Testimony by the Staff
of the
Florida Catholic Conference

I.    Introduction
      Good afternoon Chairman Wallace and committee member. My name is Larry Keough.  I am the associate for education at the Florida Catholic Conference. Because the hour is l late, ordinarily I would waive my time to speak. But some comments have been during the past four plus hours that I am compelled to address.

II.   Private School Accountability
       Our 215 schools that educate 93,000 plus students operate in the free market place. If parents are not satisfied with our schools, they would cease to exist. Quite simply, parents are not going to make great financial sacrifices and expend their hard earned money on private school tuition if they believe the school is not meeting their children’s needs.

       Our teachers are required to be state certified. Our K-8 schools are accredited by the Florida Catholic Conference Accreditation Program and the National Council Private School Accreditation. Our high schools are accredited by SACS. Our teachers pursue master in service training, and our schools are open approximately the same number of days as public schools.

       And Florida Catholic Schools are regulated as to health, safety and sanitation. Each of you may be particularly interested in the fact that our administration is comprised of 21 administrators in seven diocesan school offices.

       There have been some questions raised about nonpublic schools adhering to anti- discrimination law as it relates to race, gender and disabilities. Approximately 33 percent of our students are minorities. Thousands of our students are eligible for free and reduced lunch under the federal Title I Program.

       But many of our school rely on religious orders to provide quality education to children.

       Concerning children with disabilities, approximately 15-20 percent of our students have a varying form of a disability. In addition, 28 Florida Catholic schools are registered to participate in the Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities. To date, more than 120 students have enrolled in Florida Catholic schools via the program.

       But forcing nonpublic schools to adhere to all federal disabilities laws, including the American Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act would be very problematic. Why? Nonpublic schools would be forced to make major modifications and adaptations to their physical plants and academic programs without receiving the necessary federal dollars. And if we did receive the necessary federal dollars, entanglement issues between church and state would likely, which would violate the Lemon Case test.

       Thank you.