No, school choice won’t decimate your public schools

The next time school choice opponents claim the apocalypse is coming to public schools in your state – and there’s a whole new round of that in the wake of pandemic pods – point them to Florida.

Education choice in the Sunshine State isn’t some fearmonger’s abstraction, and the story line here is a rising tide, not a falling sky. Over the past quarter-century, Florida has expanded choice as much as any state in America. And over that span, Florida’s education system has morphed from punchline to pacesetter, with its public schools posting their best academic outcomes ever.

Read more over at The Hill.


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BY Ron Matus

Ron Matus is director for policy and public affairs at Step Up for Students and a former editor of redefinED. He joined Step Up in February 2012 after 20 years in journalism, including eight years as an education reporter with the Tampa Bay Times (formerly the St. Petersburg Times). Ron can be reached at rmatus@stepupforstudents.org or (727) 451-9830. Follow him on Twitter @RonMatus1 and on facebook at facebook.com/redefinedonline.