TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A fight over Florida’s public school funding is now headed to court.
The Florida Education Association, several families and public school advocates filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing the state of failing to meet its constitutional duty to provide a uniform, safe and high-quality system of free public schools. The challenge argues Florida is sending billions of taxpayer dollars to voucher and charter programs that are not held to the same standards as traditional public schools.
The lawsuit came the same day educators and allies rallied in Tallahassee, urging lawmakers to put more money into public schools when they return next week to finish the state budget.
“When you see that we’re ranked 50th [for average teacher pay] for the third year in a row, you know exactly what the priorities of the state are — and it’s not our public education,” said Scott Mazer, president of the Leon Classroom Teachers Association.
Kim Andrews Ward, a Leon County behavior specialist, said the funding concerns are showing up in classrooms and in staffing.
“We can’t provide,” Ward said. “Teachers are leaving. Teachers, support staff — everybody’s leaving this career.”
FEA President Andrew Spar called the lawsuit a “last resort,” saying parents and educators want the courts to force a more consistent set of rules for any school receiving public money.
“We want the courts to direct the Legislature to enact provisions that ensure that no matter where a student is getting an education, there is transparency, fairness and a uniform, basic set of standards,” Spar said.
The legal complaint names Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas, the Florida Department of Education and the State Board of Education among the defendants. It asks a Leon County circuit judge to declare the state’s scholarship and charter school systems unconstitutional as currently administered and to block public funding from flowing to schools that do not meet constitutional standards for uniformity and safety.
State education leaders are pushing back. In an online statement responding to the lawsuit, Kamoutsas defended Florida’s universal school choice policies, saying, “Thanks to @GovRonDeSantis, every Florida family has access to universal school choice, empowering them to select the learning environment that best fits their child’s individual needs.” He added, “We stand unapologetically convicted on the principle of always putting students first!”
Gov. Ron DeSantis also defended his education record Friday while signing new legislation aimed at public-sector unions and teacher pay. He argued Florida has put historic money into teacher salary increases, but said some unions have slowed the process through negotiations.
“What some of these school unions were doing, even though the money is available July 1, when the fiscal year starts, they were withholding that in negotiations,” DeSantis said.
The new law also raises requirements for some public-sector unions to stay certified — a move opponents have denounced as union-busting. But Kamoutsas described the bills Friday as reforms that “are empowering educators,”“supporting families” and “ensuring that every student in this state has access to high-quality education.”
The new union laws take effect in July. The lawsuit is just beginning, and the broader school funding fight will continue when lawmakers return to the Capitol on May 12 for a budget special session. They are expected to vote on a final spending plan sometime after Memorial Day.
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