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Who does not . . ?
Almost
no Florida parents
have school choice during their children’s critical elementary and
secondary
years. Fewer than 50,000 out of over 2.8 million K-12 students receive
tuition
vouchers. This is because Florida policy on school choice for K-12 is
the
opposite of what it is before and after that age level. Instead of
permitting
public funds to go to good schools whether they are public or not, we
insist
that they go only to public schools, whether they are good or not.
In
1999 Florida parents
began working with their lawmakers, others, and us to change that. Our
goal is
simple: we want a consistent policy of school choice that applies from
preschool through college. All Florida children at all
ages
should receive the public support intended for
their
education in the form of vouchers that can be directed to effective
schools
– public, private, home or virtual.
In
the face of great
opposition, we tried to create the following K-12 vouchers:
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Opportunity
Scholarships for children in failing schools
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Passed
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1999
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McKay Scholarships
for children with disabilities
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Passed
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1999, 2001
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Corporate Tax-Credit
Scholarships for low-income children
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Passed
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2001
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Vouchers for children
assigned to overcrowded schools
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Lost
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1999, 2001
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Vouchers for the
children of families serving in the military
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Lost
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2002, -04, -05
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Virtual Vouchers for
children attending online schools
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Passed
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2003
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Vouchers for children
not learning to read in their assigned school
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Lost
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2005
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We
have supported legislation creating vouchers
for some children because it is a step in the desired direction
of
vouchers for all. The lawmakers who believe in school choice
have seen
these targeted K-12 vouchers as the best way forward. But winning K-12
school
choice for any families is a battle. Why is that?
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