AFC & ASC Honors the Memory of the late-Rep. John Patrick Julien

AFC & ASC Honors the Memory of the late-Rep. John Patrick Julien

The American Federation for Children and the Alliance for School Choice issued the following statement in honor of Rep. John Patrick Julien, who passed away earlier today.

Betsy DeVos, chairman of the American Federation for Children and the Alliance for School Choice:

On behalf of the American Federation for Children and the Alliance for School Choice, our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Rep. John Patrick Julien. The legacy of JPJ, as he was called, will always be that of a leader who put the concern and needs of Florida children first.

As Florida’s educational choice program began in its infancy, JPJ was a stalwart proponent of ensuring low-income, underserved children received access to high-quality educational options. A true public servant who put his constituents first, we will forever miss JPJ’s leadership, friendship and kindness. These words of remembrance shall pass, but every day, across Florida, a child will attend a school they otherwise would not have access too, and those students’ success are a direct result of Rep. John Patrick Julien.

John Kirtley, vice chairman of the American Federation for Children and chairman of Florida’s Step up for Students issued the following statement on redefinEd:

Some days you hear someone say, “make the most of every day, you never know when it will be your last” – and you think, what a cliché. Then some days you learn something that makes that sentence all too real.

I only heard last week that former state Rep. John Patrick Julien was ill. He passed away Friday from liver cancer. Apparently he only learned of his diagnosis a few weeks ago.

JPJ, as we called him, was a warrior for parental school choice. He came to the legislature as the bipartisan wave was building for choice. We had gone from no Democrats in the House supporting the Step Up program to half of them. We had gone from no members of the Black Caucus in support to a majority.

But JPJ still took heat for his position. Those who opposed school choice would threaten to take him out. He didn’t flinch. As he told me several times, “Why wouldn’t I support it? It’s the right thing to do.” He undervalued the simple, strong integrity of that statement.

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