[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 153 (Tuesday, October 28, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2137]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    FLORIDA: THE STATE OF EDUCATION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CLIFF STEARNS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 28, 2003

  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, the problems affecting public schools are 
all to familiar: poor academic achievment, community conflict over the 
curriculum, ineffective instructive methods, financial mismanagement 
and a growing inability to meet the needs of families. Less well known 
is the fact that these ills are shared by state school systems all over 
the world. In spite of countless reform efforts stretching back over 
decades, schools have yet to crack the code on educational success. 
Despite agreement that the system is a failure, possible solutions are 
a source of great controversy. In developing a strategy for change, it 
would be helpful to look to a model that is enjoying great success in 
my home state of Florida.
  Florida leads the nation not only in providing education choices for 
children but also in innovative education opportunities for low-income 
families and children with disabilities. The state provides A+ 
scholarships for students in failing schools, McKay Scholarships for 
students with disabilities, tax credits for donations to scholarship 
organizations, and over 200 charter schools. Eligible high school 
students may take college courses for high school and postsecondary 
credit. These scholarships redirect the flow of education funding, 
channeling it directly to individual families rather than to school 
districts allowing families to select the public or private schools of 
their choice and have all or part of the tuition paid. Scholarships are 
advocated on the grounds that parental choice and competition between 
public and private schools will improve education for all children.
  School Vouchers known as the Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) in 
Florida was created under Governor Bush's A+ Plan, reflects Florida's 
commitment to higher standards in education for Florida's students. OSP 
allows parents whose children are assigned to a failing school to 
choose between sending their child to a higher performing public school 
or to apply state generated funding toward private school tuition. For 
the purpose of OSP, a school is considered failing if it has received a 
failing grade in the previous year as well as one other failing grade 
in the three previous years.
  When a parent has been notified that his or her child is eligible for 
the Opportunity Scholarship Program, a parent may choose one of three 
options. They may:
  Transfer his/her child to a higher performing public school;
  Enroll his/her child in a participating private school;
  Retain his/her child in the low performing school.
  The McKay Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities makes a 
school voucher available to any special education student in Florida 
public schools. This program is the second largest school voucher 
program in the country, and with approximately 375,000 eligible special 
education students it is likely to become the largest soon. Currently, 
over 9,000 students use McKay vouchers.
  In 2001, lawmakers approved the John M. McKay Scholarships for 
Children with Disabilities. These scholarships are available to all 
Florida school children who have an IEP (Individual Education Plan) and 
have spent at least 7 months attending special classes in the public 
school system.
  The law allows public school children with any type of IEP disability 
designation (physical, emotional, mental or general learning 
disability), whose parents are dissatisfied with their progress in the 
public school, to receive a scholarship from the state. Their parents 
are then able to choose a school they consider to be better suited for 
the child. This scholarship is meant to supplement the cost of private 
schooling for children with disabilities, not to cover the total 
amount. These scholarships are not income based and follow the student 
through high school.
  Efforts to promote educational choice are in no way a condemnation or 
indictment of the public school system or its teachers. The goal is 
simply to provide educational alternatives to a group of people who, 
because of financial circumstances alone, have none. Insuring quality 
education for all of Florida's children will help to assure a bright 
future for Florida. These scholarship programs are designed to liberate 
parents who are limited by financial circumstance, to choose the school 
best suited for their child's unique academic needs.
  The success of school choice programs in Florida should be a lesson 
to us on the national level. It is only when parents are involved in 
their child's educational life that children respond and flourish.

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