Research released this week by the American Federation for Children says Florida’s school choice program produced much bigger academic gains than simply spending more money on public schools.
And it did so at a fraction of the cost.
New study finds Florida’s investment in school choice 11x more cost-effective than increasing public school spending.
DETAILS:
🍎Florida’s tax credit scholarship program cost approximately $2.8 billion over the first 15 years of the program. As a result, public school students…
— Brian Jodice (@afcpress) March 5, 2026
The study was written by Dr. Patrick Graff, a senior fellow at the American Federation for Children. It looks at Florida’s Tax Credit Scholarship program during its first 15 years, from 2003 to 2017.
The results are striking.
Florida spent about $2.8 billion on the program during that time. According to the research, the competition created by the program helped public school students gain the equivalent of 120 extra days of learning.
That’s about two-thirds of a school year.
But here’s the key point.
If Florida had tried to achieve the same improvement by simply increasing public school spending, the best research suggests it would have cost about $31.8 billion.
That means school choice was 11 times more cost-effective.
Graff says the difference comes down to incentives.
“We know that funding for education is important, but how states use that funding and the incentives of the systems within which you spend it matter tremendously,” Graff said in a statement announcing the study.
“This new evidence on the cost-effectiveness of Florida’s approach shows that fostering competition and accountability through well-designed school choice policy produces far greater academic returns for public school students than simply increasing public education budgets.”
The research draws on two major peer-reviewed studies.
One is a 2023 paper by economists David Figlio, Cassandra Hart, and Krzysztof Karbownik, which examined how public schools respond when families gain access to school choice options.
Their research found that when schools face competition from private school scholarship programs, public schools often improve their own performance.
The other source is a 2024 meta-analysis by economists C. Kirabo Jackson and Claire Mackevicius, which reviewed decades of research on the effects of increased education spending.
More money can help, the researchers found. But the gains tend to be smaller and more expensive than many people expect.
Graff’s analysis compares those two approaches head to head.
His conclusion: competition delivers far more academic improvement per dollar.
In fact, the benefits grew over time.
As Florida’s scholarship program expanded and more families used it, the positive effects on nearby public schools became stronger.
Graff says the real return on investment could actually be even higher. His analysis intentionally used conservative assumptions.
It did not include possible savings when students move from public schools to private schools, nor broader statewide competition effects that may benefit all students.
In other words, the 11-to-1 advantage may be the floor, not the ceiling.
Tommy Schultz, CEO of the American Federation for Children, said the findings should matter to lawmakers across the country.
“Graff’s rigorous research shows a path for legislators in every state to pursue the best education intervention for students: expanding school choice,” Schultz said. “This research analysis debunks critics’ claim that school choice harms kids in public school and instead proves that school choice expansion is the smartest investment we can make to support students’ success.”
Critics of school choice programs often argue that they pull money away from public schools.
Teachers unions and some education advocates say vouchers and scholarship programs can weaken the traditional public school system.
But supporters say the Florida results show the opposite.
When schools have to compete for students, they tend to improve.
The findings are especially interesting for Nevada.
Back in 2015, Nevada lawmakers passed one of the most ambitious school choice laws in the country, creating near-universal Education Savings Accounts, often called ESAs.
The program would have allowed families to use a portion of state education funding for private school tuition, tutoring, or other learning options.
But legal challenges and political fights stopped the program before it ever launched.
Since then, other states have expanded school choice dramatically.
Florida, Arizona, Arkansas, and several others now offer broad programs that give families more control over where and how their children learn.
Meanwhile, Nevada families are still waiting.
As lawmakers continue debating education funding and reform, the Florida experience might teach us something.
How money is spent can matter just as much as how much money is spent.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. Digital technology was used in the research, writing, and production of this article. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
