OPED ran in print: Florida Politics Publication IN SESSION, Feb. 2026
I am the father of two daughters—one who graduated from a Florida public school and one who currently attends one. Like any parent, I want my youngest to learn in a safe, secure school, fully staffed with empowered teachers and staff who can ignite her passion for learning. Despite the many obstacles facing our public schools, my daughter’s public school meets her needs and meets my expectations as a parent. At the same time, I have been frustrated by the laws that have placed limits on my daughters’ schooling and made it harder for students like her to get the education they deserve and need.
Floridians have made it clear in our Constitution: We want strong public schools that provide a high-quality education for every child. However, as a parent, an educator, and the president of the Florida Education Association, I have seen how these restrictions make it harder for them to deliver for students, not easier. This overregulation has led some families to leave public schools for privately managed schools that lack transparency, accountability, and high standards, and are driven by profits rather than student success.
If student success were the priority, Florida would be working with teachers, staff, administrators, and parents to strengthen our public schools. That means fixing the massive teacher and staff shortage, expanding support for students’ mental health, removing barriers that hamper teaching and learning, and ensuring students have the resources they need to succeed at the highest level. To do this, lawmakers must dramatically increase their investment in Florida’s public schools and remove the outdated, punitive laws that hold students back.
It is time for Florida to level the playing field by removing the laws that systematically disadvantage public schools.
This starts with ending policies that divert more than $4 billion a year from public schools into private voucher programs with little transparency or focus on student outcomes. If education is about opportunity, not corporate profit, public school buildings should not be handed off to corporate charter operators at no cost, all while those same public schools foot the bill. And if the Legislature genuinely values educators, Florida should be in the top 10 in average teacher pay, not 50th in the nation for the second year in a row.
The truth is teaching is hard, and teachers’ working conditions are students’ learning conditions. When public schools are chronically underfunded, and educators are unable to afford to live in the state where they teach, public school students lose. Our students are not dollar signs or profit centers; they are Florida’s future. And when public schools are treated unfairly, it’s our public school students who pay the price.
Lawmakers, you still have a chance to unburden public schools and implement policies that address the many challenges they face. By supporting policies like HB 963 and SB 1216/HB 1187, the Legislature can take meaningful steps to improve Florida’s education workforce and retain experienced educators. Parents, community members, and voters are demanding leadership that puts students first—and it’s time to deliver.
The choices before you are clear: you can stand united with Florida’s public school students, parents, and educators to strengthen our public schools or fail to act, limiting our students’ ability to achieve new heights. Choosing public schools, as well as the students, families, and communities that rely on them, is the only choice worth making.
