Florida Senate Passes School Voucher Bill

On Thursday, the Florida Senate passed the education voucher bill (HB 1) in support of universal school choice along with financial assistance to families across the state. The bill passed 26-12 in the Republican-led Senate, garnering support from a handful of democratic representatives as well.

HB 1 aims to put control back in the hands of parents when it comes to the decisions they make about the education of their children. Parents will have the option of school choice and/or educational support vouchers to assist with the necessary financial responsibilities that come along with privately funded education. Families will qualify for a voucher worth up to $8,000 per student if the student is “a resident of this state” and “eligible to enroll in kindergarten through grade 12″ in a public school. Also contained in the bill is a tiered distribution system which will first prioritize households that make below 185% of the poverty level income line (roughly $51,000 for a family of four). The second tier of distribution will focus on households that make between 185% and 400% of the poverty level income line (roughly $111,000 for a family of four).

Democrat representatives around the state that oppose the bill, claim that it’s merely a handout program for wealthy families. Democratic Senator Lori Berman claimed, “Millionaires, billionaires — we have no limits in this bill at all. Anybody would be entitled to get the up to $8,000 that we’re talking about.” It’s worthy noting that millionaires and billionaires would not qualify for the voucher program under the current stipulations in the bill.

Other critics of the bill are concerned that it will pull funding from public schools, but the opposite is true so far with the state of Florida spending, “record amounts of dollars in this year’s budget” for public schools, says Corey Simon (R-Tallahassee). “[Democrats] won’t tell you that. Because they’re not arguing for the kids. They’re not arguing for the parents. They’re arguing for the system,” Simon said. “We are funding students in this state. Parents have spoken.”

Student vouchers can be applied to an expansive list of financial responsibilities in relation to schooling. Not limited to the cost of tuition, the voucher can also be used by families for transportation to a non-districted public school, instructional materials (i.e. internet resources and digital materials), fees associated with home school education, and so on. Without the luxury of being the only low-cost option, public schools will now have to create a desirable curriculum that parents will choose for their children—the districted monopolization of low-cost education has allowed public school administrations to run their systems with no accountability to the parents of their student population. This bill will force all school systems—public and private—to do everything in their power to be the best option for families.

Now that the Florida Senate has passed the bill, it will land on Governor DeSantis’s desk who has already pledged to sign the proposal into effect. Stay tuned for a breakdown of this bill to see what’s really inside HB 1 and learn how it might affect your family or families close to you.