Crist headed to voucher rally

Gov. Charlie Crist will be in Fort Lauderdale Friday for an annual rally touting Florida's tax-credit vouchers. For most of his term, Crist has not been out front with most of Jeb Bush's education agenda, but he has been a consistent and visible supporter of vouchers.

Among those who will join him at the rally: Rev. H.K. Matthews, a civil rights icon from Pensacola.

Should Florida have a tax credit program for public schools?

This new report from the Florida Legislature's research arm looks at such programs in two states (Pennsylvania and Arizona), and considers the possibility of one in Florida. Florida has a tax credit voucher program that gives businesses an incentive to contribute money for low-income students who need financial help to attend private schools. But it doesn't have a program that allows businesses to get tax credits for donations to public schools.

The report says that among other issues, lawmakers should consider the impact on tax-credit vouchers if they pursue such a program. The voucher people say they're open to the idea:

"We're excited by any program that could direct resources to low-income students and strengthen our partnership with Florida's public schools," John Kirtley, chairman of Step Up For Students, said in a written statement. "Our mission is to help students from poor and working-class families no matter where they are taught, and we look forward to working with legislators and public educators to see whether a Public School Tax Credit can advance that objective. We see great possibilities."

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Florida voucher leader joins public school foundation

John Kirtley, arguably Florida's leading voucher supporter (probably a tie between him and Jeb Bush), is now a member of the board of directors of the Hillsborough Education Foundation, which raises money for public schools.

Kirtley's new gig further blurs the political lines in the voucher wars. Democratic lawmakers in Florida continue to migrate to the pro-voucher position. And just last month, Step Up for Students - the voucher group Kirtley chairs - announced a partnership with the Hillsborough teachers union to help train private school teachers.

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Study: Florida vouchers reduce number of kids labeled as disabled

Researcher Jay Greene’s latest work on vouchers in Florida, released this morning, finds that McKay vouchers for disabled students reduce the likelihood that a struggling student will be labeled disabled (and specifically as having a Specific Learning Disability, or SLD). Why? Maybe, Greene suggests, because districts realize they will not reap the additional funding the state pays for disabled students – and may in fact lose all the funding for that student – if the student’s family chooses to get a voucher and leave public schools.

But if fewer students are labeled disabled, is that necessarily a good thing?

Hillsborough district, teacher group team with voucher organization for training

Here's a collaboration you might not have expected.

Step Up For Students, which oversees Florida's corporate tax credit scholarship program (vouchers to some of you), has joined forces with the Hillsborough school district and the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association to improve the training of teachers at the private schools where voucher students end up.

Step Up For Students plans to provide at least $100,000 to help create professional development modules for those teachers.

Hillsborough superintendent MaryEllen Elia said in a release that the partnership makes sense for the community. “Ultimately, we all want to help teachers get better, wherever they’re teaching our kids,” Elia said.

HCTA president Jean Clements agreed. “This is not a competition. It’s about all of us doing our best to help children who come from very difficult circumstances. I can’t ignore the legitimate needs these children have.”

How's that for commitment to school choice?

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Survey: Florida voucher parents like private schools more

Parents in Florida's tax credit scholarship program "report dramatically higher levels of satisfaction with academic progress, individual attention, teacher quality, school responsiveness and student behavior when compared to the public schools their children previously attended," the Friedman Foundation finds in this survey/report out today. Here's the response from John Kirtley, chairman of Step Up for Students.

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A weekend interview about Florida's voucher program with Northwestern U. researcher David Figlio

Florida has the largest education voucher system in the country. And up to now, no one has been able to quantify whether children who use the vouchers to go to private schools get better schooling than those who stay behind. Northwestern University professor David Figlio finally has put some data to the question, and has concluded -- at least for now -- that those who leave perform no better or worse than those who don't. He spoke with reporter Jeff Solochek about his research, his next steps, and his views on the spin that voucher advocates and opponents have given to his work.

What exactly prompted you to take a look at the way the voucher results are turning out?

Well, I've had a very longstanding interest in both school choice in general as well as the education of disadvantaged kids. This is the largest school voucher program in the United States, so in that regard I think it's a question of considerable national interest. And given that the vouchers are aimed specifically at low-income kids -- or kids from low-income families, that is -- it's targeting a key target population that is of direct interest to me. So to me it was very natural for me to think about what is happening to these schools, who is using the voucher programs, what schools are they choosing to go to, and is the voucher program leading to increased competition with the public schools, and are the kids doing better in the voucher program. Some of these questions I've investigated, and others I'm in the process of investigating now.

Kirtley: Vouchers "strengthen public education"

Florida’s tax credit scholarships (which critics and some supporters call “vouchers”) are just one part of a modern public education system that is like “a cafeteria with nearly limitless entrees” and with no single one “categorically better or worse than the other,” John Kirtley writes in this op-ed, on the heels of this study.

Poll: School vouchers

A new report shows that Florida students who use vouchers perform no better than those who don't. Should Florida continue the program?
Yes, the vouchers cost less than public school
No, the vouchers don't lead to better results

(Photo from Education Next)

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