Students, families praise school choice: ‘Changed the entire trajectory of my life’

MIAMI (FLV) – Scholarship recipients and their families praised Gov. Ron DeSantis and lawmakers for passing “historic” school choice legislation that will give families more options in their children’s education.

The legislation will expand school choice vouchers to all students in the state, among other school related measures.

During DeSantis’ press conference Monday, one scholarship recipient, Hera Varmah, gave testimony that her family grew up poor, and out of 12 siblings, she received a scholarship with nine of her brothers and sisters.

“The tax credit scholarship allowed them to send us to schools that gave us the best opportunity to learn and grow and succeed,” Varmah said.

Varmah said her family now has four college graduates, with a chemical engineer, a mechanical engineer, and one that went on to medical school.

“When people say school choice doesn’t work, I simply show them my family. This is the power of giving a child an education that fits their needs,” Varmah said.

“Scholarships like these change the entire trajectory of my life, and of so many families. This is the power of school choice and I’m so happy to be a part of this monumental bill and be a part of the one of the Florida stories,” Varmah said.

A mother of a scholarship recipient, Aimee Uriarte, said Florida’s scholarship programs have been a “true lifesaver” for her two sons.

“Governor, you have this mother’s eternal gratitude for allowing my boy’s future to be as promising in a school like Columbus High School,” Uriarte said.

Rachel Hayon Sabbah, a Fort Lauderdale mother, gave testimony on her daughters, two of which receive scholarships at the Jewish Cooperative School.

“This legislation will cause the unique abilities waitlist to vanish and allow nearly 10,000 special needs families to get the funding that they need, and families and the tax credit and education to offer options scholarships will now have the ability to spend their program funds in ways that can better tailor their children’s education to fit their individual needs,” Sabbah said.

“Thank you Governor DeSantis and thank you to the legislative leaders for making this dream come true,” she said.

DeSantis said the expansion is a big deal for Florida and that his administration is happy to do more to “make people’s dreams become a reality.”

“Parents are going to be able to have the ability to get money for their student for their child, and they can do tuition, they’re also going to be able to use it for things like tutoring and other things that can be very important for a child’s development and well being,” he said.

The legislation expands eligibility for Florida’s school choice scholarships to all students who are residents of Florida and eligible to enroll in K-12 in a public school. 

Currently, Florida offers scholarship programs that allow parents of certain students to register and attend private schools that aim to better serve a student’s particular needs or to provide educational options for students with disabilities.

Eligibility for all school choice programs is currently limited by state law in the form of an income or enrollment cap. The bill will expand eligibility for Florida’s School Choice Scholarships to all students who are residents of Florida.

The legislation also eliminates the waiting list for students with unique abilities to ensure their unique needs are met. It also allows parents to use “Education Savings Accounts” to cover eligible educational products and services.

Several immediate revisions will be made to Florida’s Education Code, identified by the Florida Association of District School Superintendents. For example, the bill reduces hurdles to a 5-year temporary teacher certificate for anyone with a bachelor’s degree and for those with three years of effective or highly effective service.

The legislation repeals the requirement that a student take one online course in order to graduate from high school, which is not currently required in private schools.

The bill also offers districts flexibility in facility costs for new construction, and offers student transportation flexibility to improve efficiency, while maintaining student safety.