In 2025 alone, the public school enrollment rates in Florida dropped by over 70,000 students, supporting the common idea that the death of public schooling is on the rise. Part of the larger problem is tax exemptions that promote private schooling rather than supporting public ones. On Jan. 28, Florida’s new Educated Freedom Tax Credit was expanded by Gov. Ron DeSantis, allowing each taxpayer in a family to divert up to $1,700 from their federal tax liability and put it towards scholarship funds. But what does this mean for the average Florida household?
This tax credit works by allowing people to redirect their federal tax dollars to Scholarship Granting Organizations. In exchange, these donors are granted with a dollar-for-dollar credit which can be used towards approved educational expenses. Consequently, many Florida residents protest these tax credits, believing the money should be put into public revenue, rather than to fund private interests.
Some claim that these tax credit scholarships are opening doors for students, specifically for those who want a religious education, but in reality, it is slamming doors closed for the millions of students who are a part of the public school system. Florida opting to honor this new tax credit is just adding onto the current issue of the poor quality of public schools across the state.
“Florida should stop prioritizing tax credits for private schools and instead invest more money in public education so all students can succeed,” freshman Kailee Moore said.
Currently, Florida is ranked the 41st state for public education overall, with the 47th lowest average SAT score in the nation. These shockingly low numbers, representing quality of schooling, are quite concerning for Floridians. Rather than continuing to make choices which reduce the resources which public schools have access to, the state should be focused on helping public education thrive.
“These shockingly terrible statistics show that the government needs to stop putting education last and instead help public education thrive, whether it be better SAT scores or overall education quality,” sophomore Nicolas Theye said.
Part of this problem is that Florida is ranked the 50th state in terms of teacher pay. This is highly significant as the relationship between quality of schooling is directly related to teacher pay. Programs such as the Education Freedom Tax prevent tax revenue from going into education, including salaries and stipends for educators.
“I feel like there should be more value placed on educators and their pay because if we prioritize them, we are bettering our community overall. Their role really reflects on us,” sophomore Ana Henneberg said.
This Floridian trend of starving the public school system is not new. Back in July, the Trump Administration reduced the national education budget by $6 billion. This budget froze $396 million from being allocated to public education funds in Florida, a choice which Gov. DeSantis stood by.
Ultimately, this “education freedom,” only applies to those families who are wealthy enough to afford private school tuition, averaging around $15,000 per year in Florida. By prioritizing federal tax credits over benefiting state-wide education, Florida is feeding into a system which prioritizes the wealthy and limits the poor.
“Saying that this new tax is educational freedom, feels like a marketing tactic. The only people who have a choice are the ones who are willing to pay thousands of dollars in tuition,” senior Fara Lux said.
If we continue in this direction, Florida risks further decline into an already poor education quality. Rather than supporting and implementing programs which continue to drain the public school system, the state should begin to invest in teacher salaries, school resources and real educational equality for all. For these changes to happen, Florida voters must demand accountability and advocate for an education system which prioritizes the many over the few.
