By Ben Velderman
EAGnews.org

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Will Sunshine State families be the next group entrusted with the “parent trigger”?

It almost happened earlier this year when the “parent trigger” concept passed Florida’s House of Representatives, but was stopped by a 20-20 deadlock in the state Senate.

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The law would have empowered parents of children trapped in chronically failing schools to force radical changes in how the school functions, ranging from making wholesale changes to the school’s staff to turning the keys over to a charter school operator.

But the legislative fight isn’t over.

Aaron Deslatte of the Orlando Sentinel writes that both sides of the parent trigger debate seem to be bulking up for another go-round.

The pro-school choice group Florida Federation for Children poured money into 18 of last week’s legislative primary elections, in hopes of helping choice-friendly candidates, Deslatte notes. Likewise, the anti-choice teachers union, the Florida Education Association, flooded the coffers of union-approved candidates.

Deslatte reports that the primary scorecard was mixed: The Florida Federation for Children helped two choice-friendly Democratic candidates advance in their races for the state House, while the teachers union prevailed in three crucial state Senate contests.

“Perhaps more important for the parental-trigger bill, the (Florida Federation for Children) helped two staunchly school-choice Republican House members win Senate seats,” Deslatte writes.

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By winning the primary, one of those Republicans – John Legg – will go directly to the state Senate, as he does not have a Democratic opponent in the November election, reports the HeraldTribune.com

Kelli Stargel, the other Republican, will face an opponent in November, but is expected to win.

The result of last week’s primaries is that “two or three fights this fall … could tip the scales” in the parent trigger debate, according to Deslatte.

The school choice debate will only get louder and more intense as both sides prepare for November’s general election.

Stay tuned.