Cape Coral parent sees hope in state’s controversial school voucher program

Earlier in 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a new law making vouchers available to all families of school-age kids regardless of income, with each voucher now worth $8,000. Vouchers are controversial, but some local parents see a benefit to them.

School vouchers are not new in Florida: Former Gov. Jeb Bush called them “opportunity scholarships” when he signed his A+ Plan for Education into law in June 1999. That first year, 57 kids from low-income families used vouchers to attend a private school.

The voucher program has evolved since then, survived court challenges and exploded from those 57 kids to more than 200,000 students in 2022.

Rose Galvez applied for and received a voucher to send her son to A Little Piece of Me Montessori Academy in Cape Coral. He has sensory issues and struggles with loud noises. Galvez felt public school was not a good fit for him, but private school cost too much.

“I needed something different; I needed something that was more family-made and smaller,” Galvez said. “At that time, we only had one salary, so it would have been impossible for me to put him into private school.”

Her voucher totaled $7,734.

“It’s much better for him because he gets what he needs,” Galvez said. “He has a voice; he can speak out and say I want this… It’s good. I feel really happy with the voucher.”

Step Up for Students, the nonprofit that Florida partners with to hand out the vouchers, expects as many as 300,000 students to use them this school year.

In Lee County, 7,328 students have received vouchers for 2023. In Collier County, the number is 3,487; in Charlotte County, 1,311. But not all of those students will end up in a private school.

“Most of the scholarships are full-time scholarships that allow families either to be home-schooled… or to use money for private schooling,” said Doug Tuthill, president of Step Up for Students. “We also have scholarships for kids who need transportation to get from one school to another, and we have scholarships for kids who are in district schools who are struggling in reading and math.”

There are 53 private schools in Lee County. The Florida Department of Education said 36 of them will accept those vouchers.

The Catholic Diocese of Venice told WINK News it has already seen a 20% spike in families using vouchers.

“I’ve seen a lot of students blossom,” said Juana Alvarez, director of A Little Piece of Me Montessori Academy. “We’ve had students that did not do well in the traditional setting come to us and the child has left us and… performed very well, which otherwise, without this scholarship, they might not have.”

A Little Piece of Me Montessori Academy hired Galvez to be a teacher this year because enrollment is up, in part because of the new voucher law.

“As parents, we do need more options, especially with so many changes going around,” Galvez said. “I think we all need the opportunity to get out of the regular setting and bring our kids into a place where they feel safe, happy, joyful.”