again, another researcher says. John T. Yun of the University of California at Santa Barbara says the pair's report is based on "vague and flawed statistical analyses" and "should be viewed with extreme skepticism."

Greene and Winters concluded McKay vouchers for special education students – which served nearly 19,000 students in Florida this year - were having a positive, academic effect on disabled students who remain in public schools. Here's their report. Here's Yun's response.

Yun reviewed the report for the Think Tank Review Project, which you can read more about here.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Cream skimming?

Sunday's story in the St. Petersburg Times about corporate tax-credit vouchers mentioned the study that's underway to determine how well voucher kids do academically. But while we wait for the results, the recently released baseline report offers this noteworthy nugget:

Despite the fears of some voucher critics, the CTC program does not appear to be "cream skimming" higher-performing students out of public school. At least not yet.

Looking at 2006-2007 norm-referenced test scores for students in the CTC program versus the same subgroups in public schools, University of Florida researcher David Figlio (soon to be a Northwestern researcher, shown on the left) found that on average, voucher kids scored considerably lower. "It does not appear that there is 'cream skimming' into voucher schools," Figlio told The Gradebook via e-mail. "In fact, if anything the opposite may be true."

Figlio, who the Department of Education selected to do the study, said he will study this question in more detail as he analyzes test score gains of voucher versus non-voucher kids. (Putting together the baseline report was step one in the process.) He expects to have results by early 2009.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

"Genuinely conflicted"

Are Democrats warming to vouchers? House Minority Leader Dan Gelber (left), D-Miami Beach, says yes, to a point: "You can say some Democrats are genuinely conflicted" about some voucher programs, he told the Gradebook today.

Last week, 13 House Democrats and five Senate Democrats (nearly a third of all Democrats in the Legislature, and more than ever before) voted yes on a $30 million expansion for corporate tax credit scholarships. A steady erosion of opposition? Maybe. But Gelber noted that many Democrats strongly opposed the Opportunity Scholarships program – the one that was struck down by the Florida Supreme Court in 2006 – and yet supported McKay vouchers for children with disabilities.

He attributed the shift on CTC scholarships to several things: intense lobbying by advocacy groups; the fact that the scholarships go to low-income and predominantly minority kids; and what the Republican agenda has done to public schools.

Gelber said parents of scholarship recipients told lawmakers time and again that they didn't want their kids to take the FCAT and liked the smaller classes that private schools offer.

"To a certain extent, I don't know if you're seeing people like the program or you're seeing Democrats throw their hands up with what Republicans have put in our public schools which to some extent have made these private schools more attractive," Gelber said.

For the record, Gelber said he is not conflicted. He voted no on the expansion.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Researchers: McKay vouchers working

Prolific and sometimes controversial education researchers Jay Greene and Marcus Winters have a new report out on Florida vouchers, and this one concludes the McKay program for disabled students is having a positive, academic effect on the vast majority of disabled students who remain in public schools.

In an April 29 op-ed in the Washington Times, the pair say they're not sure why that is: "It could be that public schools saw that their disabled students were leaving for private alternatives in search of a better education and responded to the challenge by improving their efforts. On the other hand, if special education students are as much of a financial burden for public schools as some argue, then as students leave public schools may be better able to utilize their resources to help the students who remain."

And then again, they say, maybe we shouldn't sweat the why's: "From a policy perspective, the reason for the effect doesn't matter. What we know from our study is that rather than harming public schools, vouchers improve the education that they provide to their disabled students."

To read about a previous Greene and Winters voucher report – and the response it got – see this St. Petersburg Times story.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

"The bottom line has to be the child"

First, 8-foot alligators start showing up in kitchens. Now Florida Democrats are voting for vouchers?!

It's no surprise the bill to expand corporate-tax-credit vouchers is on the verge of passing the Republican-dominated Legislature. But it is something of a shocker that 13 House Democrats voted for it, including Rep. Bill Heller (left) of St. Petersburg and four others from Tampa Bay.

Heller told The Gradebook he was torn. But after voting against the bill in committee, he visited the Yvonne C. Reed Christian School in St. Petersburg and talked to some of the parents who use vouchers to send their kids there. One mother him her son was failing in public school, but is doing better now. Heller was convinced she was right.

"I'm a strong advocate for public school education, and I'm not necessarily a strong advocate for vouchers," Heller said. "But if this gives a parent a chance to provide a different education, it's hard to argue against it. You can't put a price on that. What's the price on a child who turns himself around?"

