Is Ron DeSantis’s Education Record Anything to Emulate?

Expanding choice while fighting a culture war
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reacts after signing a bill to expand school vouchers across Florida during a press conference at Christopher Columbus High School on Monday, March 27, 2023, in Miami.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reacts after signing a bill to expand school choice across Florida during a press conference at Christopher Columbus High School on Monday, March 27, 2023, in Miami.

The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, has emerged in recent years as a nationally significant political figure and a possible Republican presidential contender in part on the basis of his record in K–12 education. What has he actually accomplished in Florida? Are his tactics there worth emulating elsewhere, or would they best be avoided? William Mattox, the director of the Marshall Center for Educational Options at the James Madison Institute in Tallahassee, Florida, who is a registered independent, offers a more positive assessment, while Cathy Young, a fellow at the Cato Institute who also writes for The Bulwark, Newsday, and Reason, is more cautious about what DeSantis has done.

 

This article appeared in the Summer 2023 issue of Education Next. Suggested citation format:

Mattox, W., and Young, C. (2023). Is Ron DeSantis’s Education Record Anything to Emulate? Education Next, 23(3), 62-71.

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