Tallahassee Democrat Publishes Op-Ed on Union Lawsuit

Last week, the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper published this piece by the president of the organized statewide teacher's union in Florida.  The article was badly biased, inaccurate, and totally incorrect.  The Democrat allowed a rebuttal to appear in yesterday's (Sunday) edition, and it was a piece that I submitted.  You can find it here.

I feel it is arrogant for this special interest group, the FEA, to try to tell the legislature what laws and programs it can/can't pass---and then to go to court to try to scuttle this program after it was duly enacted by the legislature and Governor---this is overtly aggressive!  The Union is out of their lanes here---this is not taxpayer dollars at issue here, and to suggest otherwise is disingenuous.

For this special interest group to try to tell corporations it is somehow wrong for them to donate to scholarship programs that primarily benefit minority students is reprehensible.  To spread mischaracterizations about this program is  wrong.

I hope that many legislators saw both pieces and realize that the special interest labor unions do not speak for all of us that are invested in Public Education in the state of Florida!

From Sunday's Op-ed:

"I, too, am an active participant and believer in public education as an elected Escambia School Board member. But I see far too much self-interest in her claims that choice is bad for these parents. In her recent “My View” in the Democrat, Ms. McCall offered some dubious claims about this 15-year-old scholarship program:

•The private schools “make their own rules about testing” – though the law requires them to use a test approved by the state.

•“They don’t have to prove to the state that they are using public money wisely” – though the law requires an independent accountant’s report for any school receiving more than $250,000.

•Scholarship students are “being harmed” academically – though seven consecutive years of standardized test results tell us they are achieving the same gains as students of all incomes nationally.

Like Ms. McCall, I too want every student to thrive in our district schools. But different children learn in different ways, and these scholarship children lack the financial means to access a private school. So why must we view this opportunity as an attack on public education?One thing that is clear to me as a school board member is that this scholarship is not the cause of any fiscal challenges we may face. These scholarships are only 80 percent of what we would have to spend for the same children in our district schools, and reputable analyses by independent agencies have shown without exception that the program saves tax money.Just imagine the hole it would blow in our district budgets if the union persuaded the Florida Supreme Court to evict 78,000 poor students and they suddenly show up in district schools? The cost to build schools alone could be well over a billion dollars. The most nagging conceit is that every education dollar is owed exclusively to us, as school boards and teacher unions, and that any dollar spent to allow students to pursue different paths to success is a “diversion.”

Boom: FEA, FSBA, and NAACP Lawsuit Against Choice Dismissed!

 

Rejected!

Education Establishment 0    Students, Parents, Taxpayers  1

In what can only be described as a devastatingly bad loss for establishment, bureaucratic educational guardians of the status quo, a Leon County Circuit Judge did what many expected, he dismissed the case against the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program.  


Florida Students, Parents, Taxpayers, and genuine proponents of School Choice are the winners today!

From the Miami Herald:

"Opponents of a controversial law that directs would-be tax dollars to private schools suffered a setback Monday as a Leon County judge threw out a legal challenge to its constitutionality. Circuit Judge George Reynolds III ruled that the Florida Education Association, Florida School Boards Association and other plaintiffs had no legal standing to bring the case against the nation’s largest private school choice program. His rationale: The way the program is funded, often referred to as a “voucher” system, doesn’t use government vouchers at all. Rather, Reynolds stated, the multimillion-dollar program gets its income from corporations who receive tax credits for giving money to an outside organization that provides scholarships to lower income students. Those students — about 70,000 of them and growing, with the greatest share in Miami-Dade —— then attend private schools, most of them religious. In other words, it’s not state money."

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article21319284.html#storylink=cpy

FEA Loses in Court, Rejected says the Judge!

1 Down and 1 to Go……

The Florida Teacher’s Union, the FEA, received a devastating loss today in the Florida Courts.  They had sought to invalidate SB 850, and twice now the judge in the case has rejected their arguments.  From the Tampa Bay Times Buzz Blog:

“A judge on Tuesday dismissed one of two lawsuits aimed at Florida's controversial school voucher program. The suit challenged the 2014 expansion of a program that provides private-school scholarships for low-income children. It also threatened a new program creating scholarships for children with special needs. A second lawsuit, which is still pending, alleges the voucher program conflicts with the state Constitution. Both are being driven by the statewide teachers union…On Tuesday, Francis said the new complaint lacked "a legally sufficient basis to sustain a finding of special injury."

Read the whole story here  

Florida Political Leadership Speaks Out Against FEA, FSBA Lawsuit

Statement from Senate President Don Gaetz

“The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program is a national model of school choice.  Through this historic initiative, Florida businesses have voluntarily dedicated a portion of their corporate tax payments to help children in poverty, minority children and children with unique needs have access to schools and services otherwise available only to families with the means to pay for private school tuition.
 
