With this year’s legislative session in its final three weeks, Gov. Ron DeSantis took time Monday to rally support for his education priorities at a Tampa Christian school.
He told a crowd that he thinks his administration is on track to deliver on a number of his priorities this session, his first as governor.
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His education agenda includes proposals that would expand school choice with a new voucher program, give bonuses to teachers, put in place a bad-actor list for certain education employees and bolster vocational training programs.
“I think that when we are committed to that broad mosaic in Florida, we are going to have an array of options for people so that the parents can look and make the best decisions for their kids,” DeSantis said.
State lawmakers, whose annual session is slated to end May 3, have been moving forward with proposals that are similar to the priorities of the governor. But both legislative chambers and the governor’s office differ on details. That includes differences on DeSantis’ top education priority: creating a new state-funded voucher program that would send low-income children to private schools.
Both the House and the Senate want to create the program, but requirements on student eligibility and household income thresholds vary.