NextSteps: Step Up For Students

In this episode, Kelly Garcia, co-founder and executive director of GuidEd Florida, discusses how Florida’s education choice landscape has evolved in the 25 years since the launch of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship.

Garcia explains that as options have expanded beyond traditional district, private and charter schools to include microschools, virtual school, homeschooling and customized learning plans, families need trusted guidance to make informed decisions. GuidEd was created to help families understand scholarship options, ask the right questions, and find learning environments that fit their children’s individual needs. The conversation explores the organization’s neutral, family-centered approach; the practical barriers families face, and the growing need for human guidance even as AI makes basic information easier to find.

Key points:

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As families head back to school this month, this episode centers on how school choice can change daily life for children who need the right fit, especially kids with unique abilities and adoption-related trauma. A teacher and “multiple choice” mom, Aaliyah Gonzalez shares how scholarships helped her move each child into environments where they felt safe, supported, and understood. Aaliyah also shares her perspective as both a teacher and a parent, explaining why smaller settings, family-style school culture, and responsive staff can matter more than curriculum alone.

Episode details:

To learn more about the Federal Education Freedom Tax Credit, visit Step Up Step Further Scholarship Fund.

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On this episode, recent college graduate Jasmine Meriedy shares her inspiring journey as a Florida Tax Credit Scholarship recipient and advocate for high-quality education and healthcare. Discover how her experiences with small classrooms, dedicated nurses, and advocacy work shape her vision for future generations.

Episode details:

Resources & Links:

Connect with Jasmine:

LinkedIn

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For years, critics of education choice have been saying it will unleash an educational apocalypse in Florida. But what’s unfolding isn’t an apocalypse. It’s a renaissance.

 “For 25 years we’ve been hearing that the sky’s going to fall,” said Ron Matus, director of research and special projects at Step Up For Students, the nation’s largest education choice scholarship funding organization, which manages 98% of Florida’s K-12 programs. “They have said forever that school choice was going to ruin everything, and instead the exact opposite has happened.”

Matus made his comments when he recently sat down with Ginny Gentles at the Defense of Freedom Institute to share the Florida story and discuss the Sunshine State’s historic influence on family-driven education choice.

The podcast covers everything from teacher entrepreneurs to à la carte learning to innovative options springing up in rural areas, where many opponents say choice can’t succeed. Matus also cited several schools and providers as examples of thriving innovation happening across the state.

“I think people have these really searing images of Florida in their head. They’ll think of Miami and Orlando and Disney or think about the beaches but don’t realize that between all that there are vast stretches of heartland. There are amazing choice schools throughout all of that.”

When it comes to education, Matus said, surveys show many families want the same basic things, such as safety, academic rigor, and character-building instruction that can be faith-based or secular.

“After that, there are a million different things they want slightly different,” he said. “They may want old-school school — they don’t want any bells and whistles. Others may want a forest school or an outdoor school. That’s where pluralism should come into play.”

 All of these are possible in Florida, Matus said, thanks to robust policies that empower families. “In every possible way, public education in Florida has gotten better. So many people did the right thing and moved the ball down the field to build a system where parents have the power to determine the best education for their kids.”

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On this episode, senior writer Lisa Buie talks with Nina Rees, president and chief executive officer of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Founded in 2005, the alliance’s stated mission is to ensure all children have access to a high-quality public education regardless of their ZIP code.

Rees discusses the recent study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes, also known as CREDO, that showed over time, charter schools outperformed district-run schools in their communities and narrowed the achievement gap.

“If there was ever a doubt as to the effectiveness of charter schools, in their ability to close the achievement gap, this study definitely proves that gap can be closed and it's just a matter of doubling down and investing more in building these great schools in more places.”

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Rees also discussed Oklahoma’s recent approval of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School, which, if it survives

Nina Rees

a court challenge, would be the nation’s first religious charter school.

