Florida school choice

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School choice in Florida is available for K-12 student. School choice can be applied by letting parents choose the public school, private, home education or private tutoring for their student.

[edit] Charter schools

A report by the Stanford University Center for Research on Education Outcomes revealed in June 2009 that Florida charter schools may be falling behind the state's public schools.[1] The four-year study analyzed standardized math and reading scores. Although, Florida charter schools resulted only in fair results, the report revealed that students in charter schools seemed to perform below average during their first two years, however in the third year the results revealed that charter school students excelled beyond public school students. In the fourth year, students at both schools revealed similar scores. The initial drop in performance, said Lynn Norman-Teck, spokesperson for the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools, is attributed to the fact that charter schools are typically a "last resort" for students struggling in school.[2]

[edit] School choice

According to the Florida Department of Education, the state's emphasis on school choice is based on three main points: every student has different learning needs, maintaining diversity in school structure and programs, and parents and students "achieve more" if they freely choose their learning environment.[3]

School choice options include:

  • Scholarship programs: the state offers three scholarship programs that allows parents and students to choose among public and private schools.
    • The John M.McKay Scholarship Program offers scholarship aid to students with disabilities. The programs gives parents and students the option to select an alternative public school or to apply for a scholarship to attend an "eligible private school." In the 2005-06 school year 740 private schools across the state were participating in the program. The average scholarship amount is $6,897 and can range from $4,805 to $20,703.[3]
    • The Opportunity Scholarship Program allows for parents and students chose an "higher-performing" public or eligible private school if their current school is designated as a "failing Florida public school." A school is labeled as "failing" if it has received two failing grades within four consecutive school years. In the 2005-06 school year 55 private schools participated in the program.[3] However, a January 2006 Florida Supreme Court ruling eliminated the private school option after concluding that that particular option was unconstitutional.[4]
    • The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, formerly the Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program, was implemented in 2001. Through the program corporations are eligible to receive a dollar for dollar tax credit up to 75 percent of their state income tax liability and the state may award a maximum of $88 million in credits each year. According to the Department of Education the program was created encourage private voluntary contributions from corporate donors to organizations that offer scholarships to low-income families. More than 23,000 students will receive annual scholarships to attend quality schools under a new bill signed into law June 2009. Under this new bill, donations to the program may now include contributions from "S-Corporations" (including insurance companies), who will receive dollar-for-dollar tax credits. The non-profits Foundation for Excellence in Education, the James Madison Institute, Foundations for Florida's Future, Step Up for Students (which combined Florida P.R.I.D.E. and Children First Florida), the Carrie Meek Foundation, and Florida Child were instrumental in the bill's passage.[3][5]
  • Charter schools: are public schools that are independently operated. Charter schools have existed since 1996 in the state of Florida. In the 2005-06 school year Florida had approximately 334 charter schools. Although, charter schools are funded by local public school districts, they offer different programs and curriculum. Charter technical career centers, for example, offers a greater emphasis on post-secondary technical education communities.[3]
  • Virtual schools: also known as the Florida Virtual School (FLVS), was originally a grant-based project in 1997 and changed into a special independent public school district in 2001. The district is currently governed by a board of trustees appointed by the Governor. The program offers approximately 80 free courses to middle and high school students. Specifically the program is geared towards home schooled students, students attending low performing schools, students attending schools with limited offerings and students interested in graduating early.[3]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ↑ Center for Research on Education Outcomes,"Multiple Choice:Charter school performance in 16 states," June 2009
  2. ↑ Naples Daily News,"Report: Florida charter school students not keeping pace with peers in public schools," June 15,2009
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Florida Department of Education,"School Choice Options," retrieved June 24, 2009
  4. ↑ Florida Supreme Court,"Case No. SC04-2323," January 5,2006
  5. ↑ Florida Statute 220.187
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