Senate president praises Florida as ‘the promised land for education-minded families’

Editor’s note: The Florida Legislature began its 60-day session today with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ state of the state address and opening speeches from the Senate president and the speaker of the House of Representatives. Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Spring Hill, cited passage of the nation’s largest education choice expansion in 2021 as a top accomplishment from the last session. Here are his remarks.

We expanded school choice. One of the cornerstones to breaking generational poverty is to ensure that we have a strong, school choice options so that parents can direct their children’s education.

I am proud to say that Florida continues to lead the nation in school choice. One out of every four children in America that is enrolled in a school choice program lives right here in Florida. We are the promised land for education-minded families.

And senators, I am especially proud that we continued to prioritize students with unique abilities, children from low-income families, children in foster care, children from military families, and siblings of children already in these scholarship programs.

You’ve heard me say, “A rising tide lifts all boats.” School choice is the tide that allows every single child, regardless of where they come from, to rise.


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BY Lisa Buie

Lisa Buie is senior reporter for NextSteps. The daughter of a public school superintendent, she spent more than a dozen years as a reporter and bureau chief at the Tampa Bay Times before joining Shriners Hospitals for Children — Tampa, where she served for nearly five years as marketing and communications manager. She lives with her husband and their teenage son, who has benefited from education choice.