EdChoice Legal Advocates Moves to Defend Florida’s School Choice Programs
Press Release: For Immediate Release
June 19, 2026
For more information contact Mairead Elordi at [email protected]
EdChoice Legal Advocates Moves to Defend Florida’s School Choice Programs
TALLAHASSEE — On behalf of Florida families, EdChoice Legal Advocates (EdLA) has filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit brought by teachers’ unions and other opponents seeking to dismantle Florida’s educational choice programs.
The lawsuit challenges Florida’s Family Empowerment Scholarship and related educational choice programs, which today serve hundreds of thousands of students across the state and have become among the nation’s most expansive and widely used examples of educational freedom.
EdLA is seeking to defend the programs behalf of four Florida families whose children rely on these programs to access educational options that better meet their needs.
Tatiana Cox Lopez is a mother of two who runs a kayak fishing and environmental conservation nonprofit with her husband. She relies on Florida’s education savings accounts (ESA) to homeschool her two daughters, who both learn and thrive better outside a traditional classroom setting. Her older daughter is diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia and previously fell behind at Catholic school, but her academic progress and confidence have improved dramatically since switching to homeschooling. Losing the scholarships would be a major financial burden for the family, and they would have to consider placing the girls back in educational environments that would harm their progress.
“The Family Empowerment Scholarship has completely changed our daughter’s life,” Tatiana said. “Before homeschooling and receiving one-on-one instruction in subjects like math, reading, and writing, she struggled academically and often felt discouraged in a traditional classroom setting. Today, she is excited to learn, looks forward to meeting with her teacher each week, and has gained confidence in herself and her abilities. This scholarship has allowed us to tailor her education to the way she learns best and has given her the opportunity to truly thrive.”
“Taking away programs like this would have devastating impacts on children like my daughter, forcing many back into environments where they will not succeed. Every child deserves the chance to learn in a way that helps them reach their full potential and that’s exactly what this scholarship has done for her,” Tatiana said.
Jessica Tillmann is a former elementary school teacher and mother of four children who all receive scholarships through Florida’s school choice programs. Jessica and her husband, a small business owner, saw their experience with the public school their oldest attended decline during the Covid pandemic, and they believe their local public schools no longer offer the same quality of education. All four children now attend private school, but affording tuition is difficult even with the scholarships. Without them the family would likely have to return their children to public school, which they believe would harm their academic development.
Alyssa Hines is a mother of two who uses Family Empowerment Scholarships to afford to send her children to private school because she and her husband were concerned about safety issues at local public schools, including gangs and bullying. Their nine-year-old and seven-year-old are flourishing, and the family is confident that the school will handle inappropriate behavior effectively and immediately. Without the school choice program, the tuition would be too costly for even one of their children, and Alyssa would potentially have to quit her job to focus on homeschooling them.
Julie Schulman is a mother of two and a teacher who uses a Family Empowerment Scholarship to afford tuition for her fourth grade daughter at a private Orthodox Jewish school. Her nine-year-old feels challenged academically, receives one-on-one support in math, and her emotional needs are supported by the school psychologist. She also receives religious education with the same values Julie and her husband teach their kids at home. Without the scholarship, the family would have to cut back on out-of-pocket private therapies for their other child, their seven-year-old son who has an Individualized Education Program (IEP) at a traditional public school, which they have found to be the best environment for his special needs. As Julie’s experience shows, the best educational environment often varies by child, which sometimes means public school. What is critical is that parents have the opportunity to make that choice.
“Parents like Tatiana, Jessica, Alyssa, and Julie are simply asking that their children be allowed to continue in the education environments where they are thriving,” said Thomas Fisher, EdChoice’s Executive Vice President and Director of Litigation. “They have come to rely on programs like the Family Empowerment Scholarships, which provide parents with an immensely popular opportunity to choose the educational environment that best meets their children’s needs. The Florida Constitution protects the right of families to direct their children’s education. We look forward to defending that right.”
The lawsuit revives legal arguments rooted in Bush v. Holmes, a 2006 Florida Supreme Court decision that struck down an early voucher program in the state. Yet despite repeated attempts by opponents to use that ruling to halt educational choice, Florida has since built some of the largest and most successful school choice programs in the country. In fact, Florida is one of only two states classified as “Gold” tier in EdChoice’s annual Friedman Index, which measures the availability of school choice in states.
Earlier this year, EdLA’s Executive Vice President and Director of Litigation Thomas Fisher examined the continuing legal and political legacy of Bush v. Holmes in an essay for Education Next, describing the case as an “undead” precedent repeatedly invoked by opponents of educational freedom even as Florida families increasingly embrace school choice.
Today, Florida’s choice programs serve families from a wide range of backgrounds and educational needs, giving parents greater flexibility and control over how and where their children learn.
EdChoice is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. Our mission is to advance educational freedom and choice for all as a pathway to successful lives and a stronger society. Learn more at edchoice.org.