Rees’ organization issued a statement disagreeing with the decision, arguing that the law has established that charter schools are public schools therefore required to operate as secular institutions. A coalition that includes Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Education Law Center filed a lawsuit challenging the virtual charter school, which is set to open in 2024.

Episode details:

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St. Isidore of Seville is the patron saint of technology and the internet.

On this episode, senior writer Lisa Buie talks with Brett Farley, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma.

Founded in 2017 by Oklahoma's Catholic bishops, the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma serves as the official voice of the Catholic Church in Oklahoma on matters of public policy. The Conference operates at the intersection of faith and politics.

Brett Farley, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma

Farley has served as the primary spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and Diocese of Tulsa as the two organizations applied to open St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School. Named for the patron saint of the internet and technology, St. Isidore made history on June 5 when the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved it by a 3-2 vote as the nation’s first religious charter school. The decision is expected to result in litigation, as supporters and opponents each threatened a court challenge depending on the outcome.

Farley offers some background about the reasons and purpose of a Catholic virtual charter school. He also offers an argument for why such a school passes constitutional muster.

“In the context of a private virtual school, we would still have to charge tuition, and that becomes, for some folks, a non-starter. They simply can't afford anything. But secondarily by partnering with the state, again, it opens up all kinds of possibilities that a tuition-based program wouldn't be able to afford. That's one of the primary features of a charter program is that the state's going to fund innovation.”

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Please note: Since this podcast was recorded, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a decision from the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Charter Day School v. Peltier, a North Carolina dress code case in which one charter school argued that it is a private actor. The court's refusal to hear the case was hailed as a win by many charter school advocates, who argue charter schools are public. But it leaves the constitutional status of overtly religious charter schools in limbo.

Episode Details:

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On this episode, reimaginED senior writer Lisa Buie talks with Sue Luther of Largo, Florida, a former private school teacher and single parent of two military-dependent sons. Both boys have received state K-12 scholarships over the years.

Her older son, Alexander, 15, was diagnosed at age 2 with severe autism spectrum disorder and currently receives the Family Empowerment Scholarship for students with Unique Abilities. His younger brother, Miles, 13, attends a charter school. The different uses of education choice earn Luther and her kids the title “multiple choice family.”

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Luther discusses how she felt after Alexander, at the time a third grader, qualified for what was then the Gardiner Scholarship and how it helped her design a customized plan at home for him and later allowed her to send him to a private school for students with autism.

As a sibling, Miles qualified for what was then an income-based scholarship. Luther used it to pay private school tuition until Miles began attending a charter school, which, though privately run, is publicly funded. Florida law classifies charter schools as public schools.

Luther loved what the private specialty school offered Alexander, but as a single parent, she will not be able to cover the difference between tuition and what the scholarship pays next year. So, she plans to use scholarship for a customized home-based program.

“It helps you have accessibility to so many resources, and it covers so many of the expenses that it takes to homeschool your kid. With technology nowadays, you have to have laptops and computers and cell phones, or tablets of some kind to help them. And it really helps to cover those things so that you feel like you're still giving your child the best opportunity to learn, just like their peers.”

EPISODE DETAILS:

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A new offering from Florida Virtual School, Artificial Intelligence in the World, will guide students through the concepts, tools, and building blocks of artificial intelligence and provide them with a broad overview of how AI is used in decision-making and problem-solving worldwide.

On this episode, reimaginED senior writer Lisa Buie talks with Amy Heflin, senior manager for STEM curriculum at Florida Virtual School. Heflin discusses a new high school course program in artificial intelligence and how it will offer students a foundational knowledge of AI and its applications.

Her interview comes a day after FLVS, the nation’s first statewide internet-based virtual school, unveiled its first course, AI in the World, which is part of a progression of industry-focused classes that also include courses in hospitality and entrepreneurship.

