FCAT Protests Escalate

[Bob Schaeffer <bobschaeffer@earthlink.net>]

  FCAT PROTEST IN HOMESTEAD BECOMES UNRULY; MINOR DAMAGE REPORTED
            The Associated Press -- May 22,2003

HOMESTEAD, Fla. - A protest of the controversial Florida Comprehensive 
Achievement Test by about 200 people turned unruly, forcing police to 
step in and restore order.

No arrests or injuries were reported during Wednesday morning's protest 
at Homestead High School, although two vehicles were damaged by protesters.

Several students took their protest onto a nearby street, but were 
eventually brought back to school by Miami-Dade Schools Police and 
Homestead Police officers.

Nearly 13,000 of Florida's 12th-graders haven't passed the FCAT, meaning 
they will not graduate as scheduled. This is the first year that seniors 
have been required to pass the FCAT before graduating.

Some of South Florida's black community leaders and legislators have 
announced plans for multiple protests, including a "moving protest" 
Thursday where they will make about a 20-mile drive through Miami's 
streets, ending at Florida International University, where a 
demonstration is scheduled.

The protest organizers denounce the FCAT as unfair to minority students. 
They want Gov. Jeb Bush to put aside the consequences for students who 
failed this year's test and re-examine the FCAT policies.

The protesters are calling for boycotts of the Florida Lottery, the 
state's citrus industry and its major theme parks, among other measures.

Bush administration officials have said they won't set aside the results 
and the governor has criticized the protesters, noting that scores have 
gone up since the test was started in 1998 and minority students have 
made some of the biggest gains.