蜜桃影视

Updated, March 29

In the summer of 1996, a veteran advocate for Miami鈥檚 black community and his colleague, an affluent white real estate developer and failed conservative candidate, received important news: their proposal for a charter school, the first in Florida, had been approved by the Dade County school board just weeks after Gov. Lawton Chiles signed a bill that allowed charters.

The founders of the new school, which would serve one of Miami鈥檚 most troubled neighborhoods, spoke about changing the mindset they鈥檇 seen in traditional schools.

鈥淲hen 35 of 37 kids in a class flunk, we don’t challenge the abilities of the teacher,鈥� said T. Willard Fair, president of the Urban League. Fair was a co-sponsor with the most influential advocate of the new charter law and the man Chiles defeated two years earlier: Jeb Bush.

鈥淲e say, ‘Oh, those dumb kids. They’re poor. They’re disadvantaged,’鈥� Fair lamented.

Liberty City Charter School struggled through before closing in 2009, but its approval opened an era of far-reaching educational change in Florida. Led by Bush, who won the governorship on his second try in 1998, and continued by current Gov. Rick Scott, who will term out of office in November, state policy has reflected the school reform movement鈥檚 conservative wing 鈥� especially in removing obstacles that might constrain parents from choosing charter or virtual schools or that prevent lower-income families from paying for private schools. (The Orlando Sentinel reported that on scholarships to private schools.)

Florida lawmakers have also implemented merit pay for teachers, the use of results from high-stakes tests to evaluate schools and teachers, and ending social promotion. (Conservative-side pushback against standardized testing has resulted in fewer required tests.)

These concerns 鈥� along taxes, health care, and affordability issues 鈥攚ill divide right and left in the campaign to succeed Scott, who is expected to run for Senate against Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson. The crowded race is considered a toss-up by pollsters eight months out, with no Republican supported by more than 19 percent of voters and no Democrat by more than 13 percent, according to .

The state鈥檚 complexity 鈥� the north votes with the Bible Belt while diverse South Florida is deep blue 鈥� creates political cross-currents. Conservatives continue to guide the education system, expanding charters and vouchers, while Democrats appear ready to post electoral gains across much of the state.

Some seat-flipping in the Democrats favor is bound to happen in a midterm election under an unpopular Republican president, but the party will also owe a debt to the student anti-gun movement, whose passionate opposition to traditional gun culture has become the most electrifying political force in years and set GOP leaders in Florida (like those elsewhere) back on their heels.

Many question whether the survivors of the Parkland school shootings and their supporters will shake loose additional weapons restrictions 鈥� a safety bill passed by Florida lawmakers and signed by Scott in the tragedy鈥檚 aftermath omitted key demands. But they have already succeeded in forcing gun violence to the center of every Florida race in 2018 and may be reaching new or sidelined voters.

鈥淚t could galvanize people who traditionally don鈥檛 turn out to turn out,鈥� says Darryl Paulson, an emeritus political scientist at South Florida University and close follower of state politics.

Paulson considers Florida 鈥渆ssentially a 50-50 state,鈥� as evidenced most famously by George Bush鈥檚 537-vote margin of victory in 2000, out of more than 5.8 million cast, and several hair’s-breadth contests since. But with President Donald Trump鈥檚 approval rating in the state idling (and nearly 40 percent saying he should be impeached), the midterm election is expected to give Democrats a chance not only to take the governor鈥檚 seat but also the state Senate and other local and federal races.

A Democrat hasn鈥檛 been elected governor in Florida since Chiles in 1994; the party hasn鈥檛 controlled the Senate since 1992.

鈥淒emocrats are in a better situation than they鈥檝e ever been in the last 30 years to pick up seats everywhere,鈥� said Paulson, a lifelong Republican after Trump鈥檚 election. 鈥淓verything seems to be working to their political advantage. You鈥檙e going to get a sort of momentum effect: it鈥檚 going to bring out more money and bring out more candidates.鈥�

The state of state education: highlights

Florida鈥檚 next governor will inherit the nation鈥檚 third-largest school system, with more than 2.7 million students, 63 percent of whom are low-income. Nearly 40 percent of students are white, one-third are Hispanic, and 22 percent are black. Learning gaps between white and black students, as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress are about the same as national averages.

