Backers of a bill that would give parents more say in what happens to failing schools pushed back against their critics on Tuesday. The bill is ready for the House floor and expected to start moving in the Senate.
Supporters of the bill call it the "parent empowerment law." If a public school is failing for the second year in a row, parents can ask the school board to choose one of four options: replace the principal, replace the staff and administration, close the school, or convert it to a charter school.
Patricia Levesque of the Foundation for Florida's Future, which backs the bill, said, "The advantage that this gives to parents is that they would now have a legal seat at the table. They would have to have their petition heard. They would have to be given a formal review."
Opponents call the bill the "parent trigger." They say it's a way to set up failing schools for take-over by for-profit charter companies.
Both sides agree failing schools are mostly located in poor neighborhoods. But Jeff Wright of the Florida Education Association said what those schools really need is more funding to help students and families with the basics.
"They've got to have the medical services, the dental services, the vision services. Extended day for these kids – these parents work two and three jobs. They can't get involved in that school", said Wright. "There's nothing in this bill that we believe is about parents or about kids."
The bill is poised for the House floor but hasn't been heard in the Senate, where a similar measure died on a dramatic 20-20 tie last year.
Supporters hope the bill has a better chance this year, since the group of maverick senators who helped kill last year's measure has mostly left the Legislature due to term limits. Should the bill pass, Governor Rick Scott is likely to sign it.
"We know every child can learn, so parents ought to have the choice of where they want to send their child to school, whether it's a traditional public school", Scott said. "And we have great traditional public schools in our state – or great charter schools."
The Foundation for Florida's Future is chaired by former Governor Jeb Bush, an influential voice on education policy. Bush recently visited the Capitol to push for the bill.