Heller did not entirely dismiss the arguments, often made by fellow Democrats (30 of whom voted against the CTC bill), that vouchers divert money from public schools. But he said those concerns were outweighed by the benefits. "The bottom line has to be the child," he said. "If good things are happening for the child, then you can justify it."

The other Tampa Bay-area Democrats voting for the bill were Rep. Janet Long, D-Seminole, Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, Rep. Betty Reed, D-Tampa and Rep. Michael Scionti, D-Tampa.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Voucher bill wins House nod

Legislation that would vastly expand the state's corporate income tax credit scholarship program, adding $30-million to the budget, passed out of the House on an 86-30 vote. A House analysis projects the measure would save the state $5.7-million in fiscal 2009 by decreasing the number of students in the public school system.

A similar bill is moving through the Senate. Critics have blasted the underlying concept of growing the program at a time when lawmakers are reducing public education funding by about $1-billion. But those arguments have yet to carry much sway in the halls of Tallahassee.

Notably, eight of the 18 members of the Black Caucus - Oscar Braynon II, Ronald Brise, Jennifer Carroll, Charles Chestnut IV, Terry Fields, Matt Meadows, Daryl Rouson and Betty Reed - supported the bill. Five other Democrats - Bill Heller, Janet Long, Ron Saunders, Michael Scionti and Darren Soto - also backed the legislation. Not a single Dem backed the program when it was first created in 2001.

Vouchers headed to voters

Former Gov. Jeb Bush and school vouchers advocates scored a major victory this morning, when the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission approved a ballot proposal that would enshrine voucher protections in the state Constitution, our sister blog the Buzz reports.

The plan addresses part of the constitution calling for a uniform system of free public schools and is part of a two-pronged effort to redeem Bush's Opportunity Scholarships. It had been defeated at an April 4 meeting by one vote but resurfaced through some procedural maneuvering that helped gain support for the property tax swap. See the full post here.

Former governor, Miami superintendent debate vouchers

Former governor Jeb Bush, who introduced vouchers to Florida's education system, has begun the drumbeat to allow the state to spend tax dollars school vouchers, even if the money goes to religious institutions. It's no idle question, as the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission will place the issue of "direct support" before voters in November.

"A quality education can change a life. It can lift a child out of poverty and provide young people with the skills to achieve their dreams," Bush wrote to open a a guest column in today's Miami Herald. "Knowing this, how can anyone deny a poor child the right to a quality education?"

In a counterpoint column, former Miami-Dade superintendent Merrett Stierheim calls the state's school choice programs a "sham" and and the state's education funding system an "abomination, amid multiple abominations."

The Taxation and Budget Reform Commission proposal "is also designed, intentionally in some cases, to further weaken Florida's local public education systems," Stierheim writes. "In short, the Legislature will, by expanding corporate scholarships, further demoralize and financially weaken our public schools.

Voucher proposal fails by one vote

The Taxation and Budget Reform Commission fell one vote short of passing a measure to further entrench school vouchers in Florida.

The plan would have addressed part of the state Constitution calling for a uniform system of free public schools and was part of a two-pronged effort to redeem former Gov. Jeb Bush's Opportunity Scholarships.

The vote was 16-9, and 17 are needed to put something on the November ballot. "This is a good day for Florida," said teacher union president Andy Ford. "The commission has taken a serious look at what they were about to do and they realized it was wrong."

See our sister blog the Buzz for the full report.

Florida tops in school choice participation

The Alliance for School Choice has put out its annual yearbook, and for those of you who like vouchers, corporate income tax credit scholarships and the like, the publication brings Florida some bragging rights.

As the nation's enrollment in choice programs has risen 84 percent over five years, with more than 150,000 kids now participating, Florida's programs have led the way. For 2007, Florida had 38,855 scholarship recipients, first among all states. Pennsylvania was close behind with 38,046. Arizona, Wisconsin and Ohio rounded out the top 5.

"The status quo of our nation's public education system is not working for far too many children, particularly those who are minority and low-income," alliance president Charles R. Hokanson said in a news release. "These children should not have to wait for public schools to slowly improve; they need high-quality options now.

Florida's system is poised to grow even larger. Senate Bill 1440 and its house counterpart (HB 653), which would expand eligibility for the scholarship program by thousands, are moving through the Legislature with a growing number of black Democrats on board. The House bill is slated to be heard in the Policy and Budget Council tomorrow. The Senate bill is headed to the Finance and Tax Committee.

