Florida Voucher Proposal Narrowly Stopped

In January, 2006, the Florida Supreme Court struck down a voucher law because it violated the state's constitution. This outraged Republican lawmakers, and especially Governor Jeb Bush who regarded the voucher program as a central feature of his education programs. The efforts to change the Florida state constitution failed, fortunately.

Americans United reports that Jeb Bush applied heavy pressure to state senators:

Bush began applying pressure on lawmakers to approve a constitutional amendment to save the voucher plan. Even following the defeat in the Senate, the governor, according to press reports attempted to get certain state senators to change their vote. African-American Democratic state senators accused Bush of trying to get them to switch their votes. The Tallahassee Democrat reported that voucher supporters sent black children to the capitol to “cajole” the lawmakers to support Bush’s effort.

State Sen. Larcenia Bullard (D-Miami) called the tactic “demeaning.”

This pressure ultimately failed, though, because it was the Senate where the constitutional amendment was stopped. The Bradenton Herald reported previously on the passage of this amendment in the Florida House of Representatives:

The Republican-sponsored proposal (HJR 7143) passed 76-36 on a nearly straight party-line vote. ... Democrats argued that it was a way to circumvent a Supreme Court ruling in January that struck down the voucher program because it violated a state constitutional provision that requires a uniform system of free public of schools. ...

“Every time something happens here that the majority doesn’t like they come up with a bill to go around it,” Rep. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, said after voting against the measure. “It’s spanking the Supreme Court’s hands because they made a ruling that killed the voucher program.”

Floridians are fortunate that their public education system is now secure from having funding taken away for the sake of private — including private religious — schools. There are many ways in which public schools can be improved, but state sponsorship of private and religious education isn’t the way to do it.

Public education, after all, isn’t simply about basic education and job skills training — public education in a democracy is about creating a public fit for democracy. This requires, in part, bringing together children from diverse ethnic, religious, racial, and economic backgrounds so they can all work and learn together. Educational balkanization into private and religious schools undermines this purpose of public education.

 

Religion in Public Schools:

• Religion in Public Schools: News
• School Prayer
• School Holidays: Good Friday & Easter
• School Holidays: Christmas
• Arguments Against School Vouchers