Florida’s Universal School Choice Program may be on the verge of passing the legislature. Last Friday, Florida’s GOP House passed a bill lifting income caps and expanding school choice to all of the state’s 2.9 million children. One out of 10 Democrats actually voted for it. The State Senate will take up the bill this week.
Governor Ron DeSantis has been a champion of school choice, but he has doubts about lifting the income caps.“If you have a family that’s very high income, they already have school choice,” Mr. DeSantis said last month. “They don’t necessarily need to be eligible for the program.”
The state has more than 700 independent charter schools, plus two voucher programs and a corporate tax credit scholarship. Today, three out of four Florida kids are in a school of choice that is different from their assigned local school.