Voucher bill clears Senate committee

It wasn't unanimous, but the Senate Pre-K-12 Education Committee approved a bill (SB 1440) to greatly expand the number of students who may participate in the Corporate Income Tax Credit Scholarship, which are often referred to as vouchers although technically they aren't.

The bill boasts broad, bipartisan support, with senators including incoming Democratic leader Al Lawson (left) and former Republican Senate president Jim King (right) among the 15 sponsors (we've been told that's more sponsors than any other bill before the Senate). Speakers in favor of the legislation included a single white dad from Jacksonville and a single black mom from Miami, both of whom talked about the value that the program has brought to their children's education.

Sen. Don Gaetz, the bill's primary sponsor, said the legislation if approved would save the state money on both operational and capital expenses in public education. The private schools accepting the scholarships take less money per student than the public schools ($3,750 vs. $7,200), he noted, and they make it so that the public schools don't have to provide seats for the kids.

He faced some questions from Sen. Ted Deutch, a Delray Beach Democrat, about why students in the private schools don't have to meet the Sunshine State Standards or take the FCAT. Sen. Larcenia Bullard, a Miami Democrat, also raised concerns about the state sending money to private schools when teachers are threatened with no raises in the coming year. The Florida Education Association came down firmly against the bill.

But Gaetz insisted the bill was about doing right by students, not by the system, as he closed his arguments in favor. That position won the day.

Moving right along

While lawmakers kick around their proposals to make the class-size amendment less onerous - the House wants to create flexibility through an "emergency" circumstances provision, while the Senate is looking at delaying implementation a year - the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission is pressing ahead with the fix that many in the Legislature prefer but can't accomplish, a referendum asking voters to abandon classroom counts for school-wide averages instead.

The commission's proposal won approval at its second committee this week, and with a wider margin than it received at its first stop. Just one member of the Planning and Budgetary Processes Committee, Pinellas teachers union leader Jade Moore (right), opposed the idea, which seven other members supported. The Governmental Services Committee gave the concept a narrower 5-3 blessing.

That means the proposed referendum already has 12 supporters of the 17 it needs to make its way to the November ballot. The full commission could take up the measure as early as March 17.

A second proposal, one that has drawn attention as the voucher amendment, also won support this week from the Planning and Budgetary Processes Committee and is on its way to the full panel, too. This measure would amend the constitution to allow Floridians to receive publicly-funded services including schooling from private providers. Moore and former House member Carlos Lacasa of Miami provided the no votes.

The commission, which meets every 20 years, must complete its work by May 4. Stay tuned.

Vouchers still dead

Our sister blog the Buzz reports that the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission didn't bite on a proposal to ask voters to put vouchers into the state's constitution.

Tax commission member Roberto Martinez, a Coral Gables lawyer and member of the State Board of Education, sponsored the new proposal, saying that he wasn't criticizing the court, but that Florida voters have never had the opportunity to speak on the issue. The Government Services Committee killed the proposal, led by opposition from lawyer Martha Barnett, former Democratic Sen. Les Miller, Pinellas teacher union leader Jade Moore and former GOP Senate President Jim Scott.

For more information about the proposal, click here.

Win one, lose one, win another one

Voucher supporters who have been courting black Democrats for years picked up a key vote two weeks ago in the form of Rep. Frank Peterman, D-St. Petersburg, (see Gradebook post here), only to lose it days later when Gov. Crist made Peterman the new head of the Department of Juvenile Justice. But if they were upset, it wasn't for long.

In recent days, another black Democrat, Rep. Charles S. “Chuck” Chestnut IV (left), has signed on as a co-sponsor of HB 653, the same voucher bill Peterman was supporting. At this point, you have to wonder: How many other black Democrats are waiting to buck their party?

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

A weekend interview with ...

... John Kirtley (second from left), vice-chairman of the board of the Alliance for School Choice and head of the Florida Education Freedom Foundation. The Alliance For School Choice is a national organization, and the Florida Education Freedom Foundation a state based one, that have the same mission: bringing more K-12 educational options to low income parents. Kirtley spoke via e-mail with reporter Jeff Solochek about school choice and corporate tax credit scholarships in Florida. Please note, relating to the wording of the questions, Kirtley stated, "I strongly object to the word 'voucher' in the questions, since it is such a demonized word. It's not even technically correct. The tax credit scholarship isn't a voucher, while Bright Futures and VPK are."

What is the importance of education vouchers and the corporate tax credit program you helped establish?

