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Summer, here are some more of my thoughts on the issue for you to consider:

Three Central Florida counties have joined a number of Florida districts sidestepping state policy

These counties are trying to find ways to circumvent state policy passed by our elected representatives.

competing needs: Better education or making it easier for welfare recipients to find and keep jobs.

The stated assumption is that the public schools provied better education than privaate schools. My own experience as well as most studies insist that that is not true. Almost all experts outside the public system and teachers unions agree that private schoold provide better education.

Schools want to put more low-income children into their preschool classes -- taught by certified teachers -- to prepare them for kindergarten and give them a jump-start on reading.

Again the assumption that "certified teachers" do a better job is unsupported. One other point about this is the question of what is a "certified teacher"? The state has mandated that even private pre-schools must have teachers with a CDA degree, and these schools are working towards that goal. This is a form of teaching certificate, so it should qualify its holder as a "certified teacher". Even some counties, such as Seminole, allow teachers with "only" a CDA to teach their pre-K classes, so this is a red herring.

The state wants to put more children into day care -- with lower-paid workers who are not teachers

This statement is false; private school teachers may be paid less than their public counterparts, but they are still teachers!

"We are unwilling to take these teachers out of the classroom," said Cynthia Muller, a Miami-Dade district administrator. "The school district did not want to compromise quality."

So, this administrator is willing to flount the law to satisfy her erroneous perception that public school education provides better quality education?

But school officials in Orange and Osceola said they tried to work with the coalitions but decided that new state rules would have forced them to lower their standards.

How does sending kids to private pre-schools that provide a superior education force these counties to "lower their standards"? My answer: it doesn't, the opposite is true.

Osceola also disliked a new rule requiring both parents to be employed in order for their children to receive state funding for child care.

This rule simply states that if a two-parent family has one parent who does not work, the child should stay at home with the child. IMHO, this is the best place for any pre-K child.

Cronon, from the state partnership, said parents, particularly those at home, have the primary responsibility of taking care of their children. He also said that school officials are missing a crucial point of the readiness law -- to help families take care of themselves.

Well stated, Mr. Cronon!

Interesting points....I am still in ponder-mode on this one... But, you are quite a talented and dedicated advocate for your wife, TA! Kudos to you! :)

My post #21 did not attempt to respond to your post #19, which I will return to. :)

TA, re your post #19 - I would just add that there are many changes happening now in several districts, including Orange, that do involve sidestepping certain state requirements. I will link a thread and show you the posts, so you can see what I am referring to.

As for private verses public schools -- again, I would say: there are some outstanding public schools, and there are some outstanding private schools. There are also schools, public and private, that have their share of problems, with public schools often having a greater share, partly because they do not have the luxury of quickly eliminating or rejecting what I will call "problem" students, for lack of a better word here.

It is a whole lot easier to control the learning environment when your school is set up to only accept the cream of the crop. That is a fact. Nevertheless, there are some private school that WILL take kids thrown out of public schools, and then, the problems surrounding that expelled student are transferred to the private school. I know this happens. Consequently, an important question for any parent considering any private school is this one: Does your private school accept expelled students from the public school? Because some private schools DO take those kids, and some private schools do NOT.

Of course, there are a zillion other considerations as well, but, I am not willing to agree with blanket statements often reduced to: "All private schools are of higher quality" and "All public schools are trash." I have spent too much time in too many public schools. Some public schools are lousy; but some are great -- and better than private schools. And, some private schools are great. It depends on a variety of factors.

And, yes - I always agree that a parent is the child's first and most important teacher.

It is a government agenda to take children away form their parents. The socialists in government do NOT want your children forming their values with you, the parent.

Do take time to read about it and hillary clinton in Joyce Milton's "The First Partner, Hillary Rodham Clinton".

There is a price to pay for handing over precious innocent children to government schools, and America can no longer afford to do it.