By Wesley Wright
Former Lakeland Commisoner
The question of the school voucher and its place in our schools has been a back-and-forth dialogue between neighbors, elected representatives and beyond for many years now. Governor Lee’s voucher scholarship program passed just recently and public schools are positioning themselves for impact. Ever watchful, Lakeland School System leaders want reduced state assessment testing for public schools to level the field with private schools benefitting from state funds. The LSS Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution on Monday, Feb. 3, for such a push based on its 2025 legislative agenda. Lakeland officials want the same standards for all schools receiving state funds. “One of the disparities is the fact that private schools are not held to the same standards…our students are tested and tested and tested and tested again,” LSS board member Jeremy Burnett said. He continued time spent testing could be better utilized with quality instructional or teacher development. He added that elimination of the TCAP test should be considered. Before the voucher bill passed last week, LSS held a special-called meeting on Monday, Jan. 27, and unanimously approved a resolution opposing the governor’s Education Freedom Act and similar voucher initiatives.
Board member Deborah Thomas also pointed out that private schools are not required to provide special needs services for students. “Guess where those kids are going to come back to when they realize they’re not getting the special needs support. They’re going to come back to the public school,” she said. LSS board legislative liaison Michelle Childs said private schools did participate in an ESA (Education Savings Act) pilot program in 2023. “And those students scored worse on the TCAP across the state,” she said. When that was brought to legislators’ attention, according to Childs, all they cared about were parent satisfaction scores for those private schools. Another issue she sees is that under state regulations a student could be held back under third-grade retention laws but then simply get a taxpayer voucher to attend a private school and not be held back. “I think the TCAP is unfair playing ground right now” board member Keith Acton. Lakeland residents are mixed on the issue. Part of this could be due to a considerable portion of students attending private schools that could benefit from the voucher.