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Amy Heflin

“We try to impress upon students that studying AI requires analytical, critical thinking skills, things that we use on a daily basis, and that can be useful in any field. Learning about AI will help students develop their problem-solving abilities. They'll become better equipped to handle complex issues.”

EPIDOSE DETAILS:

Topics and hands-on activities covered in the course

The types of students for whom the course is designed

The role that University of Florida faculty members played in developing the curriculum

How the course fits into FLVS’s overall computer science program, which includes a new AP computer science principles course

Heflin’s desire to help students embrace AI rather than fear it

A sneak peek at the next AI course, Applications for Artificial Intelligence

RELEVANT LINKS:

Florida Department of Education among first to adopt K-12 AI education program

FLVS.net

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Rachel Hayon Sabbah, at the lectern, was among advocates who spoke in favor of HB1 in March, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, far right, signed the historic legislation into law.

On this episode, reimaginED senior writer Lisa Buie talks with Rachel Hayon Sabbah, a nurse and mother of four daughters, including two who receive the Florida Family Empowerment Scholarship for students with Unique Abilities. Her eldest daughter, Elisheva, 8, has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and younger daughter Ahavah, 4, has experienced speech delays.

Hayon Sabbah, who lives in Ft. Lauderdale, spoke at Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signing of HB 1, which expanded scholarship eligibility to all Florida students and converted all traditional scholarships to education savings accounts. The legislation also allowed the Family Empowerment Scholarship for students with Unique Abilities to expand its annual growth rate from 1% to 3% of the state’s total exceptional student education population, excluding gifted students, to eliminate the need for waitlists.

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Rachel Hayon Sabbah and three of her four daughters

Ahavah, who was on the waitlist, recently was awarded a scholarship and will start voluntary pre-kindergarten next year.

“(The scholarship program) has been really, really helpful in terms of just allowing us at this time to pay for private school tuition. Both of our girls are in Jewish private schools here in South Florida, and it's made it a much easier decision to homeschool our daughter next year because the funding can be used toward educational expenses.”

Episode Details:

Relevant Links:

Teach Florida

Florida Department of Education Family Empowerment Scholarships for students with Unique Abilities FAQ

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ADHD page

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Diana Diaz-Harrison and her son, Sammy

On this episode, senior writer Lisa Buie talks with Diana Diaz-Harrison, a former teacher, television journalist and founder at Arizona Autism Charter School in Phoenix, the Southwest region’s only tuition-free school specializing in best practices for students who are on the autism spectrum.

Diaz-Harrison started the school in 2014 after her son, Sammy, who was diagnosed with autism at age 2, began attending kindergarten. The arrangement wasn’t working well for Sammy and others who have ASD, she explains, noting that while federal law requires that exceptional students receive “free and appropriate” education in district schools, it’s no guarantee it will be the best education.

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“I think that the stigma that is associated with an autism diagnosis, it's kind of fading … people don't think of it as a death sentence anymore. We are offering so much hope, along with other agencies in the community, that children with autism can learn. They can thrive.”

Sammy attended a private program for a couple of years, and while that was a better environment, the costs were not sustainable. Private programs can cost $40,000 to $50,000 per year.

So, she and other parents opened Arizona Autism Center with 90 students with the mission of using best practices such as applied behavior analysis. The school now serves 700 students on four campuses, including a high school and a virtual program. Another high school will open in Tucson this fall.

The founders’ efforts were rewarded last year when the school took the top $1 million award in the Yass Prize competition, which seeks to recognize and aid education programs that are “sustainable, transformational, outstanding and permissionless.”

In seeking to replicate its model, the school partnered with South Florida Autism Charter School in Miami-Dade County to start a National Autism Charter School Accelerator with the goal of getting at least one autism-focused charter in every state.

EPISODE DETAILS:

RELEVANT LINKS:

Arizona Autism Charter School

Yass Prize

South Florida Autism Charter School

Autism and Applied Behavior Analysis

CDC Community Report on Autism

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