TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed legislation to allow all K-12 students in the state to get taxpayer-funded vouchers for private schools, continuing a focus on education as he prepares to launch an expected Republican presidential campaign.
The law expands Florida’s voucher system by eliminating income eligibility limits on the program. Democrats and critics have said the legislation has an unclear price tag, amounts to a subsidy for the wealthy and could harm public schools.
The so-called school choice movement first gained traction in the U.S. in the 1990s but has seen a renewed push after coronavirus pandemic school closures and ongoing cultural debates over education around gender and race.
DeSantis has made eliminating what he describes as liberal ideology in education a focal point of his conservative agenda.
A House analysis of the bill estimated it could cost more than $209 million, but a Senate analysis put the potential figure at more than $646 million. The independent Florida Policy Institute calculated that the program may cost $4 billion.
