Voucher Abuses

The Florida Supreme Court ruled against the Opportunity Scholarships vouchers. Jeb Bush lost because he refused to make private schools be tested. Bush strongly advocated the FCAT being used to grade public schools. Bush wavered when asked if private schools were going to be held by the same standard.

"The diversion of money not only reduces public funds for a public education but also uses public funds to provide an alternative education in private schools that are not subject to the “uniformity” requirements for public schools," ruled the Florida Supreme Court.

State Senatators Les Miller and Walter "Skip" Campbell have filed a suit to find out how the FCAT tests are graded. The law mandates that graders must have a bachelor's degree. The Senators found out that the Florida Department of Education used Kelly Services temps to grade tests. The FDOE will not comment because how tests are graded is a trade secret. (Much like McDonald's secret sauce.)

The McKay Scholarships are used for children with disabilities. The Palm Beach Post have discovered the program has been abused.

Lax standards pose a fundamental legal problem for the voucher programs. The state Supreme Court this year ruled that the third voucher program - the governor's so-called "Opportunity Scholarships" used by about 700 students whose schools repeatedly scored an F on the state's FCAT-based grading system - is unconstitutional. The justices based their finding, in part, on the Legislature's failure to hold private voucher schools to the same standards as public schools.

The Post editorial states that Bush is less concerned with helping the disabled than using public money for religious schools. Public schools drive conservatives batty. There fail to realize that there isn't enough private schools to handle every child. Fortunately, their "big ideas" about education is failing and Floridians are sick of it.