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JONI JAMESThe measure would require auditing and standardized testing in the Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship program.
TALLAHASSEE - With an aim toward rehabilitating the image of a controversial private school voucher program, a Florida Senate panel on Wednesday voted to increase auditing and require standardized testing of the children enrolled.
Private schools that participate and the nonprofit groups that coordinate the corporate tax-funded scholarships would be required to provide annual financial records under a plan passed by the Senate Education Committee.
Students would be required to take one of three standardized tests, including the FCAT, the cornerstone of Gov. Jeb Bush's A-Plus Plan. Schools also could have students take the Stanford-9 test or the Iowa Test of Basic Skills.
But to the dismay of some senators and many established private schools in Florida, the panel did not recommend requiring that schools be accredited to participate. Neither did the panel approve a proposal that would have made public which companies contributed to the program.
"This is not perfect, but it's a first step in what I believe will ensure the long-term viability of this program," said Senate Education Committee Chairman Lee Constantine, R-Altamonte Springs. "I suspect we will be back next year, and the year after that, and the year after that to tweak this."
Lawmakers first approved the Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship program in 2001. One of three state private school voucher programs, it allows private corporations to forgo paying state taxes if they donate an amount equal to their tax bill to a nonprofit scholarship funding organization. The organizations are supposed to use the money to dole out $3,500-maximum scholarship awards to low-income children. About 12,000 students use the vouchers.
One leader of a scholarship funding organization, James Isenhour of Ocala, was arrested in January and accused of bilking $268,000 in scholarship money from the state.
An audit by Florida Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher found that some scholarship funding organizations didn't verify that recipients were low-income students, awarded individual students too much money and kept poor records.
Now there is a broad consensus among legislators and Bush that the program needs better accountability. But it's unclear how far the House will go in embracing the Senate's plan, particularly the requirement for standardized testing.
Though many private schools support requiring standardized testing, Bush and other House leaders have balked at such an idea in the past, saying it puts too many restrictions on private schools. The House had yet to take up the issue in a committee.