TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida House approved an expansion that will provide vouchers to thousands of children to attend private schools.
Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to sign the bill, which features the creation of the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program.
Under that voucher program, state money will be used next year to pay for as many as 18,000 students to attend private schools, with the number of students slowly increasing in future years.
Supporters say the bill, which passed the Senate last week, gives parents the ability to choose the best schools for their children.
"By empowering those less fortunate, and being able to sew those seeds of responsibility and hope in those families, hopefully the next generation will even be more responsible for the education of their children," said State Representative Ralph Massullo. "That will change our society."
But many Democrats blasted the bill, saying it will strip money from public schools while requiring little accountability for private schools.
"If there are problems with our schools, let's fix them. But, we can't abandon public schools and all of the children and families that rely on our public schools," said State Representative Joe Geller.
The wide-ranging education proposal would also restructure a controversial teacher bonus program, tweak other voucher-type scholarship programs, and make it cheaper for teachers to get certified by the state.
