An editorial this week in the Tampa Tribune supports the notion of expanding Florida’s Tax Credit Scholarships, a program with goals similar to those associated with North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarships.
Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford puts it well when he says, “No child’s future should be dictated by their ZIP code.”
Yet ZIP codes can largely determine a child’s education opportunities.
Children are assigned to public schools based on their addresses. Districts such as Hillsborough, to their credit, do offer students some options beyond neighborhood schools.
Still, those options are limited, and a poor family can’t afford private school, if that looks to be the best choice for their child.
This is why Weatherford and Senate President Don Gaetz are correct to support bolstering the Florida Tax Credit Scholarships, which provide private school vouchers to children from disadvantaged families.
The program empowers poor families to find the school that works best for their child.