“One of the hallmarks of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program has been the strong bipartisan support it has enjoyed in the Florida Legislature and among Florida families.  Opening the doors of educational opportunity to children benefitting from these scholarships has united Republicans and Democrats for more than a decade.   For the 2013-14 academic school year, 59,822 children in 64 counties have received the advantages of these scholarships. The program enrollment has more than doubled in the past five years. 
 
“The lawsuit filed against this scholarship program by the Florida School Boards Association and others is ironically ill-timed and hypocritical.
 
“It is particularly ill-timed because the 2014 Legislature both improved the scholarship program and enacted strong academic and financial accountability measures.  These measures ensure that students, their families and the public will know how children receiving the scholarships are performing compared to like students in traditional public schools.  The law, which this litigation now seeks to overturn, also requires the Auditor General to perform detailed financial examinations of any scholarship funding organization administering the program in order to ensure good stewardship of taxpayer dollars.  This lawsuit, if successful, would destroy this thriving school choice initiative at the very time it has taken on robust accountability requirements.
 
“The lawsuit is hypocritical.  When Florida Tax Credit Scholarships were available only to the very poor, who disproportionately are minority families, and other students with unique needs, the School Boards Association didn’t challenge their constitutionality.  These students often bring more challenges to the classroom and require extra help, more individualized instruction and additional resources.  It is only now, when the eligibility for scholarships has been expanded and when less-impoverished students can participate that the School Board Association has discovered its constitutional indignation. 

“As a member of the Senate, I have been a prime sponsor of the Tax Credit Scholarship Program, as it has developed over the years.  Now, I serve notice that, along with Speaker Weatherford and incoming leadership, I will vigorously defend the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program and the benefits it brings to tens of thousands of Florida families who only want what we all want – a chance for our children to learn and succeed.”


Statement from House Speaker Will Weatherford (R-Wesley Chapel):
“It is appalling that the Florida School Boards Association, unions and others would use their
power to try to block low-income parents from giving their children the education of their
choice. This is a tactic completely motivated by the worst kind of bureaucratic politics that
places the fears of an organization over the needs of children. We will vigorously defend this
program because we know that it helps our most vulnerable children rise out of difficult
circumstances and achieve true success.”

Statement from Senate President-Designate Andy Gardiner (R-Orlando):
“Since 2001, The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program has provided Florida students with
additional options to achieve academic success. Close to 60,000 students and their families who
may not otherwise have the resources are now taking advantage of the opportunity provided by
this program. Without using state education funding, this program allows parents to have control
over their child’s educational experience.”“The decision to file this lawsuit is a self-serving attempt to obstruct Florida families’ ability to access choice. These groups claim to represent Florida students, but I’m confident their actions do not represent many of their members who are working hard to provide their constituents with educational options. I look forward to working with those members next session to ensure every
Florida parent is empowered to pick the school that best fits their child’s learning needs.”

Statement from House Speaker-Designate Steve Crisafulli (R-Merritt Island):
“I am shocked that the Florida School Boards Association, unions and others would challenge a
parent’s ability to choose the right school for their child. The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship
Program has given tens of thousands of Florida’s low-income children access to schools that best
meet their needs. This popular program has proven important in preparing many of the poorest
and most disadvantaged of our children for success. I hope they will reconsider their actions and
put the needs of children first.”

NEA and FEA Lose Big Court Battle, Districts Win!

Rejected!
In a huge ruling out of the United States District Court in Gainesville today, the powerful statewide teacher's union, FEA, and their home office national union, NEA, were defeated; The issue was the use of student test scores in teacher evaluations.

Any and all rational humans know that basing a teacher's entire evaluation on student test scores is stupid and an inaccurate measurement of teacher effectiveness.  However, having year over year student learning gains factored into and made a part of the evaluation makes sense--- and it is the law under Florida's student success act.

The unions tried to sue our district (and several others) over this, however a coalition of school board attorneys successfully argued that following state mandates does not make us guilty of violating teachers' rights.

from the Judge's ruling:

"This case, however, is not about the fairness of the evaluation system. The standard of review is not whether the evaluation policies are good or bad, wise or unwise; but whether the evaluation policies are rational within the meaning of the law. The legal standard for invalidating legislative acts on substantive due process and equal protection grounds looks only to whether there is a conceivable rational basis to support them. For reasons that have been explained, the State Defendants could
rationally conclude that the evaluation policies further the state’s legitimate interest in increasing student learning growth. The same can be said of the District Defendants. Although they have not contested Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and have not moved for summary judgment in their own right, they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law for the same reasons that summary judgment is granted for the State Defendants.

For these reasons,

IT IS ORDERED: 

1.                 The State Defendants’ motion for summary judgment, ECF No. 84, is GRANTED.

2.                 Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, ECF No. 86, is DENIED.

3.                 The Clerk shall enter judgment in favor of all Defendants against Plaintiffs on Counts One, Two, Six, and Seven, which have been dismissed, see ECF No. 111; and on Counts Three, Four, Five, Eight, Nine, and Ten, on which summary judgment has been granted. 

4.                 This Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state law claim in Count Eleven.

         SO ORDERED on May 6, 2014. "