By Jay Bailey, JMI Intern & FSU Senior, Political Science
Despite the setbacks to school choice in Florida, there remain reasons for optimism. In fact, there are still some opportunities for school choice in the Sunshine State. For example, parents with children in what the Department of Education considers “failing schools” have the option of transferring their children into a better public school via the Tax Credit Scholarship Program.While this is certainly preferable to having no school choice availability at all, Floridians should not be content with the status quo. The opportunity to push back against the absurd Supreme Court decision which ruled that vouchers going to private schools are unconstitutional has never been more tangible.This is not about helping the rich get richer, or disadvantaging the poor; rather, school choice is simply about introducing a free market solution to the problem of our failing public school system. Competition is what will drive innovation in education; without it, public schools will continue to stagnate at the expense of Florida’s children. These children are the future, after all, so let’s provide them with a system of schools that will help them bring Florida to national prominence.
2010
