Update on Florida's Efforts to Privatize Public Education

The assault on Florida public education continues unabated in 2018, both by the Florida Legislature and the Florida Constitution Revision Commission.

Last year, HB7069 was signed into Florida law. This bill was more of a package of laws, including the expansion of vouchers, allowing for Schools of Hope to replace low performing public schools, and requiring capital outlays to charter schools. These statutory changes were not without consequence locally.  With more favorable conditions for charter schools, Academica’s Pinecrest Academy is applying for charter school status in Sarasota County. The Miami Herald analyzed Academica back in 2011, and the amount of state dollars flowing to this private company was staggering even then. At that time, Academica had 44 schools in South Florida. They now list over 110 schools in Florida.In Manatee County, Daughtrey and Oneco elementary schools may be threatened with Schools of Hope corporate charter school takeovers, if they don't improve their school grades next year.

This funneling of millions of tax dollars to private and corporate charter schools accelerated in 2018 with HB 7055. HB 7055 will

March For Our Lives & the NRA

The Corporations-Are-NOT-People banner stood out at the Sarasota March For Our Lives. Last Saturday, Sarasota students raised their collective voices to make preventing gun violence a high priority. How corporations have intervened in the gun debate is up for debate. Is the National Rifle Association (NRA) a big player in our state and national legislatures? And who provides the largest chunk of NRA funding - is it millions of individual members or a handful of gun manufacturers? The answers are more complex than you might think.  To start with, there are six non-profits that make up the NRA. And it just gets more complicated from there.