COMPARISON OF PUBLIC EDUCATION ROLL-CALL VOTES IN THE 1977 FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

It was the purpose of this study to determine whether support for public education differed among members of the 1977 Florida House of Representatives. Fourteen education roll-call votes were identified as measures of support for public education. Roll-calls were classified into five legislation dimensions based on common subject content. Dimension and number of votes in each were: aggregate (14), tax (3), appropriations (3), compensatory education (2), and collective bargaining (4). Scores were calculated for each Representative on each dimension. Scores were sums of positive votes within a dimension. Subjects for this study were the members of Florida's 1977 House of Representatives. Representatives were categorically grouped by school attendance classification, party affiliation, and school attendance classification with party affiliation. School attendance classifications were: "public," having one or more children attending public school(s) exclusively; "non-public," having one or more children attending non-public school(s); and "non-attending," having no children attending school. Categoric group scores were computed. Data were analyzed by one way analyses of variance. The .05 level of significance was employed. Upon analysis of results, the following conclusions and implications were formulated. (1) Representatives' support for public education was shaped by an interplay of political self-interests with personal self-interests. (2) Having children attending school mediated political party affects on legislators' roll-call votes. (3) School attendance classification with party affiliation had mixed results in differentiating support for public education. (4) By itself, party affiliation differentiated Representatives' support for public education. (5) By itself, school attendance classification did not differentiate Representatives' support for public education.