School classroom by diane39 via iStock for WMNF News.
A new Florida law allows charter school operators to take over space inside public schools. But parents and education advocates are concerned about these “Schools of Hope” The advocacy group Families for Strong Public Schools is worried this will put student data at risk and destabilize public schools.
During a press conference on Monday, parents frequently used the word “concerned” to express their feelings about charter schools having access to public school students.
Gianny Hunt is a parent who said child safety is compromised.
“In so many easy Schools of Hope makes schools more dangerous and less hopeful. And also less welcoming for students across the entire state,” she said.
She said parents should know how their children’s data are being used.
Nancy Tray is a mother in St. Johns County and is worried these charter schools will interfere with the function of the current public schools.
“The state is threatening to fill any available space with a school that might not have the same rules as our school and may not have the same culture and values. It creates a host of security, safety and data privacy concerns, and somehow our local community has no say in this,” she said.
Tray is also concerned that if her town continues to grow, there will be no room for local students to go. She said they have struggled with this before, and taxpayers should not have to pay to open another school if this were to happen.
Demaris Allen is the executive director for Families for Strong Public Schools. She said this press conference is to help highlight that parents did not ask for this.
“We are concerned this is creating a challenge for our students moving forward. This is not a solution; this is a new problem. When parents learn about this, they are furious, they jump into action, and that is why you have seen such a swell of parents emailing, calling and asking legislators to repeal this policy because it’s bad for students,” Allen said.
She said the charter schools have already requested 450 locations to c-locate with, which means they have children’s data for each of those schools.
Other educational advocates raised concerns how the data leak could create more discrimination for children of color and children with disabilities.