FACT SHEET: Florida School Choice Solutions

School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic had devastating effects on the educational progress of American schoolchildren, revealed deep inadequacies of the public-school monopoly, and left families feeling powerless about setting the direction of their children’s education. Thankfully, in March, Governor Ron DeSantis signed historic school choice legislation into law, which will lead to an expansion of school choice policies throughout Florida. Eliminating financial eligibility restrictions, as well as the cap, will allow even more students to benefit from a school that meets their individual needs. Florida already has 1.3 million students benefiting from school choice and services more school choice applications than any other state.

“Florida is number one when it comes to education freedom and education choice, and today’s bill signing represents the largest expansion of education choice in the history of these United States” Governor DeSantis said.

National test results for 2022 show that school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic had a harmful effect on American schoolchildren. For the first time in the history of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), scores in reading and math fell by the largest margin in more than 30 years and students in Florida were no exception. See Chart on page 2.