The Free State of Florida leads the nation on education freedom, unbiased curricula, school choice, and flexible education options. After the September release of nationwide test scores, it is apparent the rest of the country should follow.
For decades, a bloated federal Department of Education, the spread of progressive curricula, and the rejection of school choice have driven down education quality across much of the country. Florida, however, has embraced the opposite approach—and now ranks sixth in the nation for education, according to U.S. News & World Report.
ACADEMIC DECLINE DEMANDS EDUCATION REFORM
It is time we set politics aside and model the state that produces tangible and satisfactory results when it comes to education.
“In Florida, more than half (51%) of our kindergarten through 12th grade students now attend something other than their zoned public school. Whether it is a magnet, a charter, a private school, a home school — or some combination of these options — families enjoy having the opportunity to find the ‘best fit’ for their child. Education choice is the ‘new normal’ in Florida,” James Madison Institute’s Senior Director of the Center for Education Freedom William Mattox told the Washington Examiner.
“It ought to be in every state,” Mattox concluded.
Yes, yes it does. There is no other logical conclusion. Negating that argument will only further endanger the future of American children, who are currently chained to institutions and curricula that don’t fit a child’s needs.
For example, the Nation’s Report Card, which was just released by the Department of Education, shows that, among many other things, students are being taught information that is not relevant or applicable to their lives after academia, and are missing the information that is vital for their careers.
According to the NAEP, essential building blocks of critical thinking — basic proficiency in math, reading, and science — have plummeted in recent years.
This decline has many causes: the absence of educational freedom, lowered standards for teachers, ineffective school boards and districts, and ideologically driven curricula promoted by self-interested philanthropists.
Whatever the cause, the result is undeniable: America’s dismal education outcomes demand urgent action. The current trajectory is not only unacceptable but actively harmful to the nation’s future.
Public schools should be launching pads for success — preparing children for the workforce and life beyond the classroom — not holding them back.
“Governments at all levels increasingly need to entrust parents with the responsibility of directing their child’s per-pupil funds to the education providers best positioned to meet their child’s unique needs, ” Mattox added.
As the James Madison Institute reported in Mattox’s “We’ve Got 90,000 Problems — And Easels Ain’t One” op-ed last year, Florida’s initiative to financially assist parents who wish to opt out from the public school system and look for alternative education, Step Up For Students, helped students situate themselves in alternative education models that best fit their needs.
Only now has the federal government under President Donald Trump and Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon mirrored this alternative through legislative efforts.
Although provisions in the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ incentivize school choice, they will come nowhere near producing the positive effects Florida has. While the legislation provides tax breaks for education purposes to hard-working American families, it does not provide a direct voucher program for students looking for alternative schooling options.
Another initiative Florida took, which should also be modeled in all 50 states, was to refine the curriculum administrators push on students. In his second term, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed the Educator Preparation Programs Bill, which prevented teachers from pushing “theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States,” into law.
DISASTROUS TEST SCORES SHOW SCHOOLS NEED TO GET BACK TO BASICS
Through the signing of this law, the governor ensured one’s political belief does not belong over America’s children.
These and countless other legislative actions show that if we remove politics and get behind an education system that works for all, America’s parents will no longer suffer the burden of the education inefficiency cast upon their children.
