Posted by
John R. LaPlante on Friday, September 15, 2006 10:35:07 AM
Few states have been as aggressive in pursuing education reform as Florida, and the Hoover Institution’s Koret Task Force recently released an evaluation of the state’s reform efforts.
The efforts include the Opportunity Scholarship Program, which let students at any failing public school transfer to a qualified public or private school. It was down by the Florida Supreme Court early this year.
The McKay Scholarship Program, which lets students with disabilities attend any school, private or public, that suits their needs, was untouched.
The Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program encourages donations to scholarship funding organizations.
Over 50 new charter schools were opened during the last academic year, and the Florida Virtual School is a publicly funded school that lets students anywhere in the state enroll at a school that uses the Internet to study at their own pace. Further, the state promotes supplemental educational services to students in poorly performing schools.
Meanwhile, James Madison Institute, State Policy Network member organization, endorses calls for reforms. “Using failure to argue for more money is not unusual in public education’s budget process, but at some point there needs to be evidence that the money is being spent efficiently and [PDF] getting results.”