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Schools

Measure would expand vouchers

The plan would give vouchers to students who fail a state reading test three times.

By CARRIE JOHNSON
Published February 23, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - Students who fail the state's reading test three years in a row would be offered vouchers for private school under a sweeping new education bill Gov. Jeb Bush is expected to unveil today.

The proposal also would change the way teachers are paid, taking into account working conditions such as low-performing schools, high-crime areas and teacher shortages.

Sen. Evelyn Lynn, an Ormond Beach Republican and head of the Senate's Education Committee, called it a "logical extension of the A-Plus plan," the 1999 program that raised the stakes connected to standardized testing for students, teachers and schools.

"It deals with a variety of issues that need to be addressed," said Lynn, who has agreed to sponsor the bill on behalf of Bush. "Teachers will recognize this as a bill that has tremendous opportunity."

Bush was leading a trade mission to Bogota, Colombia, on Tuesday. His office would not discuss the proposal before today's announcement.

The proposal is almost certain to face strong opposition from Democrats, many of whom have questioned the constitutionality of vouchers.

"I think we ought to focus our efforts on improving our public schools," said Sen. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton. "The future of Florida's children, the future of Florida's economy, depends on good, quality public schools."

Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, said money would be better spent on provisions such as reading coaches. "We need to solve the reading problem within the school system that's supposed to teach them to read," he said.

The bill, which was still being drafted Tuesday, would be a major expansion of the state's voucher program at a time when its legal future is uncertain.

In a November decision, the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that the state's original voucher program is unconstitutional because it allows tax dollars to be spent on religious schools. It was the third such court ruling since the voucher law was passed in 1999. The Florida Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments on the issue this spring.

The voucher provision is only a small part of the governor's proposal, Lynn said. It is intended to help students who are struggling with reading, and it would let those who score at Level 1 on the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test three years in a row attend a private school.

Students who read at Level 3 are considered to be reading on grade level.

"This is only intended for very extreme situations," Lynn said. "When you've tried just about anything and everything you can and you still don't have success, I think our first obligation is to the student. We need to do everything we can to make sure that student has success."

Lynn said she didn't know how many students could qualify for the voucher, but 45,000 third-graders - more than one in five - flunked the reading portion of the FCAT in 2004. About the same number failed the previous year.

Although the state has refused to provide figures on third-graders who are held back more than once because they failed the reading portion of the FCAT, a Department of Education spokesman said that up to 3,700 third-graders have been retained twice.

Senate President Tom Lee said the Legislature is likely to continue approving vouchers as long as they are legal. He said he favored giving struggling students the option of attending private schools if there is a way to measure their performance.

Members of the state's teachers union, who were briefed on the proposal by the governor's staff, were quick to denounce any expansion of vouchers.

"There's no guarantee an unaccountable private school is better than a public school," said Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association. "If the public schools had the resources to be able to meet the children's needs, then they would be able to actually achieve. What we need to do is give public schools a chance."

Ford also spoke out against the proposed changes to teacher pay, saying it was a cookie-cutter approach to a much larger problem.

Although details are still vague, FEA spokesman Mark Pudlow said the governor's proposal would require school systems to give more pay to teachers who worked under adverse conditions, such as a high-crime area or in a school with low-performing students.

Ford said the union was willing to discuss the proposal with the governor and Republican leadership, but he advocates giving local school systems greater control over teacher salaries.

"Politicians in Tallahassee should not be dictating each and every detail of what should go on in the school system," Ford said.

Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association, said he approved of most of the governor's bill. But the vouchers are a deal killer, he said.

Blanton said it makes no sense to send poorly performing students into private schools, "which do not have any resemblance of the accountability that public schools have." Students in private schools are not required to take the FCAT.

But Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, chairman of the House Education Council, said he doesn't think vouchers have hurt Florida, home to the nation's first statewide voucher program.

"I'm very excited about creating options," Baxley said. "I think any time students hit the wall and are having a difficult time, it's good to have options."

Times staff writers Steve Bousquet and Matthew Waite contributed to this report.

[Last modified February 23, 2005, 00:34:19]