Box Has Got Lots of Online Extras
Like many other high school juniors, Christy Box of Melbourne is involved in lots of extracurricular activities.  She’s a Student Ambassador for her school, the editor of the student newspaper, the vice president of the Future Business Leaders Association, and a member of the Fine Arts Club.

But unlike most Floridahigh school students, Christy doesn’t actually go to school every day.  Christy is a full-time student in the Florida Virtual School (FLVS) and all of those student groups she participates in are online clubs for FLVS students.

That Box has become a quintessential “joiner” is somewhat ironic, because she first took an interest in online schooling to escape the impersonal mob scene at her large public school.  Yet, Christy has found that relationship-building is certainly possible in a virtual school.  And she says that one of the best things about being an FLVS student is that it allows her to establish a one-on-one relationship with her teachers.  (In addition to being “high-tech,” FLVS has a “high-touch” commitment to regular teacher-student phone calls.)

Having taken her “online school” with her on long trips, Christy says she “loves the flexibility of FLVS.”  She says her two siblings, both of whom are significantly older, “wish that they had had virtual schooling when they were coming along.”

Box hopes to study screenwriting at theUniversityofSouthern Californiaafter she completes her high school studies.  But for now, she’s busy taking honors classes and “attending” school club meetings – much like many other high school juniors.     

McCray Marches to His Own Virtual Beat
Freshman tuba player Tariq McCray of the Lake Howell High School Marching Band prepared for the fall football season last summer in a most unusual way.  He enrolled in an online Algebra class.    

Knowing that the demands on his time in the fall would be great, Tariq decided to “get a head start” on his studies by enrolling in a math class through theFloridaVirtualSchool.  By starting Algebra I in June, he not only bought himself some much-needed scheduling flexibility in the fall, but he put himself in a position where he could complete Algebra I and Geometry online by the beginning of his sophomore year.  

McCray hopes to enroll in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at nearby Seminole High next fall; yet, to do so, he needs to be ready to take Algebra II next fall with the other IB sophomores.  That’s where FLVS pays off – since it allows motivated students to work at a faster pace if they desire.

Tariq first got acquainted with FLVS when he took a keyboarding class in 7^th grade. He then knocked out his high school physical education requirement online in 8^th grade, beginning that course during the winter holidays “since I didn’t have any other schoolwork.” 

McCray says he likes the convenience and flexibility of online classes, but concedes that virtual classes sometimes face challenges.  “Group projects get complicated online,” he says.  “They usually work better in the classroom.”  Still, McCray says he wants to keep taking online classes throughout high school – even (or especially) if it means studying during his school “breaks.”

The McKay Scholarship is aimed at allowing the parents of students with learning disabilities the chance to choose a school in their area that best accommodates that disability.  However, school choice advocates want to see that ability to choose extended to all students and not limit our youth to the school to which they’re zoned.  This model mimics the university system which is a beacon for international talent and in turn, best accommodates the educational needs of its student body.  Competition is the underlying agent that allows for universities to develop programs that differ from other schools and offers more choice for parents looking to send their children off to college.  Doesn’t this sound familiar?  All businesses in the private sector have to develop ways of competing with each other to attract customers.  This makes for efficiently made, more attractive products.

If the tables were turned, and our university system was run similar to the public K-12 system, flagship universities in the state of Florida wouldn’t be able to harbor the students they house now, and small town folk like me would be limited to a 2 year degree in something in which we have no interest.  Supporters of school choice want to see the same university model applied to the K-12 system, promoting choice and competition where everyone will benefit. 

The current K-12 system mandates that if children want to attend public school, they are limited to enrolling in the school assigned to the zip code where they live.  On the surface, this seems like a reasonable model because of convenience.  But parents realize the difference in quality of schools between the public high school down the road and the private high school across town.  Parents who can afford to send their children across town usually do so.  Unfortunately, the current model lets only families who can dish out the extra cash have more choice.  I’d like to see that option extended to all families which will in turn benefit everyone.  A shift in the direction of more school choice will generate competition between schools, and that spirit of competition will benefit everyone, even those who can’t afford to send their children across town to that private high school.

I understand that this proposed new system would mean that the current funding formula would have to change.  Replace this complex formula, that basically throws money at schools based on per student enrollment, with a simpler model that attaches the funding to the student and follows that student wherever his/her parents choose to send their child to receive their education.  Unfortunately, teachers unions won’t budge on the issue.  Their narrowly focused objectives hurt Florida’s youth because they only look at the surface of the problem, at blindly protecting the jobs of all teachers, good or bad, and at protecting their revenue stream.  If they listened to the idea, they would realize that it actually emphasizes what their purpose should be in the first place.

