Florida Legislative Committees Pass Opposing Voucher Proposals

Yesterday's Gainsville Sun reported that Florida House and Senate committees disagree over the scope of a proposed constitutional amendment to authorize school vouchers. The proposals are an attempt to reverse court decisions that have struck down some current Florida programs on state constitutional grounds. A House committee voted 5-2 in favor of a broad resolution, HJR 1573, that would authorize the Legislature to create voucher programs for children of any parents who "request alternatives to traditional public education programs." (See prior posting.) Meanwhile, yesterday a state Senate committee voted 6-1 in favor of a narrower proposal (SJR 2170) that would merely validate school voucher programs that have already been enacted, but would not authorize new ones. It appears that as of now there are not enough votes in the full Senate to pass even this narrower proposal.