PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — Surrounded by students in crisp school uniforms, a group of educators, faith leaders, and families urged Florida’s teachers union to drop a lawsuit that seeks to end the nation’s largest K-12 education choice programs.
“I am not anti-public school. Public schools work for many children. But they don’t work for every child, including my sons,” said Leslie Coker, a stay-at-home mom whose two school-age sons have radically different unique abilities and who have benefited from the learning options the programs provide. The scholarships made it possible for a single-income household like hers to afford to send one child to a hybrid school and homeschool the other son full time. Both boys are thriving in learning environments that best fit their individual needs.
“For me, this lawsuit is not political. It is personal. If it succeeds, the impact will hit my family hard, as well as many others," the Bradenton area mom said. We are living proof that education choice is working in Florida. I urge the teachers union to respect our choices and drop the lawsuit.”
Mrs. Coker made her plea on Wednesday at a news conference at Sacred Heart Catholic School, which serves more than 200 students in preschool through eighth grade. Florida Catholic schools have increased their enrollments over the past decade in contrast to their counterparts in other states, which have seen declines. They credit Florida’s robust state scholarship programs, which have made the Sunshine State the national leader in empowering parents to choose the best learning options for their children.
“Ultimately, this debate comes down to one simple question: Who is best equipped to make educational decisions for these children? A bureaucrat sitting in an office hundreds of miles away? Or the parents who know, love, raise and sacrifice for that child every single day?” said Christopher Pastura, schools superintendent for the Diocese of St. Petersburg. He called the lawsuit “misguided and wrong” and urged the union to withdraw it.
“We cannot go backward,” he said.
Supporters began speaking out within weeks after the Florida Education Association and others sued the state on May 5 over its three-decade-old private school scholarship and charter school programs. The latest figures from the Florida Department of Education show that 1 million Florida K-12 students are now educated outside of district schools. A news conference, organized by former Gov. Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Florida’s Future, was held May 14 outside the Old State Capitol in Tallahassee. Step Up For Students, which manages virtually all the state’s K-12 scholarship programs, organized Wednesday’s event.
James Hartman, executive director for IDEA Public Schools in the Tampa Bay area, noted that Florida charter schools, which the law established in 1996, now serve nearly 400,000 students on more than 700 campuses.
“Charter schools are not opposed to public education,” he said. “Charter schools are part of public education.”
Hartman said he hopes that as the lawsuit makes its way through the courts, the focus can stay where it belongs — on students.
For the low-income families who live in the part of Tampa served by Faith Action Ministry Alliance (FAMA), the scholarship programs are not a luxury but a lifeline.
Students who attend the FAMA-owned Grant Park Christian Academy share what they learn at home, said the Rev. Alfred Johnson. That elevates the educational level of an entire community.
“I remember one mother telling us through tears, ‘My children are learning things at school that we didn’t even know in our home. They’re bringing it back home — and it’s changing our family.’”
Johnson said county commissioners tell him that more programs like his are needed to help those living in low-income communities.
“So how can we say we want to save neighborhoods while simultaneously attacking the very programs helping to save them?” he said. “I urge the teachers union to abandon this lawsuit — so that we do not abandon our children.”