In all, if parents had more school choice, they would be more satisfied with the schools to which they send their children, and the economic engine through which America educates its youth would be stronger heading into the future.

In a press release, the Foundation’s President/CEO Robert Enlow observes that “When it comes to school choice, the tide of reform is rising. Last year we saw unprecedented progress for school choice, and as 2012 kicks off with National School Choice Week, we expect this year to be just as successful.” Unfortunately, the very success of the school choice movement has stirred a pushback from opponents, notably the teachers unions. In particular they’ve been filing lawsuits against voucher programs that enable parents to choose any school, public or private, faith-based or strictly secular.

One weapon they’re using is the so-called Blaine Amendment, which appears in the state constitutions of Florida and 36 other states. Even though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris that voucher programs enabling pupils to attend private schools – including those operated by religious organizations – do not violate the U.S. Constitution, some states’ interpretations of the Blaine Amendment could stand in the way of school choice. So it’s instructive to note the embarrassing origins of the Blaine Amendment. Herewith a bit of history that I recounted in an op-ed column recently published in the Tallahassee Democrat:   

The amendment “was named for James G. Blaine of Maine, 1884’s GOP presidential nominee. He narrowly lost to Grover Cleveland after an especially divisive campaign. It famously included a Blaine supporter’s quip that the Democrats were the party of ‘rum, Romanism, and rebellion.’ The ‘Romanism’ was an obvious attempt to harness the anti-Catholic calumny that Catholics owed more loyalty to the pope than to theU.S.   

“The Blaine Amendment almost became a part of the U.S. Constitution, passing in the U.S. House in 1875, when Blaine was Speaker, but failing in the Senate. Unfortunately, 37 states – including Florida– soon incorporated the Blaine wording into their state constitutions as a wave of immigrants from Catholic countries fed an anti-Catholic backlash.

“Of course, the Blaine Amendment’s wording offers no clue as to its origins in religious bigotry. Instead, it sounds like a mere expansion of the U.S. Constitution’s provision forbidding an establishment of religion. In Florida’s Constitution it reads, ‘No revenue of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution.’

“The 2011 Florida Legislature passed a resolution for a constitutional amendment to remove this relic of post-Civil War bigotry from Florida’s Constitution. The proposal may be on the ballot next November so Floridians may vote on it – or maybe not. Ironically, the Florida Education Association and other groups that have blasted the Legislature for allegedly trying to ‘suppress the vote’ now want to go well beyond suppressing the vote; they want to totally block a vote on this proposal…. Thus far they’ve succeeded in getting a Tallahassee circuit judge to toss the measure off the ballot because they deemed its wording “misleading.” This triggered a new process wherein Florida’s attorney general got a chance to do a rewrite, and she did.

“Meanwhile, what the teachers unions apparently fear is that removing this wording from Florida’s Constitution might clear the way for more school vouchers, allowing parents to send their kids to schools whose teachers aren’t necessarily unionized. What a shame that the main impetus for keeping this relic of post-Civil War anti-Catholic bigotry in Florida’s Constitution is coming from a union purporting to represent the people who teach our kids.”

The Florida Supreme Court will ultimately decide whether Florida voters will get a chance in November to delete the Blaine Amendment from the state Constitution. If that happens, then Floridians will have more reason to celebrate when School Choice Week rolls around next year.

View Press Release (PDF)
View Full Brief:
“Workable Solutions for Florida’s Challenging Insurance Problems” (PDF)

VIEW FULL BRIEF:
Brief of Amici Curiae The James Madison Institute, et al.

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT:

“Federalism is one of the cornerstones of our constitutional system.  By reserving broad powers to the States and to the people, federalism protects liberty, enhances accountability, and fosters innovation.  The Act, however, undermines the essence of federalism by denying States a meaningful choice on whether to expand their state Medicaid programs.  States depend heavily on the hundreds of billions of dollars dispersed by the federal government through Medicaid.  Because the federal government funds at least half of each State’s Medicaid costs, no State could operate a comparable program without federal dollars, and no State could realistically decline to offer basic medical care to its neediest citizens.  Nevertheless, the Act requires States to spend tens of billions of additional dollars to expand Medicaid coverage, and threatens States with the loss of all Medicaid funding unless they comply.  Accordingly, the Act leaves States with no realistic choice but to continue to participate in Medicaid, in violation of the Tenth Amendment and the principles of federalism articulated in South Dakota v. Dole.

