School choice bill advances in Florida House

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – School choice legislation passed through a second Florida House committee on Thursday.

Co-sponsors of the bill include Choice & Innovation Subcommittee Chair Rep. Kaylee Tuck, R-Lake Placid, and Rep. Susan Plasencia, R-Orlando.

The bill aims to promote parental involvement and “customize” K-12 education in Florida, according to bill supporters. It provides additional financial support for families and flexibility for school districts.

The PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee advanced the bill despite some Democrats voting against it. The Senate Committee on Education PreK-12, previously passed the companion bill 9-3.

Florida currently offers scholarship programs that allow parents of eligible students to register and attend private schools that aim to better serve a student’s particular needs or to provide educational
options for students with disabilities.

These programs primarily consist of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, the Family Empowerment Scholarship for students attending private school, and the Family Empowerment Scholarship for students with disabilities.

Scholarships are funded at an amount equal to the per-student amount appropriated for students attending a public school.

The bill expands eligibility for Florida’s School Choice Scholarships to all students who are residents of Florida and eligible to enroll in K-12 in a public school. Eligibility for all school choice programs is limited by state law in the form of an income or enrollment cap.

Currently, only 71% of the K-12 eligible student population qualify for the scholarships.

Families apply through one of the approved scholarship funding organizations, which are responsible for determining and distributing funding to private schools. Florida has unrestricted open enrollment for public schools.

The parent of an eligible student will receive an empowerment savings account to take education dollars earmarked for their child in the public education system and choose among a variety of options to customize their child’s K-12 education.

Tuck summarized the Proposed Committee Substitute, which she said reflects the ideas and feedback received from students, families and colleagues.

A PCS is a proposal that represents the changes that a committee intends to make to a bill that is being heard by that committee. When voted favorably by the committee, it is drafted in bill form and reported out as a committee substitute.

“While the PCS incorporates new ideas, it maintains the freedom for parents to make choices that best suit their child’s educational needs through a universal empowerment savings account available to all 2.9 million school aged children in the state,” said Tuck.

Tuck said the PCS maintains much of the original bill, but has some changes.

Chair Josie Tomkow, R-Polk City, applauded the hard work of co-sponsors Tuck and Plasencia.

“The meetings that you’ve taken with people on the proponents side and the opponent side to get this bill where it is, and I know that it’s a work in progress as we move through this process, and you listen to all the concerns by your fellow colleagues, and so I applaud each of you for your hard work,” said Tomkow.

The following items are changes that are being added to the proposed legislation.

Florida Tax Credit Scholarship

For all students receiving a FTC scholarship, the bill expands the authorized uses of FTC scholarship
funds in an empowerment savings account to include:

• Instructional materials, including digital materials and Internet resources.
• Curriculum, which is a complete course of study for a particular content area or grade level, including any required supplemental materials and associated online instruction.
• Tuition or fees associated with full-time or part-time enrollment in a home education program, an eligible postsecondary educational institution or a program offered by the postsecondary educational institution, an approved preapprenticeship program, a private tutoring program, a virtual program offered by a department-approved private online provider, the Florida Virtual School as a private paying student, or an approved online course.
• Fees for nationally standardized, norm-referenced achievement tests, Advanced Placement Examinations, industry certification examinations, assessments related to postsecondary education, or other assessments.
• Contracted services provided by a public school or school district, including classes. A student who receives services under a contract is not considered enrolled in a public school for scholarship eligibility purposes.
• Tuition and fees for part-time tutoring services or fees for services by a choice navigator.

The bill clarifies that for a scholarship awarded to students enrolled full-time in a private school, funds must be used for tuition and fees at the private school prior to any other authorized use, and that parents are responsible for all eligible expenses in excess of the amount of the scholarship.

In addition, the bill updates the parent and student participation responsibilities for the FTC scholarship by requiring the parent to meet with the private school’s principal or the principal’s designee to review the school’s academic programs and policies, specialized services, code of student conduct, and attendance policies before enrollment.

