TAMPA — In private school, the daughters of Cheryl Joseph are at least one grade level ahead of their peers.
They learn in small classes; study karate, chess and gardening during the day; and they enjoy going to school.
Joseph, a single mother of four, says she can only send her children to Academy Prep Center of Tampa because of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program.
Under the program, companies fund private-school scholarships for poor children then get tax credits equal to their donations.
Joseph is one of 15 parents across the state who are pushing back against a new lawsuit that calls the program unconstitutional and aims to shut it down.
On Dec. 5, the parents were granted permission by a judge to join the suit as “intervenor” defendants to represent the 69,000 students attending private schools on tax-credit scholarships this year.
“I’m honored to be a part of the case because my kids are benefiting from the scholarships,” Joseph said. “I’m going to fight to make sure they’re able to keep it.”
The suit was filed Aug. 28 against the state of Florida by groups including the statewide teachers union and the Florida Education Association. Other plaintiffs include the Florida School Boards Association, the state Parent Teacher Association, the League of Women Voters and the NAACP’s Florida State Conference.
The suit claims that in its 13 years of operation, the scholarship program has created a parallel system of education that is separate and unequal and that the scholarships amount to no more than a replacement for the state’s voucher system, the Opportunity Scholarship Program, which was judged unconstitutional in 2006.
Step Up for Students, a Tampa nonprofit group that administers the scholarships, approached the 15 parents — from Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville and across the state — about getting involved in the lawsuit.
All are strong advocates for a system that helped, they say, where public schools could not. Some have children who struggled with academics or were bullied. Some like the academic rigor and smaller enrollments.
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At Academy Prep, students attend classes and participate in enrichment activities — including golf, gardening and chess — for 11 hours a day, six days a week and 11 months a year. Boys and girls go to separate classes. By the end of the eighth grade, Academy Prep students’ achievement typically is about two grade levels higher than average in reading and math, school officials say.
When Morris heard about the lawsuit against the program, she said she was confused.
“Corporations put money into the scholarships,” she said. “It’s not like it’s taking away monies that were specifically allotted by the government to go to Florida schools,” she said. “It’s meeting a need.”
Hillsborough County school board vice chairwoman Doretha Edgecomb said she understands parents’ desire to choose the best education for their children but sees the scholarship program as a way to divert resources away from public schools.
“I applaud and respect parents’ rights about the choices they make for their children’s education,” Edgecomb said. “But if there are shortcomings in public education, we need to have our parents be vocal advocates to help us overcome these things. I’d rather them stay and be problem solvers with us.”
If the program survives, Edgecomb said, participating private schools should be subject to the same accountability system as Florida public schools to “equal the playing field.”
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If efforts to shut down the program fail in court, it is likely to continue growing in enrollment and cash. This year, state lawmakers have capped the amount of tax credits available at $358 million. Next school year, the cap will be bumped to $447 million.
Lawmakers also added more families to the pool of eligible applicants, raising the 2016 income ceiling for a family of four to $62,010 a year, or 260 percent of the poverty level. That’s a boost of nearly $20,000 from the current $43,568 annual income limit.
The value of each individual scholarship, now set at $5,272, will also rise.
A hearing to consider the state’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit will be held Feb. 9 in Tallahassee.
Originally Posted by CaptUSA
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