I’m excited to be spending this year’s National School Choice Week here in my new home state of Florida, a state that offers more educational options for families than most others.

In a nation where far too many children cannot read, can’t write, and can’t perform basic math at grade level, Floridians should be proud to live in a state where leaders have taken seriously the need to reform education. It’s the type of courageous , reform-minded spirit here in Florida that we celebrate during National School Choice Week (January 22-28, 2012), and that we hope will catch fire in states across the country.

During the term of Governor Jeb Bush, Florida led the way in expanding access to these types of schools by empowering community leaders and educators to create high-performing charter schools, increasing access to private schools through a corporate scholarship tax credit program, and embarking on an ambitious effort to blend traditional learning with virtual options.

Now, these efforts are supported by a healthy mix of Democrats and Republicans—including a large contingent of courageous legislators here on the Panhandle. In Florida, school choice and education reform is no longer constrained by political or ideological lines; it’s about Read More