The Future of Vouchers: Lessons From the Adoption, Design, and Court Challenges of Florida’s Three Voucher Programs

This study considers why Florida has been the most aggressive state in adopting school vouchers. Vouchers are consistent with Florida’s tradition of aggressive educational accountability policies, arising from the state’s moderate social conservatism, openness to privatization, and state demographic characteristics. Even with this fertile political soil, vouchers probably would not have been adopted without the efforts of Governor Jeb Bush. The programs also rest on a shaky legal foundation because of the state’s Blaine Amendment and constitutional provisions for “public” and “uniform” schools. The authors conclude that state-level voucher programs in Florida and other states are on uncertain political and legal ground.