The 12-point gap between Florida鈥檚 white and Hispanic students in reading is significantly smaller than the median gap in other states.

Statewide, Florida NAEP scores have tracked the country in trending upward over the last 15 years. The state鈥檚 eighth-graders perform about as well as their peers nationally in reading but lower in math.

Thanks to charter-friendly laws, almost 300,000 students attend more than 650 charter schools, while the number of students using the state鈥檚 tax credit scholarship program 鈥� which allows businesses to pass tax savings to organizations that provide scholarships 鈥� has grown from roughly 1,500 in 2003 to more than 100,000, making it the largest program in the nation, , a non-profit that advocates for vouchers and other alternatives to traditional schools.

While an earlier voucher program that more directly sent funds to schools, including religious schools, was found unconstitutional by Florida courts, the use of tax credits has survived legal challenges from the NAACP and the Florida Education Association, the state鈥檚 main teachers union.

Multi-year research has found Florida students who use tax credits to attend private schools perform about the same as other students, though there is a small positive effect on neighboring schools that must compete for students. found students who used tax credits were more likely to enroll in college, but not to earn a degree.

---

 

“I have a sense that these students from Parkland are going to be political influencers through the 2018 election. I鈥檝e been doing this since 2006 and have never seen anything like it.”
鈥� Kevin Akins, Florida pollster

---

The issues

Much of the education conversation in the gubernatorial campaign will revolve around the state鈥檚 recent gun safety law, sweeping education laws signed by Scott in 2017 and 2018, and proposed amendments to the state constitution that will appear on the ballot in November.

Gun safety. Little more than three weeks after February鈥檚 mass shooting, energized lawmakers passed The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, which raised the minimum age from 18 to 21 for gun purchases, created a three-day waiting period, and dedicated funds to school safety, among other measures. Controversially, it also allowed some school personnel to carry guns in schools.

The bill was seen as a repudiation of the National Rifle Association in a state that hadn鈥檛 passed gun control legislation in 20 years and under a governor with an A+ NRA rating, But by omitting action on assault weapons and expanded background checks, and countenancing the idea of shootouts in school, it also ensured that education and gun safety would continue to be a focus of the campaign.

鈥淚 have a sense that these students from Parkland are going to be political influencers through the 2018 election,鈥� said Kevin Akins, a Florida pollster whose firm, ALG Research, is working on the campaign of Gwen Graham, who was considered the likely Democratic favorite but hasn鈥檛 broken loose. 鈥淚鈥檝e been doing this since 2006 and have never seen anything like it.鈥�

Even earlier, on the night of the shooting, gubernatorial hopeful Philip Levine, the brash former mayor of Miami Beach, in which he declared 鈥渢he time to act is now.鈥� A few days later he ran an ad blaming the state鈥檚 weak gun laws for 鈥�14 school shootings in eight years鈥� 鈥� a figure that Florida Politifact rated a exaggeration.

Graham is a former U.S. congresswoman and daughter of Florida political legend Bill Graham, a two-term governor and three-term U.S. senator. She has tried to add heft to her demands for much stiffer laws by noting that her husband was a police officer 鈥� and that the NRA spent $300,000 to defeat her congressional bid.

The other prominent Democratic contender, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, is the only African-American in the race and the only Democrat who appeals to young progressives who supported Bernie Sanders. Gillum said the Florida gun safety bill 鈥渇alls well short of addressing this state鈥檚 gun violence epidemic.鈥�

Leading Republican hopefuls Adam Putnam, the state鈥檚 agriculture commissioner, who has amassed a war chest in excess of $20 million, and U.S. Congressman Ron DeSantis, a Tea Party conservative endorsed in , applauded Scott鈥檚 effort to 鈥渉arden schools.鈥� But DeSantis criticized the state for 鈥渞ushing to restrict the rights of law-abiding citizens鈥� and Putnam said he opposed raising the minimum age for purchases.

Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran is expected to join the race. He is fluent in education policy 鈥� he shepherded the state鈥檚 recent education laws 鈥� but isn鈥檛 widely known outside of Tallahassee, race-watchers say.

鈥淚 think in the age we live in our schools need to be hardened and they need to be looked at from a different point of view,鈥� said Manny Diaz, a South Florida Republican and one of the architects of school choice in the legislature. He said he visited the section of Stoneman Douglas where the shooting occurred.

鈥淚 met with kids that were in the freshman building,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou could see that they were scared. Their biggest concern was not gun control, it was 鈥楬ey, keep us safe.鈥欌��

Jeffrey Solochek, an education reporter at the Tampa Bay Times, says the students are both dynamic and frightened.

鈥淭hey are mobilizing people to talk and act about education beyond the usual suspects,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e also saying: 鈥榃e鈥檙e the children who grown up in the age of active shooters in schools. Please put up fences, please put up walls.鈥� Things that would their schools more like prisons.鈥�

The primary is August 28.

HB 7069. The education bill, passed in July 2017, was transformed in committee from a six-page amendment of a teacher scholarship program to a 274-page omnibus that gathered dozens of education proposals into a single piece of legislation. Its provisions range from requiring daily recess (except for charter schools) to easing rules for the location of Schools of Hope, a program that sites charter schools near low-achieving traditional schools.

Most controversially, it requires districts to give a percentage of taxpayer dollars earmarked for capital projects to charter schools.

Nine school districts are suing the state on the grounds that the legislation violates a requirement that in the hope of attracting more support. The state Supreme Court referred the complaint to the Leon County court in Tallahassee, the state capital.

HB 7055. Passed in March, this law primarily boosts voucher programs, adding sources of funding for scholarship for students who are bullied, students with disabilities, and students who struggle to read. It also added accountability to prevent charters from profiting unethically in school construction 鈥� the Miami Herald exposed in 2011 鈥� as well as a provision that at least 50 percent of eligible workers must be dues-paying members of the local teachers union or the union can be decertified.

The Florida Education Association didn鈥檛 return requests for comment.

Constitutional amendments. Every 20 years, the Florida Constitution Revision Commission reviews and proposes amendments. After several rounds of vetting, the group is considering 25 proposals, including two that involve education. One would implement term limits for school board members and the other creates a state authority for charters, which currently operate until local board control.

The proposals have been backed by a commission member, Erika Donalds, who was appointed by Corcoran, and by national advocates. Polling suggest that around 80 percent of Floridians support term limits.

鈥淚 think there鈥檚 mixed opinions,鈥� said Bridgit Ziegler, chairwoman of the Sarasota County School Board and president of the Florida Coalition of School Board Members, a right-leaning networking association. Donalds previously served as the organization鈥檚 president.

鈥淚 don’t traditionally support terms limits because i think the voters should make the decision. But you see in school districts that the longer board members are in office, they don鈥檛 serve stakeholders the way they were intended to.鈥�

Paulson, the political scientist, believes an amendment that would restore voting rights to released felons could also influence election outcomes. A petition to change the current law, which permanently strips felons鈥� voting ability and which a judge called 鈥渇atally flawed,鈥� appears to have grass-roots support. An ACLU petition calling for change was signed by nearly one million Floridians, .

Florida鈥檚 law, one of the nation鈥檚 most stringent, affects as many as 1.5 million people, a disproportionate number of whom are African-American.

鈥淢ore people turn out to vote for or against an amendment and they will vote for other races,鈥� said Paulson.

The sense among Florida observers that this may be a good year for Florida Democrats was amplified by of Democrat Margaret Good in a special election for a formerly red legislative seat, in a district Trump won handily. Her surprise win, suggested to party faithful that November might bring about a large shift in power.

Florida鈥檚 education initiatives seems to stand apart from the current political winds. They鈥檝e become baked in over time. One fan of Florida鈥檚 reforms is Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who has visited Florida , according to a U.S. News & World Report.

“I suspect that the reason the secretary has visited Florida so often is the fact that the state has come furthest in redefining what public education actually means,” John Kirtley, vice chairman of American Federation for Children, told the news outlet.

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 蜜桃影视鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.