{ "type": "rich", "version": "1.0", "provider_name": "Action Network", "provider_url": "https://actionnetwork.org", "html": "
", "author_name": "Women's March Florida - Jacksonville Chapter", "author_url": "https://actionnetwork.org/groups/womens-march-fl-jax", "title": "Stop Discrimination in Publicly Funded Schools", "thumbnail_url": "https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/letters/photos/000/095/294/normal/Stop_School_Discrimination.png", "description": "Did you know that all publicly funded schools are not required to obey the following two Florida statutes dealing with nondiscrimination and tolerance? Use this form to send an email to the Education Committees of the Florida House and Senate. Excerpt from F. S. 1000.05— Discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, disability, religion, or marital status against a student or an employee in the state system of public K-20 education is prohibited. Excerpt from F.S. 1003.42 (g)— [a required course that will teach] …… the ramifications of prejudice, racism, and stereotyping, and an examination of what it means to be a responsible and respectful person, for the purposes of encouraging tolerance of diversity in a pluralistic society and for nurturing and protecting democratic values and institutions. There are two bills before our Florida Senate (with companion bills in the House) that will help correct the problem: **SB 184 (HB 91) will make clear that 1003.42(g) must apply to charter schools and private schools receiving voucher money in addition to the district run schools. **SB 56 (HB 45) will make clear that private schools can’t receive voucher money if they discriminate against the minorities mentioned in 1000.05. Our state Constitution requires free public schools for the children of Florida, but our elected officials are not consistent with what they mean by “public schools.” Many of our laws defined the rules for “public schools” at a time when the term meant only the neighborhood schools. If our Florida Legislature is going to continue to give our taxpayer dollars to charter schools and private schools, then those schools must follow some of the same rules that our neighborhood schools must follow. The organization that administers Florida’s growing array of voucher programs — Step Up For Students — insists it doesn’t want private schools to discriminate against minority groups but claims they have no legal basis to deny private schools voucher money. ref 2  SB 56 will give Step Up For Students the legal basis to deny voucher money according to the same nondiscrimination rules neighborhood schools are following. Florida Senator Darryl Rouson introduced the nondiscrimination bill (SB 56) to prohibit private schools, which participate in the state’s voucher programs, from discriminating against the minorities mentioned in the nondiscrimination statute. A Florida statute— 1002.33 (16)—already demands charter schools follow the nondiscrimination statute. In other words, SB 56 will make it so all publicly funded schools are forbidden from discriminating against the minority groups mentioned in 1000.05. Florida Education Commissioner Corcoran—a rabid supporter of charter schools and publicly funded vouchers for private schools—showed his support for the teaching of tolerance and nondiscrimination in his letter (ref 3) to a superintendent: For my part, I intend to exercise all avenues afforded to me through Florida statutes and rules to investigate and act. I will swiftly, and to the limits of my office and resources, investigate and prosecute any individuals who threaten the equity and cultural sensitivity of the educational experience of our public schools. The term "public schools" as used in the Florida Education Commissioner’s letter has become blurred with the proliferation of taxpayer money funding charter schools and private schools. His letter was concerning the tolerance statute—1003.42 (g)— which currently only applies to the neighborhood schools. The tolerance bill (SB 184) will require any school receiving public funds to follow the tolerance statute. In addition, the bill gives clearer guidelines as to how the statute should be implemented. If legislators are going to continue to use your tax dollars to fund charter schools and private schools, then those schools need to follow the same nondiscrimination laws that neighborhood schools must follow. The nondiscrimination laws should apply to all publicly funded schools. References and suggestions for further reading Ref 1 Article IX in Florida’s Constitution http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?submenu=3#A9 Excerpt:  The education of children is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida. It is, therefore, a paramount duty of the state to make adequate provision for the education of all children residing within its borders. Adequate provision shall be made by law for a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools that allows students to obtain a high quality education Ref 2 https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/editorials/os-op-florida-vouchers-disciminate-gay-students-20190706-3qbgvqro6jcd7of6hf4c4b3eim-story.html https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/scott-maxwell-commentary/os-op-florida-voucher-schools-disability-discrimination-scott-maxwell-20190806-rhcz7qtgufamnd7zwrogqloebe-story.html Ref 3 http://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/35/urlt/HolocaustLetter-July2019.pdf Ref 4 https://www.adl.org/blog/empowering-educators-to-discuss-hard-topics Article about the course the Anti-Defamation League is teaching: https://florida.adl.org/news/adl-trains-south-palm-beach-county-principals-with-multimedia-holocaust-curriculum/ Quote from article: “Today’s students are exposed to increased anti-Semitic and bias-motivated incidents. It is vital to inculcate them with one of the important lessons of the Holocaust – that they should strive to be allies to each other, and never remain silent in the face of contemporary bigotry.”   Ref 5 http://www.flHolocausteducationtaskforce.org/classroom-resources/ Ref 6 https://floridapolitics.com/archives/302854-draft-for-monday-push-on-to-ban-conversion-therapy-in-orange-county Quote from article: “The medical community has long concluded that homosexuality is largely genetically-driven, not a matter of choice.” ***HB 741 passed last legislative session unanimously. The discussion of the bill called antisemitism discussed the teaching of the holocaust. It also added religion to the list in 1000.05. https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2019/00741 F.S. 1003.42 (g) http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&SubMenu=1&App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=1003.42&URL=1000-1099/1003/Sections/1003.42.html F.S. 1000.05 http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&SubMenu=1&App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=1000.05&URL=1000-1099/1000/Sections/1000.05.html Florida’s Tax Credit Scheme allows some businesses to divert dollar for dollar their tax liability money to a private school. Read more: https://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/2019/02/15/gov-ron-desantis-reveals-plan-to-eliminate-scholarship-wait-list/ More about HB 91 and SB 184: https://www.gainesville.com/opinion/20190917/editorial-expand-study-of-holocaust-to-all-schools *** Quote from MOSH curator Paul Bourcie: “…We're seeing domestic terrorism happening to all kinds of people branded as the Other. We see systems in place that put certain communities at a disadvantage. Can it be that we're looking at something systemic that hearkens back to the racial violence of the past?”   http://folioweekly.com/stories/warts-all,21834", "url": "https://actionnetwork.org/letters/sb-56" }