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By tomorrow, every public school in Florida will be back open to students but far fewer of them will actually be in those classrooms.
"Now we have over 41 percent of students in the state going to private, charter, even home school options."
Denisha Allen, Senior Fellow at the American Federation for Children helps parents work their way through Florida's universal school choice program.
"The best learning environment for each kid is different. You know, we created a system of public education that is a one size fits all."
School choice in our state has seen growth of 277 percent since before Florida passed Universal Choice in 2023.
There are now an estimated 429,000 students using their tax dollars to attend something other than a traditional public school. Teachers unions claim school choice is taking tax dollars away from public schools, but Allen insists it's not their money.
"The money doesn't belong to the schools. The money does not belong to buildings. It doesn't belong to the system."
She says those tax dollars belong to families.
Following President Donald Trump's return to the presidency, school choice has become a central focus of his education agenda, manifesting in both executive actions and congressional legislation:
Executive Orders: In January 2025, Trump signed an executive order aiming to expand school choice by directing several federal agencies to facilitate the use of federal money for various school choice options like education savings accounts, vouchers, tax credits, and scholarships.
A subsequent order in March 2025 further emphasized parental involvement in education and initiated steps towards potentially dismantling the Department of Education, returning authority to the states, and restricting the advancement of DEI or gender ideology in federally funded programs or activities.
Federal Legislation: The recently passed "One Big Beautiful Bill" includes a provision (likely the Educational Choice for Children Act tax credit) creating a new national school choice program starting in 2027. This program provides a dollar-for-dollar tax credit (up to $1,700) to individuals and corporations who donate to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs) that provide scholarships for students to attend public or private K-12 schools.
Denisha is a Florida school choice success story. By no fault of her own, she failed third grade twice for not being able to read, after chronic absenteeism due to family hardships.
But after obtaining a lifeline through school choice, Denisha is a walking testament that education freedom is a rising tide that lifts all boats.
Click Here for more information on the nonprofit American Federation for Children.