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Kids losing vouchers could shift to corporate program
Today is Day 5 of the 60-day session of the Florida Legislature.
Associated Press
Published March 11, 2006
About 700 children in a voucher program the Florida Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional could remain in private schools at taxpayer expense under a bill that cleared the House Education Appropriations Committee Friday.
The measure also would increase state regulation and accountability for private schools that take voucher students under two remaining state programs, including a requirement for fingerprinting and criminal background checks of teachers and staff members.
The Republican-dominated panel approved House Bill 7041 by a 16-4 vote. The opponents, all Democrats, praised the accountability standards but objected to letting students receiving unconstitutional "Opportunity Scholarships" shift to another voucher program for poor children.
The Opportunity Scholarships, a keystone of Gov. Jeb Bush's 1999 school accountability overhaul, provided vouchers to students from public schools graded F by the state for two years out of four. The Supreme Court ruled Jan. 5 that the program violated a provision in the Florida Constitution requiring a uniform system of public schools and that it must cease at the end of the current school year.
Other action
SPLIT SCHOOL DISTRICTS: The House Education Appropriations Committee revised a proposed state constitutional amendment that would allow the breaking up of large school systems. To prevent districts from being split into rich and poor districts, the committee agreed to still require school taxes to be collected countywide and distributed "in an equitable and nondiscriminatory manner" among the various districts. Florida now has one school district in each of its 67 counties. House Joint Resolution 213 proposes to have voters decide in November whether to allow counties to divide into districts of at least 25,000 students each through referendums.
BAR DRINK TAX: The House Finance and Tax Committee approved a bill on a 7-2 vote that would eliminate a complicated tax on drinks at a bar that restaurant and tavern owners say costs them more to collect than they take in. The per drink tax has already been cut substantially in recent years; it's now 3.3 cents per ounce of spirits or 4 ounces of wine, 1.3 cents per 12 ounces of beer and 2 cents per 12 ounces of cider.
HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS: A measure that would give Floridians a break from the sales tax on hurricane readiness items won unanimous approval in the House Finance and Tax Committee. The bill (HB 47) is aimed at encouraging people to buy flashlights, radios, batteries, generators and other hurricane necessities by making them-tax free the week before hurricane season starts. A similar measure is moving in the Senate.
[Last modified March 11, 2006, 01:42:13]
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