MLK III Leads March in Support of Florida School Vouchers, Tapping into Civil Rights Legacy
Demetrius Cherry was faced with a limited number of choices two years ago. He had lost his job in sales, which meant that his family could no longer afford their rental home. As a result, they were forced to move between staying with friends and temporary housing. Cherry’s biggest desire during that time was to place all four of his children into one good school.
Cherry’s wish eventually came true when he discovered Florida’s Tax Credit Scholarship Program. This program provides scholarships for low-income families to attend private schools or public schools outside of their designated districts. Cherry’s children ended up at the Tampa Bay Christian Academy, a small private school that teaches biblical principles alongside language arts and math.
"It has been a lifeline for both me and my family," Cherry expressed.
The desire of impoverished families to have access to better schools has been seen by some as the modern-day civil rights battle. This connection to Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for racial equality will be highlighted during a march on the Florida state capitol. The march will involve scholarship families, advocates for school choice, around 100 ministers, and Martin Luther King III himself. This event, set to take place on Tuesday, the day after the national holiday honoring King, is expected to draw up to 10,000 individuals.
"You should be present at this event," urged King III in a video encouraging parents to participate. "It will be a historic occasion."
The strong demonstration of support for the tax credit vouchers program comes at a time when it is being challenged in court by teachers unions and questioned by some members of the black community.
Adora Obi Nweze, the president of the Florida State Conference of the NAACP, stated to the Pensacola News Journal that historically, the organization has supported policies that strengthen public schools. Consequently, the conference supports the lawsuit against the scholarship program.
"The NAACP has consistently taken a position in favor of public schools," Nweze explained in a telephone interview. "We do not support any attempts to divert funds from public schools. Although the scholarship program aims to provide the best education for students, research has not yet proven its effectiveness."
The organizers of the march disagree with this view and argue that scholarship students consistently demonstrate annual improvements equivalent to students from all income levels nationally. They hope that this strong demonstration will illustrate that the program provides an opportunity for low-income students stuck in underperforming schools to excel academically in a different educational setting.
"The purpose of the rally is to give a voice to the families who are outraged by the union’s attempt to strip away their scholarships," John Kirtley, chairman of Step Up For Students, a nonprofit organization that awards scholarships, explained in an email. "They want to show the entire country that they are so appalled that they are willing to travel for up to 12 hours overnight to march in protest against this lawsuit."
The march will commence at the Tallahassee Civic Center and gradually make its way to a stage near the capitol. Other organizations involved in the planning of this event include the Black Alliance for Educational Options, Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options, and the American Federation for Children.
The scholarship program, initially implemented under former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, has faced criticism since its inception. Critics argue that it diverts taxpayer money away from public schools in need and redirects it towards poorly regulated private and religious schools.
"Florida’s voucher programs are a risky experiment that puts taxpayers’ money and children’s lives at stake," stated Joanne McCall, president of the Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, in 2014. "Our state’s taxpayers and students would be better served by investing in the improvement of our lowest-performing schools and supporting all the students who attend them."
Kirtey disputed these claims by pointing out that five independent groups, including two state agencies, have reported over the past ten years that the scholarship program actually saves tax money that can be used to enhance traditional schools.
Under this program, businesses receive tax credits for making contributions to a nonprofit organization. This organization, in turn, grants scholarships to needy students to attend either private schools or any Florida public school outside of their district.
To qualify for a full scholarship, students must meet the eligibility requirements of Florida’s free and reduced-priced lunch program. This means that a family of four can have an annual income of up to approximately $44,000, although the average income of families of that size in the program is roughly $25,000, according to Step Up For Students.
During the 2014-15 school year, the state Department of Education reported that $344.9 million in scholarships were awarded to 69,950 students enrolled in 1,533 participating private schools in Florida.
While the courts were making a decision on the case, lawmakers in Florida introduced another voucher program. This program relied on giving tax credits to companies that made donations to a scholarship fund for students from low-income families. In 2014, the state legislature made a change to the criteria for student eligibility, allowing partial scholarships for students from middle-class families as well, as long as the demand from low-income families was met.
However, the demand from low-income families has not been met yet, and there are more families applying than there are scholarships available to meet their needs, according to Kirtley, the Chairman of Step Up For Students.
In the same year, various education associations in Florida, including the Florida Education Association, the Florida Association of School Administrators (FASA), and the Florida School Boards Association (FSBA), filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the tax credit program.
Their arguments were similar to their previous ones. They claimed that the majority of the scholarships went to religious schools, which violated laws on religious freedom. They also argued that the program took public funds away from public schools, thereby hindering the state’s ability to provide a sufficient and consistent public school system.
The state tried to have the lawsuit dismissed by asserting that the scholarships were not considered public funds since they did not go through the government’s hands. In February of the following year, the Circuit Court Judge, George Reynolds, agreed to dismiss the complaint, stating that the plaintiffs had no valid grounds to challenge the scholarships. However, the union appealed this decision in June.
McCall, from the Florida Education Association, stated in a statement, "If parents and teachers don’t have the right to challenge this lawsuit, then who does?"
However, Cherry, a parent, has a different view on his rights. He believes that Tampa Bay Christian Academy has greatly improved the lives of his children, who are in different grades ranging from first to tenth grade.
Cherry’s son, Jaedin, who is 15 years old, admitted that he took some time to adjust to the strict rules and uniforms at his private religious school. Nevertheless, he now has a stronger commitment to attending college after he graduates. He mentioned, "They really emphasize the importance of not partying all the time and focusing on academics. I take that very seriously now."
(Note: Campbell Brown, the editor-in-chief of The Seventy Four, serves on the board of the American Federation for Children, which sponsored The Seventy Four’s Education Summit in August. The AFC board is chaired by Betsy DeVos, and The Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation is a donor to The Seventy Four.)
