A bill filed in the Florida Legislature this week could give the families of disabled students quicker access to McKay Scholarships, state-funded vouchers for private schools, and likely result in an expansion of the $151 million program.
Florida Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla
Senate Bill 172, sponsored by Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, nixes the requirement that students spend the prior school year in a Florida public school before becoming eligible for the scholarship. Similar bills were proposed in 2009, but died in committee.
The idea behind the public school rule, said Miami attorney Allison Hertog, an advocate for students with special needs and their parents, was to allow school districts time to get to know students and properly evaluate what kind of services they needed.
Then districts could develop a comprehensive education plan known as an IEP or 504 – a federally mandated road map that helps set a course for learning. The better the plan, Hertog said, the better the services and, ultimately, the more money families receive.
So why remove the requirement?
“When students struggle, the goal is to try to get them into the most successful environment as quickly as possible,’’ said Steve Hicks, president of the Coalition of McKay Scholarship Schools, which represents private schools that accept the scholarship dollars.
Families don’t necessarily want to wait a year before they can move their child into a better setting – and they shouldn’t have to, Hicks said.
“Kids, if they feel like they’re going to fail, they will shut down,’’ he said. “Trying to get them going again is very difficult. Our goal is to expand the program to allow parents to access immediately all the services available, whether it’s public or private school, tax credit scholarships, or whatever.’’
