The Florida Department of Education suspended scholarships to four schools over alleged “direct ties to the Chinese communist party.”
According to a press release from Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office, the FDOE determined through an investigation that the Lower and Upper Sagemont Preparatory Schools in Weston, Parke House Academy in Winter Park, and Park Maitland School in Winter Park have ties to the CCP and “their connections constitute an imminent threat to the health, safety, and welfare of these school’s students and the public.”
“The Chinese Communist Party is not welcome in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said. “We will not put up with any attempt to influence students with a communist ideology or allow Floridians’ tax dollars to go to schools that are connected to our foreign adversaries.”
The state’s education department is working with nonprofit scholarship funding organizations to help impacted students find and enroll in nearby eligible schools.
.@EducationFL has found four schools that have direct ties to the CCP. We are suspending them from Florida’s school choice scholarship programs, effective immediately.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 22, 2023
We will not allow Florida’s tax dollars to go to schools with connections to adversarial foreign nations.
“The Chinese Communist Party has no place in our schools,” Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr, said. “I am grateful for Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature for their work to keep students and our communities safe from foreign countries of concern.”
In a statement to Local 10 News, Sagemont said: “We have received notice from the state that our eligibility for Florida Choice School funds has been suspended. We were not contacted in advance and are seeking more information regarding the basis for this decision. In the meantime, we will be working directly with our families to ensure they can remain enrolled in our school.”
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Earlier this year, DeSantis signed SB 846 into law, which prohibits schools affiliated with a foreign country of concern from participating in Florida school choice scholarship programs.
According to Politico, Spring Education Group, which owns the schools, is owned by Primavera Holdings Limited, an investment firm mostly based in Hong Kong and owned by Chinese people who live there.
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