school choice court case

while there are many school choice experiments around the country, florida's Opportunity Scholarship Program is the only statewide program. if a school receives a failing grade two years in a row, the school must undergo remedial changes while its students can receive a $4200 voucher towards an alternative.

school choice opponents in florida challenged the program, saying funds should not be given to religiously affiliated schools. while two lower courts have deemed the program unconstitutional, before the florida supreme court now has the matter.

a school choice opponent says (with a straight face apparently)

"Public education is the greatest thing going and we'll fight with everything we have to protect it."

however, the program has worked

The results have been stunning. Even with tougher state standards, nearly half of Florida's public schools now earn "A" grades, while a similar percentage scored "C's" when the program started. A 2003 study by Jay Greene found that gains were most concentrated among schools under threat of vouchers.
Most remarkable has been minority student progress. While the percentage of white third-graders reading at or above grade level has increased to 78% from 70% in 2001, the percentage among Hispanic third-graders has climbed from 46% to 61%, and among blacks from 36% to 52%. Graduation rates for Hispanic students have increased from 52.8% before the program started to 64% today; and for black students from 48.7% to 57.3%. Minority schoolchildren are not making such academic strides anywhere else.

if the program is deemed unconstitutional the ~750 students who now benefit from it will be condemned to return to the terrible schools.

¶ - nitish @ 10:14 AM