David Struhs is the Senior Legislative Director for the Foundation for Florida's Future.
As we celebrate National School Choice Week, I am reminded of the decades of tremendous bipartisan support in Florida that has elevated our state to be a national leader in giving families diverse educational options for their children.
But our work is not done, and the time for renewed action is now.
As members of the Florida legislature prepare for their upcoming session, I am confident our representatives will enact smart policy changes to benefit students, teachers and families. Why? Because Floridians are fortunate to have the key ingredients necessary for change: bold leaders, strong parental engagement and a culture of reform.
Florida has long been a leader in expanding learning options. And, as parent demand for educational opportunity has grown across the country, we have seen other states like Arizona and West Virginia respond and go a step further, becoming the first to adopt universal scholarship programs that make each and every student eligible to attend a school of their choice.
It is time for universal school choice in Florida. And, under the leadership of House Speaker Paul Renner, Florida is again poised to have the most expansive school choice program in the country. Under HB 1, all Florida families would be eligible to customize their student’s learning experience around their unique set of needs and circumstances through an education scholarship account.
Each and every family deserves the ability to find the best learning support for their child’s unique needs. Where a family lives and how much they earn should not and cannot be allowed to dictate a family’s educational outcomes. There is no reason to limit learning options for any student. And that also means ensuring that all state scholarship programs can be used for virtual learning. Along with private school choice, Florida also has a long history of investing in public school choice. Today, more than 330,000 children attend a public charter school, and those schools do a great job of serving traditionally underserved communities. There’s an opportunity for lawmakers to further support families by ensuring non-traditional public schools receive their fair share of local funding. These challenges run deep, so they deserve bold solutions. Florida is poised to be the number 1 state for educational choice. We look forward to working with lawmakers, educators and families from all parts of our great state to deliver on those goals.
