Parents who send their kids to ‘hybrid’ private schools still won’t get FL school vouchers
Florida Phoenix | By Jackie LLanos | January 23, 2024
Parents of Florida school children who attend “hybrid” private schools and don’t get state vouchers say the attempt to fix the law doesn’t work for them.
The issue came up in a House committee meeting Tuesday, where lawmakers were tweaking the state’s voucher program that allows families to use public dollars for private education.
Katherine Gordon, a mother who sends three of her kids to a hybrid private school in Tampa Bay, detailed an unsuccessful journey seeking vouchers.
After pleading with the Florida Department of Education and even Gov. Ron DeSantis, Gordon said she wasn’t able to get the money for her kids’ tuition at North Bay Christian Academy because of the school’s teaching model: They go to school three days a week, and Gordon tutors them at home for the other two days using lesson plans and materials from the school.
Under the school voucher program, her kids are not considered full-time students.
“We feel so defeated that we keep getting overlooked. We can’t figure out what it is. No one has been able to give us a straight answer except the physical location,” Gordon said during the Tuesday House Education and Employment Committee. “I’ve watched all of you be so supportive and everyone we’ve spoken to has been so supportive. So why is this so difficult for us?”
Republican Rep. Josie Tomkow of Polk County, the sponsor or HB 1403, chose to carry the legislation forward without addressing the mom’s situation and left her disappointed, Gordon told Florida Phoenix.
If parents like Gordon want to attempt to get state voucher dollars, they would have to unenroll their kids and re-enroll them as PEP (a personalized education program) students if they get approved. However, neither the parents nor administrators of the hybrid schools wanted to take the risk of that process.
“We have some significant concerns if we unenroll all of our students to be able to access these financial resources. The first of all is diplomas. Our families come to our school for private school privileges. They want fully recognized diplomas from an accredited private school,” said Bethany Martin, an administrator at International Community School near Orlando. “This would not happen if all of our students were registered as PEP students. According to the PEP laws, we understand they receive a notice of completion like homeschool study programs do.”
Tomkow’s bill restricts the use of PEP funds for instructional materials. Parents will only be allowed to purchase materials to teach language arts and reading, math, social studies and science.
“I see, in real time, the amount of students, the amount of money we’re spending on students, where that money is going, how fast it’s going, if it’s not going. These are all issues that I’m very aware of and I have the privilege to be at the forefront of, so I don’t take this lightly,” Tomkow said. “I don’t take the pieces of the puzzle lightly. I make sure that we are doing it to make sure that the longevity of this program is put into place to where my grandkids will be able to benefit from this.
“I think that we have a responsibility, and I’ve said this in every committee, to be fiscal stewards with those dollars to make sure that we are actually we’re helping the education of the student.”
Lawmakers in the committee unanimously approved Tomkow’s voucher legislation Tuesday and it is now headed to the House floor.