Many people are stunned to learn that less than 50% of minority children graduate high school in Florida. According the Harvard Civil Rights Project [recently moved to UCLA], if you are a black male in our state, you have a 38% chance of graduating. Prospects for dropouts are bleak: low wages, prison, or even an early death from violent crime. I don't state this to place blame on anyone, and in fact the public schools are making great progress in this area. The challenges facing those trying to educate low-income children in Florida are almost incomprehensible: children come from dangerous neighborhoods, there are gangs and other negative influences. Families come from numerous countries and often English isn't spoken at home. Over 100 languages are spoken in the Dade public schools! If there is one thing that can be said of low-income children in Florida, it's that their situations are not uniform. 

Some children are just not going to thrive in their assigned public school. That doesn't mean that school is a failure. It just means it's not working for that child. I'm a graduate of Fort Lauderdale High School, and I couldn't have been better prepared. But I personally saw kids who dropped out because my school wasn't right for them. Sometimes parents need choices of schools to find one that will work. All parents in Florida have school choice—unless they can't afford it. If you have enough money, you can move to a neighborhood with a public school that fits your kid. Or you can pay for tuition to a private school that works for them. Only those without the means to move or pay tuition have no choices.

The old model of education, where we assign kids to schools based just on their zip codes, needs to change--and it is. Public schools systems in Florida are doing a good job of creating new delivery models: open enrollment, magnets, career academies, charter schools and virtual schools. But sometimes even one of those won't work for a child. They might need the environment offered by a school not within that system. Or those public options may not be available near them.

The tax credit scholarship program is just a way to give low income parents power they never had. It doesn't tell them where to send their kids. It serves less than one percent of the kids in the public schools. But if your kid is in that fraction, it's the most important thing in your life. In December we had an event in Miami where a young woman spoke, Melody Cherflis. In eighth grade she had less than a 1.0 grade point and was going to drop out. She is the first to say it wasn't her school's fault. She got the scholarship, found the right school, and now she's in college. If not for the scholarship she'd be a statistic.

We often hear the argument that the program is a drain on public school funding. How do you respond?

‘There needs to be an alternative’

Public schools do a good job educating most black students, but in the cases where they don't, vouchers are worth trying, said state Rep. Frank Peterman (left), D-St Petersburg, the latest black lawmaker to defy his party's position and support a program that was championed by former Gov. Jeb Bush.

"I believe in the public education system. I don’t fall away from supporting that system at all," he told The Gradebook. "But in those instances where there are kids who are not doing well in that system … there needs to be an alternative."

Peterman, who was recently elected chairman of the legislative black caucus, is a co-sponsor of a new bill that would triple the size of Florida's biggest voucher program (see previous post here). The state teachers union and other critics call the corporate tax-credit program a voucher program, but supporters, including Peterman, prefer the term "scholarship." "I don't see this a being a true voucher," he said. "There is no money going into the state treasury. I think there’s a difference. I really do."

Peterman took a leading role in creating the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys, a statewide group that issued a report this month full of stark statistics. Black students, particularly black males, graduate at rates far lower than the overall Florida rate, which is itself one of the worst in the country. "Our kids, in some instances, are suffering … and not getting what they need in our public education system," Peterman said. "We have to start doing something that's going to be innovative and impactful."

Significant crossover by black lawmakers could ease passage of the new bill, which has the backing of legislative leadership. But it's hard to image anything having to do with vouchers sailing through without a fight. Stay tuned.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Peterman supports voucher bill

Count Rep. Frank Peterman, D-St. Petersburg, as another black Democrat who's bucking his party on an education initiative it has long opposed: Private-school vouchers.

Peterman is a co-sponsor of a House bill filed last week (see Gradebook post here) that would triple the size of the state's biggest voucher program by increasing the cap on corporate tax-credit scholarships from $88 million now to $238 million by 2012. Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville and chair of the Senate education committee, introduced the companion bill today.

Several black Democrats are supporting the legislation, including Reps. Peterman and Terry Fields in the House, and Sens. Al Lawson and Gary Siplin in the Senate. Others are expected to join them. The fact that black Democrats in the Legislature are slowly but surely embracing vouchers is a development that has been largely overlooked by the media (though not by The Gradebook; see one of last summer's posts here.)

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Voucher expansion

Florida would nearly triple the amount of tax credits it allows for corporate vouchers under a bill filed yesterday by state Rep. Trey Traviesa (left), R-Tampa.

HB 653 would increase the current cap by $30 million each year over the next five years, from $88 million now to $238 million in 2012. It would also increase the amount of individual corporate tax-credit vouchers from $3,750 to $4,500.

