By Frank Biden
The Tampa Tribune
January 25th, 2015
In Florida alone, there are over 1,400 events planned for National School Choice Week (Jan. 25-31) when kids will break out the signature yellow scarves and families will celebrate the empowerment and opportunity that comes with being able to choose the best education option for their child.
To observers of education policy, the large number of events comes as no surprise. Florida has one of the strongest school choice policy environments in the country compared to other states. In fact, the Sunshine State ranks No. 2 on The Center for Education Reform’s Parent Power Index, which evaluates states based on qualitative and proven education policies that provide choices for families and deliver successful outcomes for students.
Florida’s voucher program helps over 27,000 students with special needs; tax credit-funded scholarships assist over 60,000 students; and an estimated 239,996 Sunshine State students are enrolled in charter schools. Through the Florida Virtual School (FVS), there are more online learners in Florida than any other state. Lawmakers have expanded the state’s wildly successful tax credit-based school choice scholarship program, and established a new, albeit limited, program of personal learning scholarship accounts for special-needs learners.
However, these numbers merely represent approximately 7 percent of Florida’s public school population, meaning even one of the most choice-friendly states in the country still has a lot of work to do. Parents need and want more. They want their children to be eligible for scholarships, for funding to directly follow kids into the classroom, and for students to be in the best possible learning environment regardless of Zip code or background.
Parents are eagerly lining up to access personal learning scholarship accounts that allow students with special needs to have a more customized education experience with critical resources.
The breadth and makeup of state laws are critical in determining availability of choice and innovations in communities. It will be incumbent on lawmakers to continue the strengthening of laws on the books, while exploring new pathways toward excellent education models.
For all its positive points, Florida’s charter school law still lacks the establishment of multiple, independent charter authorizers that have proven successful elsewhere in the nation. A recent State Department of Education report shows a slowdown in charter school authorization by local districts, even as the report states there is clear interest to open schools in order to meet demand. The presence of multiple, independent authorizers free of local control would allow charter school options to expand with a high degree of accountability.
During National School Choice Week, let’s all resolve to listen to the inspiring stories of these families, celebrate the millions of students who now have a brighter future because their parents had a say about it and remind ourselves why this cause is so important.
Frank Biden
Ocean Ridge
The writer, the brother of Vice President Joe Biden, is CEO of School Choice LLC. Ocean Ridge is in South Florida.