WUSF

The group of private school owners suing the organization in charge of handling half a million student vouchers in Florida are seeking amendments to improve the private school choice movement in Florida, their attorney said on Friday. This comes after state audits into the funding organization and Florida’s Department of Education revealed that funds disbursed to families through the organization, Step Up For Students, have been mismanaged and the program has been plagued with inconsistencies and accountability issues that have resulted in many cases of voucher payment delays — and frozen funds — to students and schools. At the press conference in Jacksonville, the schools’ attorney, Lamont Carter, explained the reason for the lawsuit against Step Up For Students. “We’re pushing for transparency, accountability, standard operating procedures and sound fiduciary responsibility,” he told media. “It’s not only monetary… we’re, once again, looking for reform.”