Senate Bill 6 in District 11: Rauch says drop testing, give all students vouchers

Recently, Representative Debbie Boyd voted no on the controversial senate bill SB6, which would, among other things, require students to pass a standardized test for every subject taught, as well as decide teacher’s pay in accordance with their students’ test scores.

The bill had educators across the state up-in-arms, as many felt its passage would be detrimental to the curriculum, as well as push good teachers to leave the state for better paying jobs in places like Georgia or Alabama.

The bill did pass the Senate and the House with a great majority of support, but thankfully for the teachers, the bill was vetoed by Gov. Charlie Crist. However,  the overwhelming support for the bill in the legislature shows the need for education reform.

Terry Rauch, a Republican candidate with opinions, said he thinks the thing to do is get rid of standardized testing completely and give every child a voucher to get in to whichever school they’re parents choose.

“It gives power to the parents,” Rauch said. “It would create free market enterprise and make education a product.”

Video: Amy Mercado speaks out against SB 6, the teacher tenure abolition bill

After the Florida Senate passed the highly dispute Senate Bill 6 (but before Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed it), Amy Mercado, the Democrat opponent facing Speaker-elect Dean Cannon for House 35, released this reaction video. According to a blog written by Jerry Waxman, a candidate for the Orange County School Board, Mercado joined protesters outside Rep. Cannon’s office on March 30. She was calling voters to tell their House representatives and Gov. Charlie that they oppose the bill affecting teachers’ performances and paychecks.