Florida takes a step closer to universal school choice


School choice advocates scored a victory on Friday when the Republican-led Florida House of Representatives passed legislation making state-funded student coupons universal.

The bill, HB1, aims to expand parental access to education savings accounts by removing income caps on eligibility. It ran mostly along the 83-27 party lines, with three Democrats joining the majority.

“Florida has long been a pioneer in empowering families with educational choices,” Jason Bedrick, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Education Policy, told Fox News in a statement. called. “Governor Ron DeSantis and legislative leaders like House Speaker Paul Renner deserve great credit for driving policies that put students and families first.”

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If the law goes into effect, all qualifying students will have the option to receive a voucher worth approximately $8,000 toward tuition at eligible private schools or other education-related costs such as homeschooling, tutoring, materials, and standardized testing fees the next school year use. Currently, the vouchers are limited to families with two children with an annual income of $110,000 or less Florida policy.

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School choice is growing in popularity in states across the country and has recently been adopted in Arizona, Utah and Iowa. (iStock)

“By extending the state’s innovative education savings account policy to all K-12 students, Florida would maintain its position as one of the top states in the nation for freedom of education,” Bedrick said.

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The Senate version of the bill passed the Appropriations Committee this week and will soon be put to a vote.

DeSantis Criticism of universal school choice Earlier this month, he questioned whether wealthy families should receive the vouchers.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently criticized universal school choice and questioned why wealthy families should receive coupons.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently criticized universal school choice and questioned why wealthy families should receive coupons. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, file)

“If you have a very high-income family, you have a choice of school,” he said. “You don’t necessarily have to be eligible for the program. You are eligible. You can go and pay tuition and do it.”

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“I’m totally comfortable saying that if anyone in Florida who can afford it can go on their own without getting it and anyone who can’t get a scholarship, that’s still universal to me,” added he added.

According to the text of the bill, the vouchers will prioritize low- and middle-income families when they are introduced.

Click here to learn more about choosing a school.



Source : www.foxnews.com

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