Florida’s School Choice Model Spreads

South Florida’s education system is at the center of a growing national push for school choice but Miami-Dade County Public Schools face declining enrollment and deepening budget cuts tied to those same policies. 

In Miami-Dade County, the shift is already measurable. The district has lost more than 13,000 students compared to last year, contributing to a shrinking budget that has already been cut by nearly $200 million. District leaders warn more reductions could follow as enrollment continues to fall during the current registration period. 

The trend comes as more families across Florida choose private schools, charter schools, and homeschooling — options that have expanded rapidly since the state passed universal school choice legislation in 2023. While parents weigh those choices locally, the conversation is gaining traction nationally; for school choice advocates nationwide, Florida’s system is widely viewed as the roadmap to remedy a system that is leaving Americans increasingly concerned.

At CPAC 2026, which took place in Dallas, Texas from March 25 through 28, speakers pointed to Florida as the model for other states, including Texas where lawmakers and advocates are pushing to replicate its approach. 

“We just passed a program. We’re trying to do what you guys [in Florida] are doing,” said Corey DeAngelis, president of the Educational Freedom Institute.

That message resonated with parents like Greta Alexander, a Texas mother of two and school choice advocate. Alexander became a school choice advocate after her son died of a drug overdose–a tragedy she attributes to the fact that he was exposed to drugs at a public school.

“I have my daughter–she’s in a private [educational] institution and she’s thriving,” she said at CPAC 2026.  

Her story, advocates say, reflects the type of outcome Texas leaders hope to expand by adopting policies similar to Florida’s, where parents can tap into public funding to place their children in any number of private educational frameworks–from traditional private schools, tutoring, homeschooling, or online programs.  

“Florida is the school choice state,” said Erika Donalds, Naples resident and founder and CEO of the Education Freedom Foundation, speaking at the conference.  

Sixty-five percent of Florida voters would choose alternatives like private schools, charter schools or homeschooling if cost were not a factor, a 2025 survey by the James Madison Institute found.

But critics point out that school choice increases racial and ethnic segregation, and, in some cases, chips away at the wall between church and state. It also strips public schools of much needed funding–an outcome already apparent in South Florida. 

Miami-Dade County Public Schools now operates with a $7.4 billion budget – already $100 million smaller than the previous year – and cut an additional $89 million midway through this school year. Officials say another $52 million reduction could come next year, as the district struggles to maintain required reserve levels and has requested $21 million in one-time state funding to offset enrollment losses. 

Speakers at CPAC framed such shifts as growing pains that are part of a necessary transformation. 

Polling suggests that families nationwide could be poised to embrace the trend: A 2025 Gallup poll found that a record-low of 35% of Americans are satisfied with the quality of K-12 education. While Republicans are the least satisfied with the state of the nation’s schools, according to the poll, Democrats’ and registered Independents’ satisfaction with K-12 education have fallen, as well. 

School choice advocates believe that offering parents more options is the solution to this growing dissatisfaction. 

“Education freedom means that every parent in the country can make the decisions on what is best for their kids,” Donalds said.