VALRICO, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference Wednesday morning at Grace Christian School in Valrico, where he marked National School Choice Week.
DeSantis spoke of the state’s record on school choice with a focus on encouraging more enrollment in schools not involved with teachers’ unions, such as going with charter or private over public.
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“We actually have robust school choice even within the school districts, which many states do not allow. Then you look at what we have with charter schools. So, charter schools are public schools, but they’re not run by the school district and, generally speaking, they’re not influenced by the school unions, and I think that that’s something that’s really, really important,” DeSantis said.
In December, the statewide Florida Education Association union — responding to similar statements made by DeSantis as he announced a $117 billion 2026-27 Florida budget proposal, at one point accusing some school districts of using educator salaries as “bargaining chips” — called on state legislators to “right the ship.”
Despite Florida ranking 45th in the nation in per-student funding and 50th in the nation in average teacher pay, the Governor’s budget offers little to address the waste and abuse of education funding. In fact, instead of fixing these failures, his budget doubles down on them, continuing to support policies that divert billions of taxpayer dollars into the hands of unelected private interests while leaving public schools and their students behind. And while the Governor continues to tout “record” investments in educator pay, the lived experiences of educators tell a different story. Eight years of broken promises have left them in a financial crisis, struggling to afford rent, homeowners’ insurance, groceries, healthcare, childcare, and other basic day-to-day expenses. This story is all too familiar for many Floridians who know it’s far more expensive to live in Florida now, under the Governor’s leadership, than before he took office.
Florida Education Associated statement 12/10/25 (excerpt)
The official stance of the nonprofit National School Choice Week program is that it does not favor one type of education option over another, according to its website.
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DeSantis also announced that Florida would opt into a new federal tax-credit scholarship program starting in January 2027 as part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
Under the program, taxpayers will be eligible to receive a tax credit of up to $1,700 for the value of cash contributions to certain scholarship granting organizations (SGOs). These organizations, in turn, will be required to use these contributions to grant scholarships to students at private and public elementary and secondary schools located within their states.
Eligibility for scholarships will be limited to students whose family income is below 300% of their area median income. Recipients may only use the funds for qualified expenses, including
-tuition, fees, books, supplies, other equipment, academic tutoring, and special needs services for special needs beneficiaries that are incurred by the beneficiary in connection with enrollment or attendance as an elementary or secondary school student at a public, private, or religious school;
-room and board, uniforms, transportation, and supplementary items and services (including extended day programs) if these expenses are required or provided by a public, private, or religious school in connection with enrollment or attendance; and
-computer technology, equipment, or internet access and related services if used by the beneficiary and the beneficiary’s family during any of the years the beneficiary is in elementary or secondary school.
Under the law, these scholarships will constitute tax-free income for the recipients and their families.
Congress.gov - Federal Tax Credit Scholarship Program Included in P.L. 119-21, the FY2025 Reconciliation Law
“It’s interesting. They basically said the states have to opt into it. I’m not sure why they did that because, you know, quite frankly, you know, Florida, we’ve already done it, right? So, a state that’s inclined for school choice has probably done something on its own. Where you really need these scholarships, you need to you need to get into Chicago and give these kids a lifeline, right? You need to get into Los Angeles. You need to get into some of these places, Baltimore, where they’ve had a lot of problems, but the unions control the education system. You know, the Chicago teachers’ union, you know, it’s basically like Karl Marx,” DeSantis said.
The governor was joined by Florida Education Commissioner Stasi Kamoutsas.
Watch the news conference again in the video player below or by clicking here.