Florida’s school choice option is leaving some public classrooms with fewer students

It’s been a controversial topic in Florida that’s been growing for years, and now that school choice and Florida’s voucher system are entrenched, more and more students and their families are moving their kids from public schools to private schools or even home schooling to increasing levels.

As school districts across Florida are returning to classes for the new school year, there are fewer students in some of those public districts. Several media outlets have analyzed the student populations of public school districts, and the move to private schools or home schooling is on. It’s becoming a matter of the extent of the shift that is underway.

The Tampa Bay Times just published a report that concluded public school districts across the Sunshine State are experiencing a decline in enrollment. Florida’s expanded school voucher system is apparently having an impact.

The Florida Department of Education (DOE) school choice website is rather blunt. The state is there to help parents move their students from public schools to private schools or charter schools if they choose to do so. And then there’s the option of homeschooling, too.

“The mission of the Office of K-12 School Choice is to support quality public and private educational choice programs by providing information and assistance to promote successful outcomes for students, families, institutions and communities,” the DOE School Choice website states.

Then, near the top of that web page, there’s a withdrawal form for students in Kindergarten through 12th grade to opt out of their public school for the school of their choice. Directories of various school options are also readily available.

A Spectrum News 13 report in Orlando was direct as to the impact of shifting student populations in Florida.

“In Florida, the latest data shows 155,000 students participated in homeschool during the 2023-2024 school year. In the last five years, that number has increased by 46%,” the Spectrum News 13 report stated.

The number of groups advocating private or charter schools is also growing. While alternative schooling has often had a perspective, rightly or wrongly, of belonging to higher-income families, and that element is changing, too.

A relatively new group, “Black Minds Matter,” is pushing school choice. There’s also the American Federation for Children, which recently stated in an email, “School choice has really taken center stage with a growing number of families, especially lower-income families, with the freedom to choose the best K-12 education for their children.”

Black Minds Matter makes it clear: the group wants minority children to at least consider the option of leaving traditional public schools for alternative school choices, which could be, in the group’s words, safer and more productive.

“Our students should have free, high-quality, safe school options beyond the singular option the government assigns. Because our children deserve excellence in every aspect of their education,” the Black Minds Matter website states.