{"id":769,"date":"2026-05-16T08:04:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T08:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=769"},"modified":"2026-05-16T08:04:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T08:04:32","slug":"commentary-families-deserve-school-choice-reject-union-lawsuit-jeb-bush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=769","title":{"rendered":"Commentary: Families deserve school choice. Reject union lawsuit | Jeb Bush"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>Last week, the president of the Florida Education Association (FEA) filed a lawsuit seeking to eliminate Florida\u2019s heralded and widely used charter and private school choice programs.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=767\">Spalding basketball hoop vs. Goalrilla basketball hoop<\/a><\/p>\n<p>One man versus one million families exercising their choice to find the best school for their kids \u2014 it feels a little lopsided.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Teachers union, parents sue Florida over vouchers, charter school funding<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"cnrSDFt76T\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"282\" loading=\"lazy\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" scrolling=\"no\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.orlandosentinel.com\/2026\/05\/05\/teachers-union-parents-sue-florida-over-vouchers-charter-school-funding\/embed\/#?secret=ReeZKmjHhL#?secret=cnrSDFt76T\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cTeachers union, parents sue Florida over vouchers, charter school funding\u201d \u2014 Orlando Sentinel\" width=\"500\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This litigation is a direct assault on the progress we have built over decades. It aims to revisit the unfortunate 2006 ruling by the Florida Supreme Court in Bush v. Holmes, a decision that struck down the Opportunity Scholarship Program \u2014 the first statewide voucher program in the country, established in 2000 to serve students trapped in failing schools.<\/p>\n<p>Back then, the court spun up a narrow and flawed interpretation of the state\u2019s duty to provide a uniform system of free public schools. They argued the state\u2019s constitutional requirement to provide a free system of public schools was not a minimum requirement of the legislature, but a maximum limit on their authority.<\/p>\n<p>I disagreed then, and the evidence over the last 20 years \u2014 along with landmark court cases that have gone all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court \u2014 offer myriad reasons why choice should be available to all families.<\/p>\n<p>Education is not about a building or a collective bargaining agreement. It should be centered around the delivery of knowledge and the cultivation of a child\u2019s potential. When Florida expanded school choice, we did so under the simple belief that if a school is not meeting the needs of a student, the parent of that student should have the right to take their education dollars to a place that will. That freedom to choose has been an incredible catalyst for improvement within our traditional schools. When parents have options, the entire system is forced to rise to the occasion.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The FEA wants you to believe that choice diverts money from public education, but that is a tired and inaccurate trope. Florida funds students, wherever they decide to be educated. Florida\u2019s public schools today enjoy record per-pupil investment, record investment in teacher salary increases and record graduation rates \u2014 all while families enjoy access to a record amount of education opportunities. Florida has proven that a robust choice environment lifts up all students by empowering them to find an option that works.<\/p>\n<p>The idea that public funds must stay within a single, government-run delivery model is an antiquated and severely flawed view of how education can and should be delivered in the 21st century. We don\u2019t apply this legal principle to healthcare or higher education. Pell Grants and Florida\u2019s unique Bright Futures Scholarship program are available to students who attend both public and private universities. We don\u2019t even apply this same legal principle to our Voluntary Universal Pre-Kindergarten program, which allows state funding to follow early learners to public or private programs. K-12 education should be no different.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=762\">These versatile antifungal soaps eliminate odors and fungal growth<\/a><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m an optimistic person who believes there\u2019s good in everyone, and I don\u2019t want to be cynical about this lawsuit. I don\u2019t want to think that a union that is supposed to represent educators in our classrooms would undermine the opportunities Florida teachers have to teach in so many different schooling types. I can\u2019t imagine why any entity that supports public education would want to harm the more than 300,000 students that attend Florida\u2019s public charter schools, which are clearly flourishing in so many of our communities. I struggle to come up with one good reason why we\u2019d want to turn back the clock to a time when students were assigned to schools based on where they live instead of being able to choose a learning environment that matches their needs and God-given potential.<\/p>\n<p>And so I choose to believe this misguided lawsuit is borne not of actual malice against Florida families and students, but of the need to make a few headlines. I can forgive a shameless publicity stunt, but that\u2019s where this must stop.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The FEA should drop this lawsuit immediately. If they choose to pursue it, then it\u2019s time for the Florida Supreme Court to fix the mistake it made 20 years ago in the Bush v. Holmes decision.<\/p>\n<p>Floridians should stand strong against any attempt to litigate away the dreams of our children. Our state has become a beacon for the rest of the nation because we put students first. Student performance moved from the bottom of state rankings to the top because we embraced school accountability, transparency and, above all, choice.<\/p>\n<p>I trust that our courts will recognize that the Constitution\u2019s promise of a high-quality education is fulfilled, not frustrated, by giving parents the power to choose. Florida must remain focused on the future of every child, and I believe our families, not special interest groups, will always prevail.<\/p>\n<p><em>Jeb Bush served as the 43rd governor of Florida and is the chairman of the Foundation for Florida\u2019s Future.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=757\">Five Below\u2019s Stanley-inspired tumblers are available for just $7<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The former governor writes that the Florida Education Association&#8217;s lawsuit seeking to eliminate school-choice programs takes away families&#8217; freedom to seek a high-quality education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Commentary: Families deserve school choice. 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