Last week, Florida's Legislature passed H.B. 1, a bill that would expand the state's school choice program, the Family Empowerment Scholarship, to all Florida students. Today, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law, a welcome change from his usual tendencies toward state authority.
Under current law, students can opt out of their local public school and attend a private or charter school using the state funding that would have otherwise gone to the local school. The program was primarily geared toward children with disabilities or those from low- or middle-income households, with eligibility capped at 375 percent of the poverty-level income. The new law would remove all eligibility caps but still prioritize lower-income students and those in foster care.
