Florida, under Gov. Ron DeSantis, is continuing the charge to reshape American education. This time, it is by accelerating a bold experiment in school choice. With the signing of SB 2510, the state further clears the path for “schools of hope,” a specialized class of charter schools aimed at serving students in chronically underperforming districts.
This is a huge win for the families of Florida, and of the school choice movement as a whole.
The Schools of Hope program, launched in 2017, was designed to offer high-quality alternatives to urban families with children trapped in failing public schools. Unlike standard charter authorization, Hope operators benefit from streamlined approval, facility grants, and performance incentives so long as they demonstrate proven academic rigor. They seek to break the monopoly of mediocrity in areas where the traditional system has failed.
This year’s legislative adjustment builds on what is already working. A 2023 study by Stanford’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) found that students in charter management organizations (CMOs) gained the equivalent of almost a month of reading time compared to peers in traditional public schools. This represents a welcome shift from the doldrums of the faltering public model.
Of course, the reforms have met resistance. Some Democrats in the Florida legislature have criticized the policy of “colocation,” which allows charter schools to operate in closed public school buildings. Others argue that school choice accelerates racial and socioeconomic stratification in urban cores.
But, these arguments ignore the reality that one-size-fits-all public schooling is already leaving thousands behind.
As a product of Florida’s public system — and a graduate of a charter International Baccalaureate program — I’ve seen firsthand how choice can lift students who would otherwise be underserved. Florida has already proven at the higher education level with Bright Futures funding that competition drives excellence. Extending that philosophy to K–12 is common sense, and especially so given the commitment to expanded civic education.
Charter schools are often framed as stopgaps for struggling students. But they can also serve those who are simply unchallenged. As Neetu Arnold put it in City Journal, “charter schools aren’t just for struggling students; they can also serve those whose district schools failed to challenge them.” A key insight, here, emerges: these schools offer not just equity of access, but the necessary rigor in curriculum.
Critically, these schools can adapt to their communities in a way that traditional public schools often can’t. Charter schools can cultivate tailored educational environments while still being held to real academic standards.
Opponents of school choice often invoke “fairness,” but what could be fairer than giving parents the ability to leave a school that is failing their child?
In too many places, the public school system functions like an archipelago — scattered, mismanaged, and unmoored from the communities it purports to serve. The choice to choose the best outcome for one’s children is an option that all parents deserve the right to make, and viable alternatives should prove what works and what doesn’t.
THE REAL EDUCATION CRISIS IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK IT IS
DeSantis’s administration hasn’t gotten everything right on education. But on school choice, the governor is building something that lasts. These are not privatization schemes dressed up as reform. They are targeted, accountable options that reflect the best of the American promise.
If Florida holds the line on academic quality and family involvement, the “Schools of Hope” may well be one of the most important legacies of the DeSantis administration. And for the students they serve, they’ll mean not just more days of instruction, but more hopeful days.