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Florida and open enrollment

Charter SchoolsCustomizationDemographic ResearchEducation ChoiceFeaturedFlorida Tax Credit ScholarshipGardiner ScholarshipHomeschoolingMagnet SchoolsNewsPrivate School ScholarshipsPublic School ChoiceSchool ChoiceTax Credit Scholarships

Charter schools continue to rule Florida’s education choice landscape

Patrick R. Gibbons January 27, 2020
Patrick R. Gibbons

Started in 2011, National School Choice Week has grown into the world’s largest celebration of opportunity in education. Over the past decade, more than 131,000 NSCW events have been planned across the country.

As the 10th annual National School Choice Week celebration kicks off, Step Up For Students unveils its 11th annual “Changing Landscapes” infographic, a document that explores student enrollment in public and private school choice options statewide for the 2018-19 school year.

Some key findings:

·       48.2 percent of preK-12 students attend a school of choice, up from 47.5 percent last year

·       40.7 percent of K-12 students are utilizing a publicly funded school choice option

·       The Gardiner Scholarship program saw a 35 percent increase from 10,258 to 13,884 students

Retaining the top spot for the second year in a row as the most popular school choice option are charter schools, with 309,730 students, representing a 6.1 percent increase. For the first time, charters have exceeded the 300,000-student mark.

District-run choice options such as open enrollment, which increased by 4.1 percent, and magnet schools are in second and third place, respectively, with 273,377 and 248,199 students each.

The Gardiner Scholarship program for children with unique abilities, which allows students to complete private school or home education programs, grew by 35 percent. Florida’s Tax Credit Scholarship program declined 3.7 percent between 2017-18 and 2018-19 following an all-time record high the previous year, while the McKay Scholarship program declined by 1.1 percent.

Despite a slight decline in the number of students using private scholarship programs, the number of private pay private school students grew by 12,257 students, or 5.4 percent.

Data for Florida’s largest voucher program, Voluntary Prekindergarten, was unavailable for the 2018-19 school year; the document reflects the latest data available from the 2017-18 school year.

As in past years, the Changing Landscapes document attempts to remove duplicate student counts when possible. For example, while the Florida Department of Education reported 313,586 students enrolled in charter schools, that figure includes 1,413 students enrolled in the Florida Atlantic University Lab Schools District and 2,443 students at the Florida State University School District. The document’s authors wished to include all university-affiliated lab and charter schools as one option and removed those students from the charter school count.

Additionally, the Department completed a custom data request to remove the number of students enrolled in what it categorizes as Career and Professional Academies at district-run public schools who already were counted as being enrolled in other types of public schools of choice.

This year, one minor tweak was made in the Changing Landscapes methodology. Since the Gardiner Scholarship allows for students to attend private schools or home education programs, the number of students enrolled in each was based on spending data. This allowed for the removal of duplicates already counted in home education or private school enrollment.

Overall, preK-12 student population statewide increased by 1.8 percent in 2018-19.

To compare the 2018-19 Changing Landscapes document to the 2017-18 document, click here.

January 27, 2020 0 comment
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Charter SchoolsCommon GroundParental ChoiceSchool Choice

Change in open enrollment law providing more choice options for students

Livi Stanford October 17, 2018
Livi Stanford
open enrollment

The controlled open enrollment  law, which was modified in 2016, is working, according to choice experts.

In the first year after Florida lawmakers passed legislation that lets parents choose public schools across county lines, the state Department of Education reports that 5,397 students took advantage in 2017.

As such, educational choice experts proclaim that the controlled open enrollment law signed by Gov. Rick Scott in 2016 is working.

“As more parents learn about this option, it will mean more students will have the opportunity to receive a quality education in the school that best fits their needs,” said Adam Peshek, managing director of opportunity policy at the Foundation for Excellence in Education.

Even so, there is still a lot that is not known about the effect of the law, including its impact on school districts. Several districts officials said the law’s failure to provide transportation options for transferring students is a serious shortcoming. The options for parents are also limited by capacity at the most popular schools.

