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Voucher Expansion Still On-Track

March 28th, 2014 by flanews

School choice scholarship expansion was thought to be dead at the state Capitol after the Senate pulled their proposal. Expansion is alive and well, much to the dismay of public schools supporters.

The legislative war over expanding the near $300 million dollar school voucher program continued Friday.  The House tied the scholarship program – which gives tax breaks to businesses funding students – to another bill benefiting special needs children.

“There is a pent up demand for that program, a potential demand in the future, and we’re going to allow that demand to be met,” said Rep. Erik Fresen (R-Miami).

The House committee received plenty of testimony on the new proposal.  Some from students who said they got lost in the public school shuffle.

“Skipped class, I barely went to class, I barely went to school. Came here, got on the right track,” said Seven Hills Academy Student Deion Washington.

Educators like Tampa teacher Paul Goodland. The former private and current public school teacher says it’s dangerous to take money that could go to public schools and give it to private institutions that don’t require the same testing standards.

“When there aren’t safeguards against poor curriculum, poor teaching, a private school can be a really bad choice for parents,” said Goodland.

Putting voucher expansion back on the table raised a lot of red flags for some members of the committee.

Committing what could add up to almost a billion dollars to schools lacking accountability made four lawmakers vote ‘No” on expansion.

“You’re taking a struggling student and you put them in an environment where we don’t know what they’re being taught or if they’re being taught, and it seems like the state doesn’t care,” said Rep. Karen Castor Dentel (D-Maitland).

The committee chair argued that if a parent wasn’t happy with the accountability of a private school, they could simply pull their child out of it.

The proposal could lead to a stalemate between the House and Senate, with some Senators demanding more accountability from the private schools.

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