Politico reporter Stephanie Simon gets it and what it really means about the dismissal of our court case of the logrolling of SB 850. Remember, we had to go all the way to the Supreme Court last time and still law makers side step the law...Floridians need to wake up and vote people out of office that do not share their values and serve the citizens of this state. 12/30/14 1:48 PM EST 12/30/14 The Florida Education Association will consider appealing today’s dismissal of its lawsuit against the state’s school choice programs — but the union has pinned most of its hopes on a second lawsuit, a union official said. Joanne McCall, vice president of the FEA, said the second lawsuit is “the most important one” because it focuses on a key constitutional question: Is it legal for the state to subsidize tuition at private and religious schools? The lawsuit thrown out today was more procedural in nature; it argued that legislation expanding the voucher program was illegal because it violated a state law requiring that bills cover only a single subject. Top FEA staff will convene next week to decide whether to appeal, McCall said. In the meantime, they’re preparing for a Feb. 9 hearing in the second lawsuit. For that case, the union is relying on a precedent set in 2006, when the state Supreme Court struck down Florida’s Opportunity Scholarship Program as unconstitutional. That program involved direct subsidies from the state to low-income families to pay private-school tuition. The program the union is challenging now is set up differently: The state subsidies are indirect, in the form of tax credits for businesses which donate to nonprofits — which in turn fund private school scholarships for eligible families. But McCall argued that the same legal principles should apply whether the subsidies are direct or indirect. “The constitution is clear: The Florida legislature is to provide a free, public, uniform system of education,” she said. Instead, McCall said, “what they have created is a parallel system in the state with no accountability.” She noted that voucher schools aren’t required to give students the state standardized tests, can hire teachers who are not certified and don’t have to cover a particular curriculum. McCall said the union fears that students in the voucher schools don’t necessarily receive a quality education. At the same time, she said the subsidies drain money that would otherwise be used to support public school needs. “There’s only a certain amount of money in the pie,” she said. “When you start diverting funds meant for public schools to private entities — and a lot of them are for-profit — you can’t provide what you need to provide for the public school system.” McCall added: “We are looking out for public school students. That’s our job.” — Stephanie Simon With Andy Ford Happy New Years Eve!
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 11:01:28 +0000
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