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Changing Course: Rick Scott Wants Major Education Overhaul

February 14, 2011 | WMFE - Florida Governor Rick Scott wants to make sweeping changes to the state's education system. Lawmakers are sifting through his recommendations ahead of the March legislative session.

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Before he was sworn into office, Governor-elect Rick Scott put together an education transition team led by former Governor Jeb Bush’s top education adviser. So it’s no surprise that one of the team’s key recommendations is an expansion of Bush’s voucher system.

It’s called an “education savings account,” says transition team member Ed Moore. Every student would get one.

“About 85% of whatever the state spends currently per student in the various counties – there are 67 counties – would be able to travel with the student, that they would be able to use that money to buy educational services elsewhere,” says Moore.

Parents could spend that money on private school tuition, home schooling supplies, public school education, or tuck it away toward college.

Opponents say this plan would dismantle the public school system. Scott disagrees, but last week he did suggest he might wait to bring the plan before the legislature.

Some lawmakers say that’s good, because they’re not sure it could withstand a legal challenge. Republican State Senator David Simmons of Maitland is the Chairman of the Education Appropriations Committee.

“Those kind of things are subject to scrutiny by the courts,” says Simmons. “Obviously we would need to look at any proposal at the time that it’s presented as to whether or not it would pass constitutional muster.”

Simmons points out that part of Governor Bush’s voucher plan was struck down by a judge, and that plan wasn’t as far-reaching.

The education savings account idea is troubling teachers, as well. Mark Pudlow is with the Florida Education Association, the state teacher’s union. He says private schools don’t have as much hard data to show parents, like FCAT test scores and the grades public schools get from the state.

“You’re going to be giving parents money and you’re going to be telling them to go make a choice, and they’re going to have information about public schools, and then what they have from private school is going to be guesswork,” says Pudlow. “And that’s a real problem when you’re talking about putting taxpayer money into educating students.”

Although Scott may be putting this idea on the back burner, supporters say they’ll keep pushing for it. For now, Scott wants lawmakers to work on a plan that would make it easier for students to go from one public school to another.

Another key part of Scott’s plan involves basing teacher pay on student test scores. “About half of…teacher compensation would be driven by performance measurements, either by standardized tests or end of course exams measuring the students’ progress, explains education transition team member Ed Moore. “Are they doing one year of progress in one year’s time?”

Former Governor Charlie Crist vetoed a merit pay bill last year after teachers protested statewide. Now there’s a new version, with differences. For instance, this bill directs the State Education Commissioner to create a teacher grading scale that accounts for outside factors that can affect student test scores – things like student attendance, disciplinary records, disabilities and English language skills.

The measure would also do away with long-term teacher contracts known as tenure. State Senator Simmons says it’s not an attempt to punish good teachers.

“I really believe that 95% of our teachers are phenomenal and that they’re doing a great job,” says Simmons. “I believe that there are some teachers who really need to find another profession, and there are teachers who know that and principals who know that, and we need to have the flexibility to let them go on and find something else to do.”

Mark Pudlow of the teacher’s union stresses teachers are not against accountability – they just want the assessments to be fair. He does say this time, there’s less tension and more co-operation between lawmakers and educators.

“That’s probably the encouraging first step that we’re seeing here is that lawmakers are listening – some lawmakers are – and maybe we can get to the point where we can achieve some of the ends of measuring teachers in a fair way and coming up with ways to help student achievement,” says Pudlow.

Simmons, Pudlow and Moore say nearly everyone involved in this process wants the same thing – a better education for Florida’s students.

The question is how to do it.

 

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