I listened to a FLDOE conference call July 19, 2023 at 10 am about homeschooling. Participants asked questions about the impact of HB-1, the voucher expansion bill signed by the Governor in early 2023. I would like to be assured that parents who receive voucher money aren’t double dipping by also taking advantage of services offered by the school district. As charter schools and vouchers continue to drain funds from our district-run schools, double dipping should be a concern for all taxpayers
I am nostalgic for my country when it felt like the entire country valued our neighborhood schools and I fear what will happen to the neighborhood schools if the privatization movement continues. Did you know that every state Constitution in the US has a guarantee of free public education for the children of their state? Florida’s Constitution takes it one step further saying that education must be “high quality.”
ARTICLE IX SECTION 1.
(a) The education of children is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida. It is, therefore, a paramount duty of the state to make adequate provision for the education of all children residing within its borders. Adequate provision shall be made by law for a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools that allows students to obtain a high quality education
I’m not a fan of 2023 HB-1 because I don’t understand how the education budget can afford to subsidize alternatives and still adequately fund our neighborhood schools so they have LOTS of choices and continue to operate as a community hub including letting the neighborhood use the track field like a public park when school isn’t in session.
According to what I heard on the July 19th conference call, Step Up for Students will take over the responsibility for collecting the annual evaluation for the home-schooled students who receive a voucher.
Excerpt from this website:
According to s. 1002.41, F.S., district should maintain the following records for Home Education students: Letter of Intent, Annual Evaluation, the Letter of Termination and correspondences. Any additional information, required for the student’s participation in district services, dual enrollment, Bright Futures, etc., may also be obtained and maintained for the home education student. All other home education student records are the responsibility of the parent to maintain.
Excerpt from this website:
The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program will include a “homeschool” option for up to 20,000 students in the 2023-24 school year referred to as a personalized education program (PEP). Families should indicate their interest in the new option when completing their student’s application with the SFO.
Home-schooled students receiving the voucher created by HB-1 cannot take courses at the district-run schools because district-run schools have no way to bill the parent to get the appropriate portion of the voucher. I tried to get that confirmed, but haven’t yet received a response. Home-schooled students who don’t request a voucher can attend a class at a district-run school because the district can apply for FTE for that class.
Do charter school students and voucher funded private and home-schooled students get to participate in a neighborhood school’s athletic program without reimbursing the district for a portion of the cost of running that program? If a parent is NOT taking state money for education, then I could see letting them participate for free. BUT if they are attending a charter school or accepting a voucher, they are double dipping if they also want to take advantage of district programs without paying. HB 225 seems to require that those students be allowed to participate in a neighborhood school’s sports program but does it allow the district to charge a fee to that charter school or to Step Up?
Excerpt from this website:
Do districts receive any funding when home education students participate in extracurricular activities? No, unless the home education student enrolls in a class required to participate in the extracurricular activity. The district may report that student for funding purposes. Additionally, home education students may be required to pay fees that are required of all participating students.
A couple of participants on the conference call said the majority of students who enter home education have truancy problems. She said it’s heartbreaking. One woman responded that it’s the parent’s choice to let their child enroll in home education and then provide them with no education. She apparently embraces the extremist parental choice mentality. A student with truancy problems wanting to enter a home education program must jump through additional hoops according to this website:
Can the parent of a student who has been found to exhibit a pattern of nonattendance enroll that student in a home education program? Yes. However, at the time that a student who has been found to exhibit a pattern of nonattendance is enrolled in a home education program, the home education contact will: a. Provide the parent or guardian with a copy of the home education law, s. 1002.41, F.S., and the accountability requirements of the truancy law, s. 1003.26(1)(f), F.S.; and b. Refer the parent to a home education review committee composed of members as specified in s. 1003.26, F.S.
Will Step Up for Students be required to do this for students seeking a home-school voucher?
The legislators changed the requirement for an annual audit of Step Up. You can read about Step Up at this link:
I want to follow up to find out what happened so I’m listing these items which were on the agenda for the state BOE meeting on July 19th.
6A-6.03315 Private School Scholarship Compliance
Excerpt from the form private schools have to complete to be eligible for voucher money:
* Does the school comply with anti-discrimination provisions of 42 U.S.C. section 2000d that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in accordance with section 1002.421(1)(a), F.S.?
6A-6.0952 Family Empowerment Scholarship Program
To implement updates from House Bill 1 from the 2023 Legislative Session. Other changes to the rule will be considered related to the expansion of the program including, but not limited to, updates to Scholarship Funding Organization (SFO) responsibilities, Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES) eligibility, FES expansion, and provisions for choice navigator services.
6A-6.0960 Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program
To implement updates from House Bill 1 from the 2023 Legislative Session, including, but not limited to, updates to Scholarship Funding Organization (SFO) requirements, scholarship program participation requirements, student account balance limits, and provisions for choice navigator services.
Here’s the link to all the rules being considered: https://web02.fldoe.org/rules/Default
Unite Us Do Not Divide Us 