Doesn Florida have a long tradition of school choice programs? How are vouchers different?
It is true that Florida has had, in other contexts, its share of school choice programs, including religious schools among options in such programs as Bright Futures Scholarships, Florida Resident Access Grants and subsidized day care. However, none of these programs drain K-12 public schools of their money in order to fund religious or parochial schools. Furthermore, past federal programs such as the G.I. bill, which involved school choice at the higher education level and was not restricted to public schools, did not have the practical effect of subsidizing primarily religious or sectarian schools.