Voucher opponents were quick to pounce. "Imagine what they'd do ... if it wasn't bad economic times," Mark Pudlow, spokesman for the Florida Education Association, told The Gradebook this morning. "You're in a situation where you're cutting hundreds of millions of dollars from the education budget because of lower-than-anticipate revenues ... yet we're going to expand corporate vouchers."

Voucher supporters argued the opposite. Since it costs the state less money to pay for a voucher than to support the same student in a public school, "We're saving the money," said Denise Lasher, spokeswoman for Step Up for Students, a group that advocates for tax-credit vouchers. The legislation "helps with the budget crisis ... and class size."

Traviesa's bill proposes that the voucher amount be annually adjusted to 62 percent of what the state spends per pupil. It would also offer private schools that accept such vouchers a $200-per-student premium if at least 95 percent of their voucher students take the FCAT. Currently, those students - about 20,000 in all - do not have to take the FCAT.

Crist, vouchers, African Americans

Gov. Charlie Crist was in Miami yesterday supporting private-school vouchers, and at his side: former U.S. Congresswoman Carrie Meek and state Rep. Ronald Brise. Both are African Americans. Both are Democrats. And the presence of both offers more evidence, maybe, that black Democrats in Florida are switching party allegiances on a key education issue. The St. Petersburg Times wrote about this in August, when Meek came out for vouchers. For more on the event in Miami, click here.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Never too soon

Sure, their kids just started prekindergarten. But some Hillsborough parents of preschoolers already have begun checking out their kindergarten options. And some we know have serious worries. One mom took one look at her assigned school's report card and demographic breakdown and, though she loves her home and neighborhood, immediately started talking about where her family would move.

Thing is, many parents whose first children will enter the public school system next year don't know much about the district's extensive school choice system. Folks in that department advise that families will have several options, both with and without busing, besides their neighborhood school. Besides magnets, the district also will have open choice to schools with vacant seats.

They tell the Gradebook that parents are welcome to call the department at 813-272-4692 for individual guidance, or to visit the web site for answers to frequently asked questions. But it's too early, they add, for the district to know what schools will be open in fall 2008.

The first enrollment period begins in December.

Vouchers for breakfast

Our mighty blogmaster, Jeff Solochek, is relaxing at home today, so as we scramble to fill the void, we figured we'd start you off with a heapin' helping of voucher stew. First off, the Lakeland Ledger reports this morning (story here) that a jury found two Polk County women guilty of stealing money from Florida's voucher program, more specifically the McKay program for disabled kids. The Polk case was among several in recent years that raised concerns about oversight and accountability for one of Jeb Bush's pet education initiatives.

Also this morning, ever-provocative St. Petersburg Times columnist Bill Maxwell writes that black lawmakers who support vouchers are guilty of "wrongheaded thinking" and that "merely giving vouchers to low-performing students, who lack family support, is nothing more than transferring a culture of failure to a different environment." Maxwell's piece is a spinoff from this story in Sunday's Times, which also got folks chattering on pro-voucher blogs outside Florida (like this one and this one.)

Carrie Meek: Vouchers a good option

Support for public schools and support for private-school vouchers are not mutually exclusive, former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek, a longtime voucher opponent, told the Gradebook this afternoon. Meek's comments came in response to news that her foundation is offering tax-credit vouchers to poor kids in Miami. "Yes, I was an opponent of vouchers," Meek, 81, said when reached by phone at home. But "I was an opponent because I thought they were taking away from public schools … The way I see it now, they are not taking away."

Given Meek's longtime opposition to vouchers – and her status as a legend in the black community - some voucher opponents did a double-take when the the Gradebook reported that the Department of Education had authorized her foundation to offer them. But Meek said while she has "tweaked" her position on vouchers, she remains a steadfast supporter of public schools and of increased educational opportunities for the poor. "I spent a great part of my life trying to strengthen minority children and minority families," she said. "To get a scholarship like this would be very helpful to some of these children."

The response from voucher opponents? Vouchers are "always a bad idea," no matter who supports them, said Mark Pudlow, spokesman for the Florida Education Association, the state teachers union. "You’re setting up a parallel system, and you're devoting your time and your attention and your money … to these alternative programs. Meanwhile, we’re looking at budget cuts for public schools."

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Carrie Meek, voucher supporter

Carrie Meek, the former U.S. Congresswoman from Miami and an icon in the black community, voted against private-school vouchers when she was in D.C. But now, she's not only supporting them, her foundation is giving them away.

