We and you did it! We have achieved an incredible victory but it would not be possible with the dedicated individuals of Florida parents who truly care.
We are with you.
Today, we achieved a major victory in preserving the Hope Scholarship by getting an amendment filed and adopted to HB 1403 we have been advocating for.
Originally HB 1403 would have eliminated the Hope Scholarship in whole.
The Hope Scholarship was former Speaker Richard Corcoran’s HB 1. The Hope Scholarship is a victim’s bill that provides students who have been bullied, intimidated, or harassed by anyone on school property the ability to attend a private school of their choice if they have been.
The amendment filed today by Chair Tomkow and adopted by the House Education Committee maintains the current framework of the Hope Scholarship when it comes to the protections it provided to students such as immediacy and the broad definition of what counts as bullying, intimidation, or harassment.
We want to first thank everyone that signed our petition and supported us through this effort. You made your mark in history for future generations.
We also want to thank the Speaker, Chair Tomkow, Chair Massullo, Chair Fine, and Chair McClain for all their work on this topic.
However, this fight is not over. We have not yet seen the State Senate’s counterpart to HB 1403.
We need to keep up the pressure to make sure that the Hope Scholarship is preserved in the Senate as well.
