Florida’s largest school union sues education department, claims voucher system violates constitution

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA, (WINK) — The Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teacher's union, is suing the Florida Department of Education, claiming the use of taxpayer vouchers for private schools violates the state constitution.

On Tuesday, the union released a press statement announcing the lawsuit and saying the Florida Department of Education has failed to uphold the state constitution by ensuring that every child in Florida has access to a “uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high-quality system of free public schools.”

Read the full lawsuit here.

According to the Florida Education Association, the suit alleges the Department of Education, the Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas, and the State Board of Education, along with its individual members, have not upheld their duty to ensure schools receiving taxpayer dollars are held to the same standards, oversight, and level of accountability.

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In addition, the union says that nearly $5 billion has been directed to private and charter schools through the Family Empowerment Scholarship, without the same standards as public schools.

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In response to the lawsuit, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis posted on his X account, saying,” The union wants to eliminate Florida’s school choice scholarship program (serving more than 500,000 students) and charter school program (serving more than 400,000).”

The Florida teachers union has filed a lawsuit seeking to strip nearly a million students of the education of their choice.The union wants to eliminate Florida’s school choice scholarship program (serving more than 500,000 students) and charter school program (serving more than… pic.twitter.com/CFYk6kpSIE

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 7, 2026

DeSantis further added, “We will stand up for the parents and students and defend these programs!”

State leaders have defended the voucher program, which now funds about a quarter of Florida’s education budget.