Annual Legislative Breakfast Draws Record 750 Guests

On Sunday, Teach Florida – a project of the Orthodox Union – hosted its annual legislative breakfast in Davie, Fl. The event drew a record 750 guests, including state legislators and Jewish community leaders. Teach Florida is a member of the Teach Coalition, the education advocacy organization for nonpublic schools.

At the breakfast, Florida Jewish community leaders had an opportunity to connect with elected officials who make critical decisions about state scholarships and security funding. The event also showed elected officials how important the issue of scholarship and security funding is to the Jewish community and expressed gratitude for the $60 million in 2022 state funding that enabled Jewish families to send their children to Jewish day schools.

Left to right: Senator Alexis Calatayud; Teach Florida Executive Director Danny Aqua; Chairman of Teach Florida Dr. Allan Jacob; Member of the Florida House of Representatives Chair Randy Fine; and Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives Paul Renner

Teach Florida advocates for expanded state scholarship funding for all students. Today, Florida leads the nation with more than 242,000 children receiving a state scholarship – including a record 7,200 in Jewish day schools. More than 50 percent of Florida Jewish day school students receive a state scholarship. Since 2011, Teach Florida has secured more than $253 million in state funding for Jewish day school families.

Among those who spoke at the event were Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives Paul Renner; Member of the Florida House of Representatives Chair Randy Fine; Chairman of Teach Florida Dr. Allan Jacob; Executive Director of Teach Florida Danny Aqua; Teach Florida Funding Specialist Malka Rhodes; and Teach Florida Engagement Director Melissa Glaser.

In his address, Speaker Renner said, “With Florida being the third largest state in the country, what we do here in this space when we create our scholarship programs has a powerful influence over what happens in education nationally and even globally,” during his address. “With those dollars, you can have innovative education entrepreneurs that are looking for new ways to serve the needs of the children that are represented by the families in this room.”

Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives Paul Renner addresses the 750 guests in attendance at Teach Florida’s annual legislative breakfast

House of Representatives Chair Randy Fine said, “What I’m hopeful we are going to do over the next two years is to see that every student gets every dollar for every method of education that they so choose. When we do that, that is when the mission of expanding school choice will be done.”

Teach Florida Executive Director Danny Aqua said, “Our theme this year is changing lives, one scholarship at a time, because every child matters. We are so grateful to our elected officials for creating and expanding these incredible scholarships that are helping thousands of children in our community.”

Contact:
Danny Aqua, Executive Director, Teach Florida
[email protected]

About Teach Florida/Teach Coalition:
Teach Florida, a member of Teach Coalition, has a goal to solve the tuition crisis facing the nonpublic school community. Teach Coalition advocates for equitable government funding for nonpublic schools and counts nearly 150 schools nationwide as official members. Through direct application assistance, political advocacy, and grassroots activism, Teach Coalition is committed to making nonpublic schools better, safer and more affordable.

About Orthodox Union:
Founded in 1898, the Orthodox Union (OU) serves as the voice of American Orthodox Jewry, with over 400 congregations in its synagogue network. As the umbrella organization for American Orthodox Jewry, the OU is at the forefront of advocacy work on both state and federal levels, outreach to Jewish teens and young professionals through NCSY and Birthright Israel/Israel Free Spirit trip organizer, and Yachad, the National Jewish Council for Disabilities, among many other divisions and programs. For more information, visit www.ou.org.