Charter schools, open enrollment among education bills to pass Florida House

TALLAHASSEE -- An assortment of education measures -- several with significant effects on Florida's public education system -- easily passed the state House, mostly along party lines Thursday.

The approved bills, deemed priorities for the Florida House, include one that would allow parents to send their children to any public school in the state that has space available, and another that imposes more financial transparency requirements on charter schools in exchange for making it easier for "high performing" and "high impact" charter schools to set up shop and expand in Florida.

Those measures, in particular, drew considerable debate this week, as Democrats renewed arguments that Republicans neglect conventional public schools in favor of charter schools, which are run by private companies that receive taxpayer funding.

"Boy, they're getting a lot of attention," House Democratic Leader Mark Pafford, of West Palm Beach, said of the state's 650 charter schools that serve about 250,000 children statewide. By comparison, about 2.4 million children go to 3,600 conventional public schools.

Republican lawmakers repeatedly emphasized their goal to "empower" parents and children with "choice" and "opportunity." Several also chastised Democrats on Thursday for being stuck in the past and for not focusing on "the kids" in their arguments, which questioned the rationale, logistics and cost

of Republicans' policies.

"We have to break the chains of the prison guards of the past, who want to preserve what was," said state Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala.

State Rep. Chris Sprowls' bill (HB 669) to allow open enrollment in Florida public schools drew concerns from Democrats about how residents' tax dollars would be affected and whether the Legislature was opening itself up to litigation because, as Pafford argued, "tax dollars are derived for a certain purpose within that certain area."

Sprowls, a Palm Harbor Republican, dismissed questions about financial consequences as unrelated to his bill, which he said was about "sound policy" and giving "people opportunity ... so they can take advantage of wonderful public school education."

Sprowls said local tax dollars "shouldn't be an issue" for lawmakers and, regardless of that, the tax dollars would still be used for educational purposes.

"We're trying to draw a distinction based on the border of a county, and that's a distinction without value to me when we're talking about a child's education," Sprowls said.

Tampa Bay-area districts have, for years, let students transfer across district lines.

Democrats also worry that open enrollment could harm neighborhood schools and that it would benefit primarily affluent families, who are better able to afford the transportation costs involved with sending their kids to school in another district.

"We're creating opportunity, but false opportunity," said state Rep. Reggie Fullwood, D-Jacksonville.

Sprowls' bill passed 79-34. Lawmakers also debated at length a comprehensive proposal dealing with charter schools before passing it on a 79-35 vote.

Among its effects, HB 7029 -- sponsored by state Rep. Bob Cortes, R-Altamonte Springs -- would require the private companies and organizations that operate charter schools to better disclose their finances, a provision that drew bipartisan praise.

House members were divided on other provisions that would let "high-performing" charter schools more easily replicate in Florida and that would offer financial incentives to charters that set up in areas with impoverished or at-risk children. Such charter schools designated as "high impact" would get automatic eligibility for state capital dollars instead of having to wait three years, among other monetary benefits.

"There's some very disturbing trends that I find in this bill," state Rep. Richard Stark, D-Weston, said. "We're empowering charter schools very often at the expense of traditional schools."

This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Charter schools, open enrollment among education bills to pass Florida House ."