If legislators in the State of Florida have their way, many families in the US will be able to redirect educational dollars away from the public schools to a variety of private schools, including religious schools.
The problems with the legislation, according to critics, are:
1. The vouchers are not enough to pay for most Florida private schools. So very low income parents won't have the resources to take advantage of the vouchers, meaning that their children will remain in the public schools.
2. Private schools in Florida are not required to reveal certain information that might be helpful to parents in choosing high-quality private schools. Private schools don't have to disclose things such as how many of their teachers are certified, what percentage of students graduate, what extra costs there are for extracurricular programs, or what programs and resources are available for children with special needs.
3. Lower-income parents are less likely to KNOW about alternative schooling for their children, and therefore less likely to participate or benefit from school choice programs.
4. Companion legislation aims to REDUCE the number of state mandates for public schools, supposedly so that public schools are "more free" to do what is necessary to compete with private schools. It's important to look carefully at WHICH state mandates will be eliminated. Will those be mandates that often benefit lower income families or people in marginalized groups?
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