The Gradebook has learned the Florida Department of Education approved the Carrie Meek Foundation as a scholarship funding organization in March, meaning the foundation can now offer corporate tax-credit vouchers to low-income families. "We believe that every child deserves the best education possible," says the foundation's website, "and every parent deserves the right to choose the school that's best for them."

Is a political shift afoot? Maybe.

Meek's apparent change of heart could be significant because by and large, black lawmakers in Florida haven't been fond of vouchers, even though minority students are a majority of the recipients. And it comes on top of other, less-dramatic signs of change in recent years, including the support of some black lawmakers for some voucher bills.

It's too early to say where all this is going, but it's worth watching, given the potential clash between the black community and the teachers' unions, two of the biggest constituencies in the Democratic Party. (By the way, another voucher supporter, Al Lawson, a black Democrat from Tallahassee, will be the minority leader in the state Senate next year.)

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Where's the accountability?

Florida's McKay voucher for disabled students has become a model for similar programs in other states (see story here). But a national think tank says in a report released yesterday that other states should take a closer look at Florida's program - and avoid its shortcomings. Among the major problems noted by Education Sector: Nobody really knows whether the kids who use the vouchers to attend private schools are getting a better education. Why? "Unlike with Florida's other school choice options, the state collects very little information from schools and students participating in the McKay program," the report says. "McKay students do not have to take the annual state tests administered to public school students, and McKay schools are not required to report any information on student outcomes - which goes against the national trend towards standards and accountability in public education."

McKay voucher are named after former state Senate President John McKay, R-Bradenton, and were strongly backed by former Gov. Jeb Bush. Currently, about 18,000 students are using them, at a cost of $108 million. Over the years, the program has come under fire from critics because of flaws in financial oversight (see stories here and here). But supporters say parents are satisfied (see story here).

- Ron Matus, state education reporter

Now that's one successful charter school

All too often, the mainstream media focus on the negative when dealing with charter schools. You hear about the ones where students can't read, or where money has disappeared along with the bookkeeper. To counter the notion that the only news about charters is bad, the Gradebook stops today to recognize Academy at the Farm, a K-8 school in eastern Pasco County that has been highlighted by the Center for Education Reform as one of the nation's 53 best charter schools. (That's out of about 3,940 across the country, by the way.)

What made the 5-year-old school, which focuses on horticulture and the environment, stand out? It rated among Florida's top 100 elementary schools for improvement on the FCAT writing exam, for one, and it actually made adequate yearly progress among all student groups in a county where only one other school could claim the same. About 23 percent of the students are classified as economically disadvantaged and a similar amount have disabilities of one sort or another.

Folks at the school are "ecstatic" - so much so that director Michael Rom and seven founding teachers skipped a School Board meeting where the school's expansion was up for a vote, in order to get to Washington D.C. for a celebration today. "The Center for Education Reform ... actually paid for one person to go," head middle school teacher Tami Flournory said. "But our director didn't feel like it was his award only." The recognition might bring Academy at the Farm more attention and more applicants. But they'll have to wait along with others who already know about it. "We do have a waiting list of about 175 kids," Flournory said. "And we are just bursting at the seams."

Vouchers save you money (they say)

States saved $444-million over 16 years by giving students vouchers instead of paying for them to attend their assigned school, voucher uber-supporters at the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation contend in a newly minted report released this morning. And would you believe Florida, with its three (at the time - now of course it's two) programs, accounted for 41 percent of that amount? The group reports that the A+ Opportunity Scholarships, now tossed as unconstitutional, saved the state $3-million - that represents the difference between the cost of the voucher and the amount the state would have paid to educate the same student in their regular public school. By the same figuring, Florida's Corporate Tax-Credit Scholarships saved $42-million and the McKay Scholarship program for students with disabilities accounted for a whopping $139-million in savings.

"School choice saves. It saves children, and now we have empirical evidence that it saves money,"  foundation executive director Robert Enlow said in a news release. "In the face of $444 million in savings, another excuse to deny children a quality education has vanished before our eyes."

Yet the future of school choice in Florida remains murky, the Virginia-based Institute for Justice notes in its School Choice and School Constitutions, released in late April. The state Supreme Court overturned the A+ scholarships, ruling the state could not "provide educational options beyond those in public schools." When Senate Majority Leader Daniel Webster tried this past session, he couldn't get any traction.

