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Teachers Union Looks To Block Voucher Expansion Through Single Subject Lawsuit

An empty classroom with desks arranged in a square.
Colleen Cayoup
/
flickr.com

The Florida teachers union is backing a lawsuit to strike down an education bill passed by lawmakers during the last legislative session. The group claims the measure breaks the state’s single subject rule.

SB 850 expands anti-hazing laws and requires schools to start tracking students at risk of not graduating earlier. It also expands the state’s so called school voucher program and creates a new scholarship for special needs kids. And Florida Education Association Vice President Joanne McCall says all those provisions strung together violate a state rule requiring laws to relate to a single topic.

“This was a sneaky way for the legislative leaders to enact measures that had already failed. It’s an outrage that corporate voucher expansion was tacked onto an unrelated bill and slipped into law on the session’s final day,” McCall says.

Meanwhile former Gov. Jeb Bush’s organization, the Foundation for Excellence in Education is blasting the teacher’s union, saying the lawsuit shows the group is turning its back on children with special needs.

Follow @Regan_McCarthy

Regan McCarthy covers healthcare and government in Tallahassee, Florida. She is the Assistant News Director for WFSU Public Media.

Phone: (850) 645-6090 | rmccarthy@fsu.edu

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