Opinion ID: 1680628
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Exemption from Public School Uniformity

Text: In addition to specifying that a system of free public schools is the means for complying with the mandate to provide for the education of Florida's children, article IX, section 1(a) also requires that this system be uniform. The OSP makes no provision to ensure that the private school alternative to the public school system meets the criterion of uniformity. In fact, in a provision directing the Department of Education to establish and maintain a database of private schools, the Legislature expressly states that it does not intend to regulate, control, approve, or accredit private educational institutions. § 1002.42(2)(h), Fla. Stat. (2005). This lack of oversight is also evident in section 1001.21, which creates the Office of Private Schools and Home Education Programs within the Department of Education but provides that this office ha[s] no authority over the institutions or students served. § 1001.21(1), Fla. Stat. (2005). Further, although the parent of a student participating in the OSP must ensure that the student takes all statewide assessments required of a public school student, § 1002.38(5)(c), the private school's curriculum and teachers are not subject to the same standards as those in force in public schools. For example, only teachers possessing bachelor's degrees are eligible to teach at public schools, but private schools may hire teachers without bachelor's degrees if they have at least 3 years of teaching experience in public or private schools, or have special skills, knowledge, or expertise that qualifies them to provide instruction in subjects taught. § 1002.38(4)(g), Fla. Stat. (2005). In addition, public school teachers must be certified by the state. See § 1012.55(1), Fla. Stat. (2005). To obtain this certification, teachers must meet certain requirements that include having attained at least a 2.5 overall grade point average on a 4.0 scale in the applicant's major field of study and having demonstrated a mastery of general knowledge, subject area knowledge, and professional preparation and education competence. See § 1012.56(2)(c), (g)-(i), Fla. Stat. (2005). Public teacher certification also requires the applicant to submit to a background screening. See § 1012.56(2)(d), Fla. Stat. (2005). Indeed, all school district personnel hired to fill positions that require direct contact with students must undergo a background check. See § 1012.32(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (2005). This screening is not required of private school employees. See § 1002.42(2)(c)(3), Fla. Stat. (2005) (providing that owners of private schools may require employees to file fingerprints with the Department of Law Enforcement). Regarding curriculum, public education instruction is based on the Sunshine State Standards that have been adopted by the State Board of Education and delineate the academic achievement of students, for which the state will hold schools accountable. § 1003.41, Fla. Stat. (2005). Public schools are required to teach all basic subjects as well as a number of other diverse subjects, among them the contents of the Declaration of Independence, the essentials of the United States Constitution, the elements of civil government, Florida state history, African-American history, the history of the Holocaust, and the study of Hispanic and women's contributions to the United States. See § 1003.42(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (2005). Eligible private schools are not required to teach any of these subjects. In addition to being academically accountable to the parent, a private school participating in the OSP is subject only to the ... curriculum ... criteria adopted by an appropriate nonpublic school accrediting body. § 1002.38(4)(f), Fla. Stat. (2005). There are numerous nonpublic school accrediting bodies that have widely variant quality standards and program requirements. Florida Department of Education, Private School Accreditation, http://www.floridaschoolchoice.org/Information/Private-Schools/ accreditation.asp (last visited Jan. 3, 2005). Thus, curriculum standards of eligible private schools may vary greatly depending on the accrediting body, and these standards may not be equivalent to those required for Florida public schools. In all these respects, the alternative system of private schools funded by the OSP cannot be deemed uniform in accordance with the mandate in article IX, section 1(a).