A new article in Education Week puts Florida's new open-enrollment law in a national context, noting nearly half of U.S. states allow students to attend public schools across district lines.
Compared to most other states, the article notes, Florida's school districts tend to be geographically larger. Transportation, both within and between districts, could pose a challenge for families who don't have the time or resources to drive their children to school each day.
"If there's no public transportation, then only the most-advantaged students are going to move," said Lesley Lavery, an assistant professor of political science at Macalester College in Minnesota, who has researched open-enrollment policies.
Those factors especially could hinder parents in Florida, which has large districts that span the size of each county. Five of Florida's districts are among the top 25 biggest nationwide. The Miami-Dade County school system alone stretches over about 2,000 square miles, and has 392 schools.
The new law does not require schools to provide transportation outside their districts, but schools can do so if they wish.
"Transportation is an enormous issue even under very normal circumstances," said Ruth Melton, the director of government relations for the Florida School Boards Association.
Florida's 60-day legislative session ended Friday. Lawmakers passed a host of educational choice bills, some high-profile and others under the radar, affecting charter schools, home education, public-school open enrollment, and more.
Other measures, from a constitutional amendment backed by charter supporters to a bill creating new dyslexia-focused schools of choice, didn't get very far.
Of the issues we were watching, here's a rundown of what passed, and what didn't.
Charter schools. Some big charter school proposals — a new path to high-performing charter expansion, the creation of a charter school institute at a state university, new rules for “high-impact” charters that want to open in struggling neighborhoods — fell by the wayside. But omnibus legislation headed to Gov. Rick Scott would change the distribution of facilities funding, bar charters from removing students based on academic performance, and require them to submit more details of their operating histories when they apply to open new schools. HB 7029.
Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts. One of the first measures passed during the session, and already approved by the governor, expanded education savings accounts for special needs students and gave them a new name: Gardiner Scholarships. The bill was part of a larger package championed by the program's new namesake, Senate President Andy Gardiner, to create a "cradle-to-career pathway" for people with special needs. SB 672.
McKay Scholarships. Legislation headed to the governor would allow children to use the state's popular voucher program for special needs students to pay for transition-to-work programs at private schools. It would also allow foster children to use the scholarships without first enrolling in public schools. HB 837 (more…)
Members of both chambers of the Florida Legislature voted unanimously this afternoon for a bill that would expand several educational options for children with special needs and improve private school students' access to college courses.
Among other things, the measure, which advanced without controversy, would broaden the possible uses for the state's popular school voucher program for special needs students.
If Gov. Rick Scott approves the revised HB 837, among other things: (more…)
Florida students would be able to enroll in any public school in the state that has room under a sweeping education bill approved today by the Florida Senate.
The revised HB 7029 contains a wide range of provisions affecting everything from charter school facilities to state universities to associations that represent school board members.
It received backing from the full Senate on a 28-12 vote that largely followed party lines. Sens. Jeremy Ring, D-Margate and Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee joined the chamber's 26 Republicans in support.
Portions of the omnibus legislation — including a standalone measure expanding public-school choice — have already passed the House, which will have to vote on the full bill before it can head to Gov. Rick Scott. (more…)
If there's a school choice or charter school-related issue still alive in Florida's legislative session, there's a good chance it'll be taken up by a Senate panel tomorrow.
A raft of provisions related to educational choice would be merged into two massive amendments to bills set to be taken up Thursday during an all-day meeting of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The first is a sweeping rewrite of SB 524. It's gotten attention for keeping alive a measure, favored by the House, that would pay bonuses to teachers who scored high on their college entrance exams.
The new proposal would also include:
Last week, Florida's annual 60-day legislative session passed its midpoint. Like in previous years, a lot of key school choice issues remain unresolved with four weeks remaining.
Lawmakers have already agreed to substantially expand educational options for special-needs students, but what will happen with charter school funding, public-school choice, or measures affecting home schoolers?
Here's a look at where things stand, and what to watch in the final weeks.
Special needs scholarships. A bill expanding Florida's education savings account program for special needs students, and renaming it the Gardiner Scholarship, has already won approval from Gov. Rick Scott. Other bills (HB 837, SB 1088, SB 1062) have advanced that would expand eligibility for McKay Scholarships, the state's traditional voucher for special-needs students.
Charter schools. From new standards for charter applications to new rules aimed at encouraging "high-impact" charter networks, a host of changes are rolled into two big packages, HB 7029 and SB 830, both of which have progressed without much controversy.
Charter school facilities. This will be the big charter school-related battle in the session's final weeks. The House is advancing a measure (HB 873) that would cap school districts' construction spending and, in some cases, give charter schools access to district property-tax revenue. The Senate has proposed a ban on "private enrichment" from charter school facilities funding and a new formula that would reward charters that serve larger proportions of low-income and special needs students. (more…)
The Florida Senate this morning unanimously approved legislation expanding — and renaming — the state's newest educational choice program for special needs students.
Florida Senate President Andy Gardiner
SB 672 would codify changes allowing 3- and 4-year olds, children with muscular dystrophy and more students with autism to qualify for Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts. It would also boost funding for the scholarships to $71.2 million and expand higher-education programs for children with special needs.
Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the accounts.
Under an amendment added today, the program would be renamed the Gardiner Scholarship, in honor of Senate President Andy Gardiner, who championed the scholarships since they were first created two years ago. He and his wife, Camille, have focused their legislative agenda on helping children like their son, Andrew, who has Down Syndrome.
"This is a bill that people come up to us with tears in their eyes and talk about how it's changed their life," Gardiner said, calling attention to a girl with special needs who was seated in the back of the chamber.
"She said, 'I just want to go to college,'" Gardiner said. "Your bill will provide that path, from cradle to career." (more…)