“Florida does not have a lot of data on the topic and what they do have is self-reported enrollment data,” Peshek said. “We don’t know much about which schools students are leaving and which districts/schools are benefiting the most. “Transportation is a large issue. Florida has very large, county-based districts. So, in addition to transportation being a barrier, options may just be too far for a parent to consider.”

House PreK-12 Education Appropriations Chairman Manny Diaz, who sponsored the legislation, said his goal was to provide students access to quality schools and provide the best use of empty seats. Though Florida has long allowed students to choose among district school through a policy known as “controlled open enrollment,” students could attend districts in other counties only through specific signed agreements. Diaz found that process to be too daunting for families.

Sonja Baker said she was grateful for the open enrollment program, which gave her the opportunity to apply to several schools outside the district for her son, who has autism and struggles academically in traditional public schools.

“As a parent of a child with special needs, I realized the traditional setting wasn’t for my child,” Baker said. “We live on a county border line. It doubles the options of giving him the quality education I feel he deserves.”

Baker ended up choosing to put her son in a charter school in the district.

All told, 266,515 students participated in open enrollment in 2017, according to DOE. Most attended schools within their district, but both programs present challenges, according to district officials.

Peter Licata, the assistant superintendent for choice and innovation for Palm Beach County Schools, said the lack of transportation options for students creates an inequity that hurts less-advantaged students. Some parents also have complained that more popular schools are not available because they tend already to be at capacity with traditionally zoned students.

In St. Johns County, for example, only two elementary schools had space available to be chosen under its open enrollment program. Countywide, there were only 29 applications this year for open enrollment.

Christina Langston, St. Johns chief of community relations, said in an email that no other schools meet the controlled open enrollment criteria to allow more students. She said the student population increases by more than 1,500 students each year.

Peshek suggested the state might consider offering financial incentives to schools that take students outside of their attendance zones.

“I can certainly see a scenario where the state would want to reward schools for taking students outside of their zoned district, in the same way they reward schools for academic success or providing access to advanced courses or industry certifications,” he said.

October 17, 2018 0 comment
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Blog AdministrationCharter SchoolsCommon GroundCustomizationParent EmpowermentParental ChoicePrivate SchoolsSchool ChoiceVirtual Education

In Florida, 1.2 million students participate in school choice

Jon East September 18, 2012
Jon East

Though we know little about the parents who long have chosen their school through where they decide to live (or to pretend to live), Florida keeps count of those who no longer want their neighborhood school. And here’s some data to chew on: In a state known for its breadth of learning options, that number last school year reached 1.2 million.

In other words, using a conservative approach with new 2011-12 enrollment records, 43 of every 100 students in Florida public education opted for something other than their zoned school.

This number is produced largely from state Department of Education surveys required of the 67 school districts and reflects, not surprisingly, surging growth for choice options. Though total public school enrollment grew by only 1 percent last year, reaching 2.7 million, charters grew by almost 16 percent, online by 21 percent, private scholarships for poor children by 17 percent. (See an enrollment compilation of 2011-12 options here.)

Granted, Florida is not like most other states in this regard. A combination of educational, budgetary and political factors, including the gubernatorial tenure of Jeb Bush, has put the Sunshine State on an accelerated path of parental empowerment. That said, it is a diverse, highly populous state with national political significance, and this kind of transformation is central to the new definition of public education.

The national education debate is still absorbed by adults who grew up with a pupil assignment plan built almost entirely on geography. Many of them went to the same schools as their parents and even their grandparents, and it’s natural they would define public education that way. That may help explain why parent activists or groups such as the PTA continue to oblige the teacher unions that pressure them to resist laws giving parents more options. The union message – that traditional public schools are endangered – plays to the parents’ natural fears.

That’s why these numbers are worthy of pause.

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September 18, 2012 0 comment
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