Economic impact arguments are all the rage these days. It's how early education advocates try to show the benefit of implementing statewide prekindergarten programs and, apparently, now it's the latest way to make the case for the controversial voucher programs. Some states are joining up, Utah being the latest, though its new law faces a voter challenge. But the push-back remains significant, as Utah is finding and Florida has found. It will be fascinating to see what the proponents - generally strange bedfellows of GOP lawmakers and inner-city parents, or the opponents - most often the public education establishment, make of these latest reports.

(Graphic from Freedom Forum, www.freedomforum.org)

Today's news

STILL THE SAME: The racial mix at Pinellas County schools will be virtually unchanged next year, despite the School Board's decision to stop assigning kids based on race. Most students decided to stay in the schools where they are.

THEY'LL MAKE IT WORK: The state's new mandate that every elementary kid have 30 minutes of daily physical activity in school will force districts to figure out how to fit the mat time alongside the math time. But educators say the rules are flexible enough that they should be able to do it.

UF GRAD FINALLY GOES TO CAMPUS: James Moyer, who took all his classes on-line from about 260 miles away, wants to collect his diploma in person. Virtual education is growing in higher education, just like in high school - UF's online enrollment has tripled since 2002.

SINE DIE: Lawmakers ended the 2007 regular session Friday. What did they do to you? Approved tuition hikes for three universities and fixed a teacher performance pay plan (Times), OK'd random steroid testing for student athletes (Palm Beach Post), killed bills on year-round education and anti-bullying policies (Times-Union), and set forth a budget that relies heavily on local property taxes (Miami Herald).

Note: Later today, look for a weekend interview with Roy Romer, former Colorado governor and LA schools superintendent. He discusses a new $60-million national campaign to get the presidential candidates talking about education.

Today's news

RUN. THE GOVERNOR SAID SO: Lawmakers approve Gov. Crist's pet proposal of requiring all elementary kids to have 30 minutes of daily physical activity at school. Some educators wonder where the time will come from in an already packed day.

LOAN SCANDAL STRETCHES INTO FLORIDA: Accusations are flying about student loan officers that steered business toward specific companies regardless of the students' best interest. Now, the subpoenas and letters are making their way to the Sunshine State, possibly including USF and the University of Tampa.

I WANT MY TV: A Tampa teacher uses TV Turn-off week to get in a persuasive writing lesson. The topic: the pros and cons of watching television. Most keep the box dark, but some admit to using the TIVO for American Idol.

HOW ABOUT THE BIG SCREEN? Kids at Progress Village Middle, a Tampa area magnet school for the arts, get jazzed up about the premiere of their film Unexcused Absence. It took two years to make, and now it's showing at Muvico in Ybor City.

'MR. G.' ACCUSED OF CHILD ABUSE: Manuel Goncalves, the charter school leader whom parents and kids affectionately call Mr. G, is accused of beating a teen relative with a belt. He's on leave from the Pasco County school while the cops investigate.

ANTI-BULLYING BILL GETS ANOTHER CHANCE: A key senator had bottled the bill in his committee. But flooded with letters and calls, he relents, allowing the proposal to require school districts to create policies against bullying and harassment move ahead, the Cape Coral News-Press reports.

GRADUATION HOLIDAY: The Palm Beach school district gets permission to close six of its high schools for a day so it can run its senior graduation ceremonies, the Sun-Sentinel reports. They had to schedule the events when non-seniors would still be in class because of venue difficulties, it seems, and teachers found they had a conflict.

VOUCHER BILL WEAKENED: Senators agree to expand the state's voucher program to include children from failing schools, a lesser attempt than their original effort to vastly expand the initiative, the Palm Beach Post reports.

ARABIC SCHOOL WOES: It was supposed to be an embrace of New York's growing Arabic community. But the proposed public school focusing on Arabic studies is testing New Yorkers' tolerance, the NY Times reports.

Voucher update

If you're trying to keep track of what's going on in the world of vouchers in Tallahassee, keep your eyes on HB 7145. The Senate dropped its main bill on the subject in favor of this House version, voting 26-13 earlier today to adopt an amended version and then sent back to the House for final concurrence. The House approved the legislation by a wide margin on Monday. The bill expands the Corporate Income Tax Credit and McKay scholarship programs to more students than they currently serve. The wording of the bill goes to great pains to talk about choices and opportunities, good things in the abstract, no doubt. But there's much debate over whether the GOP-dominated Legislature is trying to make an end-run around the state Supreme Court's ruling that found the past voucher program unconstitutional. Here's the AP short story on the issue. Session ends tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Grabbing their attention

There's quite a bit going on in Tallahassee when it comes to the education front. So what is it that the Florida Education Association chooses to focus on entering the final stretch? Vouchers.

