SB14/HB123 enables a public school to be converted to a charter school if most parents request it without any input from the local school board, teachers, or administrators. Under-enrolled property would have to be given priority for conversion to a charter school, affordable housing for teachers, first responders and military personnel; or for local recreational facilities.

Districts continue to lose funds being diverted to the universal voucher program. Last year $4B was allocated for vouchers, diverting 18% from district budgets for running local public schools. This years’ voucher budget will continue to grow, with a majority of vouchers going to students already enrolled in private schools. And to add insult to injury, when a private voucher school closes, or a student decides to leave and return to their local district school, the voucher money does not return with the student. The private school gets to keep it.

A recent local example is news that Renaissance Academy charter school (formerly Governor’s Charter Academy) on Mahan Drive will become a private school called Tallahassee Preparatory Academy next year. Coincidentally the private school tuition mirrors the voucher amount of $8,000.

This conversion will give Charter Schools USA (CSUSA), one of Florida’s largest and most politically connected for-profit management companies, a perpetual funding stream. CSUSA will collect lease payments on the $14.5M building to a large extent paid by Leon County tax dollars.

SB166 lowers graduation standards by no longer requiring students to pass 10 ^th -grade English and Algebra I. This despite 55% of third graders unable to read at grade level according to 2024 test scores.

Teacher certification standards are being reduced. For example, there is now a separate “Classical Education Teaching Certification” that enables those teaching in a Classical Charter School to be deemed qualified in all subjects despite having no special training in a particular subject.

HB1225 allows 16-year-olds to work eight hours without breaks while school is in session, with the same applying to 14 year-olds enrolled in a virtual school. Perhaps legislators are noticing that immigrant labor will be decreasing as deportations escalate.

Meanwhile, SB7014 was implemented last year to create the “Florida Scholars Academy” for incarcerated youth at 38 residential centers. These academies provide on-line instruction for about 1,900 kids. With a budget of $23M, a no-bid contract purchased a computer for every student, but apparently without adequate adult supervision. The Florida Phoenix reported that the program expects to be $7M over budget, partly due to the added expense of damaged computers. One student is reported to have broken 10 laptops alone.

While Florida leads the charge to privatize education, the Trump administration is adding gasoline to the fire by dismantling the existing Department of Education. Linda McMahon, a professional wrestling promoter, serves as the Secretary of Education with virtually no education experience. She has a mandate to dismantle the department and establish a universal voucher program.

Where is this going and when will it end? Even if your children are grown and no longer in school, we all are affected by poorly educated children. There is no evidence that private schools do any better than public schools when disaggregated for poverty and parent engagement. Let’s divert all these misguided funds back to our public schools instead of stuffing the pockets of the privateers and shortchanging our children.

Sally Butzin of Tallahassee is a grandparent, retired educator, and concerned citizen.

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