All,
SB 48 (Diaz) Educational Scholarships Program passed all Senate committees and is ready for a Senate floor vote, so we need you to contact Senator Broxson as soon as possible and urge him to vote "NO".
The bill's sponsor likes to tout it as a simple merging and streamlining of multiple scholarship programs into one, but the real goal of this bill is to implode our public school system where 90% of our children are educated--and they want to use our taxpayer dollars to do it! Remember that:
The bill would change the programs' funding so all of it would come directly from the state budget, and it would cost more. The scholarships now amount to about 95% of per-pupil costs in public schools but the bill would increase that to 97.5%.
The bill would allow parents to spend the money on both private school tuition and other educational items, from laptops to after-school programs to college savings funds (i.e., an Education Savings Account [ESA]) as long as their child does not attend public school.
The bill would decrease program auditing to once every three years instead of the current annual process, which would decrease transparency and accountability even further than it is now.
PLEASE stand up for our public schools by making your voices heard. And convince your family and friends to make their voices heard. This is our last chance in the Senate. Contact Senator Broxson using the contact information below: broxson.doug.web@flsenate.gov
(850) 487-5001 Thank you, Jean Siebenaler DWCF & SRC DEC Legislative Chair