The teachers union sent out an urgent alert late Monday asking its members to contact key senators to voice their disapproval of SB 2380 and SB 2382. These bills would expand the Corporate Income Tax Credit scholarship program with a shifting of funds designed to get around the state Supreme Court's findings that tax money can't be used to create a separate public education system.

Regarding 2380, the group says, "As the bill is currently written, it would provide private school vouchers to students from "failing" schools. This failing schools model does nothing to address improving school and student performance. That is where our attention should be focused." It calls 2382 "convoluted" and suggests the transfer of $2-billion to a special trust fund is a ploy for vouchers.

So who are the targeted senators? Democrats Larcenia Bullard, Frederica Wilson, Mandy Dawson, Tony Hill, Steve Geller, Al Lawson and Gary Siplin, and Republicans Paula Dockery, Evelyn Lynn, Durell Peaden, Victor Crist, Burt Saunders and Jim King. Time will tell if they get any input, and if they respond. The Senate session begins at 10 a.m.

Today's news

BOARD WANTS ITS SAY: Some members of the Pasco School Board complain that the district administration tries to set policies and priorities for them, and they're ready to pull back on the reins.

GRADUATION, ABOUT 30 YEARS LATER: Margaret Wermann of Spring Hill enrolled in nursing school as a teen. Life got in the way, and the 48-year-old is just now finishing. She and about 600 others graduate from Pasco-Hernando Community College tonight.

VANDALISM SOLVED: Two teens, one of whom graduated from the school, were arrested for spraying racist graffiti on Palm Harbor University High School just before prom. And now you know that the campus video cameras actually work.

STUDY SECURITY: Gov. Charlie Crist signs an order creating a 7-member task force to find ways to make university and college campuses more safe. He gives the group a May 24 deadline to report back.

EDUCATION, BRIEFLY: The House approves voucher expansion, a bill to improve minority participation in Advanced Placement passes, and college bookstores gain a tax exemption. Read about these here.

FROM THE OP-ED PAGES: Lawmakers are still working to keep vouchers alive through a financial shell game that subverts the state Supreme Court's ruling that the program is unconstitutional, and the editorial board says shame on them. "This was a bad idea last year, and it is still a bad idea this year."

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ... If you knew a teen who is pregnant? Students in Catholic schools around Florida are being asked that question as part of a new curriculum required by the state's bishops. The lessons center on the law that allows parents to leave a newborn at a designated site, like an emergency room, with no questions asked, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

FORGET TUITION, LOOK AT THE BOOKS: Their cost has risen at twice the rate of inflation over the past 20 years. So lawmakers are working to require colleges and universities to minimize the cost of textbooks, the Florida Times-Union reports.

NCAA CRACKS DOWN: It says some prep schools exist solely to get high school athletes a scholarship, and changes the academic requirements for students to gain college sports eligibility, the NY Times reports.

Voucher expansion

It was pretty much a party-line vote for a measure that Democrats deemed an affront to public education and Republicans called a "good bill" for the good of families and children. HB 7145 would expand the Corporate Income Tax Credit Scholarship and the McKay Scholarship programs to more students than they currently serve. Some say, it's an effort to undermine the state Supreme Court's ruling against vouchers in Florida. Others say, it's a legitimate way to grow school choice while following the court's ruling. Either way, it's moving ahead. The House passed it 84-34, and a similar measure awaits final action in the Senate, where the support is not as strong. 

Today's news

PINELLAS JOINS LATEST LANGUAGE TREND: Students at Safety Harbor Middle School soon will be able to take Mandarin Chinese classes, like students in select Duval and Hillsborough county schools. Just three years ago, no Florida schools offered Chinese.

VOUCHER MANEUVER: Lawmakers continue to seek a way to offer students vouchers despite a state Supreme Court ruling that found the program unconstitutional. The bills come up for votes next week.

KIDS PASS A BILL: The Hillsborough high school students started off competing in the Ought To Be A Law contest. Their idea now is poised to actually become a law, as it passed the House and Senate unanimously.

PORTABLES VANDALIZED: Someone spray-painted racial slurs on nine portables at Palm Harbor University High School. The principal tried not to let any kids see what it said.

GOVERNOR'S PE BILL STALLED : Sarasota Sen. Lisa Carlton is holding up Gov. Crist's pet proposal to require all elementary schools to offer 30 minutes of daily physical education. The powerful senator, who serves as budget gatekeeper, says it's too expensive, the