The good news is that, because of these initiatives, many are already changing for the better. The task force, chaired by Dr. Castell Bryant, was charged to determine the extent to which some public schools receive less financial support and less intangible support than others. This inquiry included looking at the experience level of teachers in a school, the levels of funding, and the disparity in opportunities among schools, such as access to dual enrollment and advanced placement courses. In November 1999, I made the following statement, 'All students in Florida, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, economic circumstances or zip code, should have the opportunity to fully reach their highest educational aspirations. But today, that is not the case.
Some schools are more equal than others.
Generally, high performing schools offer tougher curriculums, more experienced teachers, and better opportunities while low performing schools offer lower standards, lower expectations, and fewer opportunities. The task force's findings reaffirm my belief that the cycle of failure of the public schools system to respond to the needs of each student must be broken. I also previously cited several concerns, including race based admissions and social promotion, that allowed deficiencies in our K-12 system to continue because students were passed on without meeting standards. Policies like these made it easier to overlook the disparity in opportunities. Although low performing schools receive fewer opportunities, money alone does not appear to be the solution.