“Moreover, because of Medicaid’s size and the Act’s all-or-nothing penalty provisions, the Act is uniquely suited for scrutiny under the coercion doctrine.  Medicaid represents far and away the largest source of federal outlays to the States, and the largest component of spending by the States.  The Act, in turn, requires States to spend tens of billions of additional dollars to expand coverage, on penalty of losing every dollar of federal Medicaid support.  These and other provisions suggest that Congress designed the Act to preclude the States from exercising a meaningful choice.  For these reasons, if the coercion doctrine is ever to have any role in protecting the principles of constitutional federalism, the Act must be deemed invalid.”

CONCLUSION:

“For these reasons, States have no meaningful choice other than to comply with the ACA.  Accordingly, the ACA is invalid under the Tenth Amendment and the principles of federalism articulated in South Dakota v. Dole.“

VIEW FULL BRIEF:
Brief of Amici Curiae The James Madison Institute, et al.

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT:

“Federalism is one of the cornerstones of our constitutional system.  By reserving broad powers to the States and to the people, federalism protects liberty, enhances accountability, and fosters innovation.  The Act, however, undermines the essence of federalism by denying States a meaningful choice on whether to expand their state Medicaid programs.  States depend heavily on the hundreds of billions of dollars dispersed by the federal government through Medicaid.  Because the federal government funds at least half of each State’s Medicaid costs, no State could operate a comparable program without federal dollars, and no State could realistically decline to offer basic medical care to its neediest citizens.  Nevertheless, the Act requires States to spend tens of billions of additional dollars to expand Medicaid coverage, and threatens States with the loss of all Medicaid funding unless they comply.  Accordingly, the Act leaves States with no realistic choice but to continue to participate in Medicaid, in violation of the Tenth Amendment and the principles of federalism articulated in South Dakota v. Dole.

“Moreover, because of Medicaid’s size and the Act’s all-or-nothing penalty provisions, the Act is uniquely suited for scrutiny under the coercion doctrine.  Medicaid represents far and away the largest source of federal outlays to the States, and the largest component of spending by the States.  The Act, in turn, requires States to spend tens of billions of additional dollars to expand coverage, on penalty of losing every dollar of federal Medicaid support.  These and other provisions suggest that Congress designed the Act to preclude the States from exercising a meaningful choice.  For these reasons, if the coercion doctrine is ever to have any role in protecting the principles of constitutional federalism, the Act must be deemed invalid.”

CONCLUSION:

“For these reasons, States have no meaningful choice other than to comply with the ACA.  Accordingly, the ACA is invalid under the Tenth Amendment and the principles of federalism articulated in South Dakota v. Dole.“

Florida Faces Dual Crises in Insurance Markets
JMI releases white paper on homeowners and vehicle insurance reform

TALLAHASSEE – For three years, state leaders have not effectively addressed Florida’s dysfunctional property insurance system despite bipartisan support for reform.  Add to that the long term questionable sustainability of Florida’s vehicle insurance system, and the state now faces dual crises in its insurance markets.

“Florida cannot afford a repeat of the 2011 Legislative Session. Nothing has improved in the past year; indeed, many aspects of the insurance environment have gotten worse.” –Eli Lehrer, JMI Adjunct Scholar and Heartland Institute Vice President and Director of the Center on Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate

In a newly released Backgrounder, “Workable Solutions for Florida’s Challenging Insurance Problems,” James Madison Institute Adjunct Scholars Eli Lehrer and R. J. Lehmann outline the cases for reform and propose a series of recommendations that could be reasonably implemented in the 2012 Legislative Session.

Regarding vehicle insurance reform:

• Goal 1: Retain and enhance the no-fault nature of Florida’s vehicle insurance system.
• Goal 2: Make commonsense reforms to limit legal and medical costs.
• Goal 3: Crack down on fraud in all contexts.

Regarding property insurance reform:

• Goal 1: Retain the Cat Fund as a buffer for Katrina-sized events but shrink it to remove the dangers it poses to the state.
• Goal 2: Pursue more aggressive depopulation of Citizens by granting it greater freedom to raise rates and to deny or non-renew policyholders.
• Goal 3: Harden Florida’s built environment against hurricanes, and end subsidies for development in hurricane-prone areas.

“During the 2012 Session, legislators have an opportunity to make reasonable reforms in Florida’s vehicle and property insurance systems that will make an immediate difference in the lives of the people they represent and in the economic health and financial stability of the state they serve.” –Dr. Robert McClure, JMI President and CEO

All JMI publications are available on-line at www.jamesmadison.org.  To comment or request a copy, contact Tanja Clendinen at 850.383.4633 (toll free 1.866.340.3131) or Tanja@jamesmadison.org.