FLORIDA: Gov. Rick Scott Proposes Radical School Voucher Program

Florida Gov. Rick "Medicare Fraud" Scott is proposing a radical school voucher program that would pay parents 85% of the cost of their child's public education. Parents can then use that money to move their children into private and religious schools. In 2006, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that a similar proposal was unconstitutional. Critics argue that Scott's plan would mostly benefit families who can already afford private schools.

"I don't necessarily think I should have $6,000, or whatever the per pupil charge is, to take with me to send my (child) to Tampa Prep or Berkeley Prep or Jesuit, when I have the means," said Lincoln Tamayo, the head of Tampa's Academy Prep, a high-performing private school that accepts tax-credit vouchers for low-income kids. "Why would I take that away from the public coffers? I don't need the assistance." Tamayo - who for what it's worth is a Republican - is from the wing of the "choice community" that believes vouchers should be a limited tool, one aimed at giving more options to low-income students. Giving vouchers to all could affect the funding available for low-income students, he said. And it could take the focus away from helping them.

Florida has one of the lowest-ranked public school systems in the United States.