During public testimony, some members of the public raised concerns that they fear public schools will lose funding because of the scholarships.

Rep. Dan Daley, D-Coral Springs, said he also believes there are still things that need to be ironed out.

“Part of my largest concern is the amount that this is going to cost public education, and particularly in my district […] That’s a number that we haven’t even been able to come up with yet,” said Daley.

Rep. Patricia Williams, D-Pompano Beach, opposed the bill.

“I am a person that believes a parent should have the right to choose where they want their child to attend school. But, because I serve a population that 75% of the parents that I serve, attend public school system, and because I see the possibility of this bill having a negative impact on my public school system,” said Williams.

“As our public school system struggles, with things that’s necessity for them to educate our students, this does not look like something that we should be supporting right now,” she said.

Williams said between now and the next stop, she would like to sit down as a group and have more conversations. The bill heads to the House Education & Employment Committee next.

Rep. Kimberly Daniels, D-Jacksonville, said she will support the bill but agrees there are some changes still to be made.

“There are a lot of rumors. But, I do not believe that the bill that we’re passing today will take money from public schools or I would not support it,” Daniels said.

“I have one of the largest communities of families that are benefiting from these vouchers […] I just want to say vouchers are working in my district, and we want to keep it working, and I’m proud to support this bill, because I think that it would change the lives of so many young people,” she explained.

Unique Abilities Scholarship

The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities provides access to an education savings account that functions like a bank account from which parents direct funds to pay for tuition and fees for a private school, homeschooling options, therapies, tutoring and more.

To increase the number of eligible students with disabilities served by the scholarship, the bill increases the scholarship capacity from 1% to 3% of the state’s total exceptional student education student membership annually.

The bill requires that private schools accepting those scholarships discuss with the parent, before enrollment, the school’s academic programs, and policies and specialized services that may meet the student’s individual needs.

“I heard from many of my colleagues about this full transparency for our families with students with unique abilities,” said Tuck.

Personalized Education Programs

Florida families are able to participate in a “personalized education program.”

The personalized education program is the progressive instruction of a student directed by his or her parent to satisfy the attendance requirements while registered with an eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization.

The bill authorizes students in personalized education programs to participate in the FTC Scholarship program and establishes personalized education programs as a mechanism to satisfy mandatory school attendance requirements.

“To address the concerns of home education program families, the PCS creates a pathway for a parent to direct the educational instruction for their child via a personalized education program while meeting school attendance requirements required under the law,” Tuck said.

A parent can apply for the scholarship under the FTC scholarship and create a customized “Student Learning Plan,” which will guide the instruction for their student, and use their empowerment savings account to purchase curriculum and other educational resources.

A student’s learning plan must be updated at least annually for continued program eligibility, and the student must take a nationally norm-referenced test assessment or a statewide assessment.

Students in a personalized education program are provided access to the same programs and services as home education program students, such as extracurricular activities, participation in dual enrollment programs and admission to post secondary institutions.

The bill establishes the responsibilities for parents and students receiving an FTC scholarship while participating in a personalized education program.

Under the FTC, 20,000 personalized education students are eligible for a scholarship in 2023-24 school year, which will increase by 40,000 each subsequent year, with all personalized education students being eligible for a scholarship in the 2027-28 school year.

Fore more information on the proposed changes involving personalized education programs, click here.

Choice Navigator

Parents of scholarship students will be given the option to use a “Choice Navigator” to assist parents with the selection, application, and enrollment in educational options that address the academic needs of their student.

A Choice Navigator must be a person who holds a valid Florida educator’s certificate, a person who holds an adjunct teaching certificate, a person who has a bachelor’s degree or a graduate degree in the subject area in which instruction is given, a person who has demonstrated a mastery of subject area knowledge, or a person certified by a nationally or internationally recognized research-based training program as approved by the department.