An Urgent Plea to the State NAACP and Florida Teachers Union from More Than 100 African American Ministers: Drop The Suit! In August 2014, the state chapter of the NAACP joined the Florida teachers union in a lawsuit asking the courts to shut down the Tax Credit Scholarship program. This program empowers low-income parents to choose a school that best fits their children’s individual learning needs. Here’s what we know about the program: • The average household income of scholarship families is $25,000 for a family of four. • Roughly 30% of scholarship children are Black. More than 75% are minorities. • The scholarship children are the worst performers in their public schools when they leave them. • Once in a new school, they make progress equal to children of all family incomes. • The program helps the academic performance of the public schools. We believe the goals and outcomes of this program are consistent with the mission of the NAACP. For decades, the NAACP has worked to empower Black citizens to improve their lives – especially the lives of their children. That is exactly what this scholarship does. We created the Florida African American Ministers Alliance for Parental Choice as a formal coalition calling for the end to this misguided lawsuit. We now have more than one hundred members – ministers from every corner of the state. We are simply following the lead of our own congregations. In January, more than 10,000 people travelled to Tallahassee to urge the NAACP and the teachers union to drop the suit. Just this month, we delivered a petition to the NAACP signed by more than 5,000 people imploring the NAACP to drop out of the suit. For over 100 years, the NAACP has fought for educational freedom for Black parents. It should not abandon that honorable legacy now. Signed, The Florida African American Ministers Alliance for Parental Choice A Coalition of More Than 100 Ministers From Around Florida Paid for by the Black Alliance for Educational Options.
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