Florida Senator Calls on States to Opt-In to Trump’s School Choice Tax Credit Program, Citing Proven Success and Opportunity for Underserved Communities
Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) today announced a concerted effort to expand educational opportunities nationwide, sending a letter to all 50 state governors urging them to opt in to President Donald Trump’s School Choice Tax Credit Program.
This program, established through the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” aims to empower students and families by providing greater access to high-quality education, irrespective of their zip code or financial circumstances.
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In his letter, Senator Scott emphasized the critical role of education in achieving the American Dream, drawing on his own upbringing in public housing with a single mother who had an 11th-grade education.
“It is unacceptable that today, in the United States of America, millions of kids who grew up just like I did still lack access to quality education simply because of their zip code,” Scott wrote. He highlighted his personal journey, attributing his success to his mother’s insistence on a good education and advocating for similar opportunities for all children.
The School Choice Tax Credit Program is designed to allow individuals to donate to educational scholarship programs through a federal tax credit, incurring no direct cost to states or donors.
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Scott underscored the program’s “win-win” nature, noting its potential to benefit state budgets while significantly aiding families. He pointed out that states opting in can establish their own criteria for scholarship-granting organizations, enabling targeted funding for scholarships for “poor, working-class, and underserved communities.”
As a former governor of Florida, Scott championed the state’s school choice initiatives during his tenure, which he credits with drastically improving academic outcomes. He cited that when school choice options were expanded in Florida, suspensions and absences in neighborhood schools decreased, and test scores improved.
“When parents can select schools that match their values and their children’s needs, no child’s potential or opportunity to achieve the American Dream is squandered by being forced to remain in a failing school simply because of their zip code or family income,” Scott stated.
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The Senator asserted that “the evidence is overwhelming: school choice programs consistently improve outcomes for students, particularly low-income and minority children.”
Research from organizations like the American Federation for Children highlighted that school choice programs often see a disproportionately high enrollment from minority students.
For example, a 2023 report on the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, one of the nation’s oldest, indicated that approximately 90% of participating students were racial or ethnic minorities. Similarly, a 2022 study on the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program found that over 60% of scholarship recipients were Black or Hispanic.
Senator Scott concluded his letter by challenging governors to “have the courage to stand up to teachers’ unions and bureaucrats and fight for families like mine,” urging them to opt in to the program and prioritize the educational futures of their state’s children.
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