Disputed Florida education law ‘historic,’ Jeb Bush says
TALLAHASSEE — Former Gov. Jeb Bush, who made education reform the hallmark of his two terms in office, is praising a new Florida law that may spur the growth of charter schools.
“It was a historic bill. It was extraordinary,” he told state House members, who hosted the former Republican governor as part of a series called “Tally Talks” on Wednesday.
House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, and his lieutenants were the key proponents of wide-ranging legislation (HB 7069) during the 2017 session that included the creation of the “schools of hope” program and expanded the Best and Brightest teacher-bonus program.
“Schools of hope” is meant to generate new charter schools near struggling public schools.
“The ramifications of this will be long-lasting,” said Bush, who heads the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a nonprofit group that studies and promotes school innovation efforts. “It’s going to make a huge difference for a lot of children, and now their parents will have a lot more choices.”
The law faces legal challenges, with the latest coming from a group of school districts that want the Florida Supreme Court to overturn the measure.
“You know you’re doing the right thing when you get sued by school districts,” said Bush, who was no stranger to litigation and controversy as he pushed his ambitious agenda of educational changes.
He lost a court battle over a law allowing students to use publicly funded vouchers to attend private schools. But he was successful on a host of other initiatives, including the “A-plus” plan to expand student testing and grade schools on an A-to-F scale.
He also backed measures to provide vouchers to students with disabilities and to use corporate tax credits to provide scholarships for low-income students to attend private schools.
“We turned the whole system upside down. And the net result is we had big surges and gains (in student outcomes), but it’s flat-lined,” Bush said. “To me, the lesson is, reform is never complete.”