school choice

The Leon County School District is facing long-term financial headwinds in the form of school choice. More families are taking advantage of tuition assistance to send their kids to private schools or home school. And traditional public schools—and even charter schools—are left holding the bag.

It’s National School Choice week and in Florida, the movement to give parents more ways to educate their children continues to grow. Erika Donalds, a former Collier County School Board member, has become a major voice in the state’s choice movement. Donalds continues to branch out into more areas of choice—most recently, launching a virtual charter school to bring Virtual Reality into more homes.

Florida's school choice programs are set to allow more students in and families will likely receive more money under plans approved by the legislature. There will also be fewer programs to choose from, a move supporters say streamlines the process and makes it easier for families to navigate.

Florida lawmakers want to expand school choice, but what that will look like remains uncertain. The House is nearing a vote on its plan while the Senate is expected to take up its version Wednesday. Still the two chambers remain far apart.

The League of Women Voters of Florida is out with a report casting the state’s largest tax credit scholarship agency as a "money management/marketing firm operating as a charity.” The League is also blasting a legislative effort to consolidate Florida’s multiple school choice programs.

State Sen. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah Gardens, has been at the forefront of school choice issues in recent years. This time around he’s pitching a big one: a plan to consolidate the state’s five school choice programs into two. The measure also changes HOW those programs would be funded, and that’s where Democrats are drawing the line.

Florida Republican legislative leaders are lauding a sweeping school-choice proposal, while Senate Democrats have vowed to “fight like hell” against it.

On the eve of the Florida legislature’s organizational session, influential Republican Senator Manny Diaz talked about COVID-19 protocols, the 2020 election, and more. He’s also eyeing a key leadership position down the road.

A bill that would expand eligibility for two of the state’s major school voucher programs is still in play, with just a day to go for Florida lawmakers to…

Florida’s Tax Credit Scholarship Program has come under fire after an Orlando Sentinel investigation reported some participating private schools have…