Appeals Court Hears Arguments in School Choice Battle

On Tuesday, May 10, the 1st District Court of Appeal heard arguments in a lawsuit that claims the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) Scholarship Program violates the Florida Constitution. In May 2015, Leon County Circuit Judge George Reynolds dismissed the suit, ruling that the Florida Education Association and other plaintiffs in McCall v. Scott lacked legal standing in the case.

FTC Scholarships are not funded by legislative appropriations but by tax-credited corporate contributions; therefore, no direct tax dollars are used to fund the program. Rather than harming public school funding or quality of education as plaintiffs claim, the scholarship program has proven to strengthen Florida's education system.

Since enacted by the Florida Legislature in 2001, the FTC Scholarship Program has been providing hope and opportunity to thousands of students from low-income households. The FCCB supports this successful school choice component that assists low-income families and contributes positively to the education of Florida students.

During the 2014-2015 school year, Florida's Catholic schools served 13,369 students in the FTC program, which represents 15.6% of the 85,539 students attending Catholic schools in our state.