Erika Donalds to Newsmax: Florida School Choice a Model for States

Yahoo | By: Brian Freeman | November 9, 2026

Florida’s expansion of school choice offers a model for other states, Erika Donalds told Newsmax Monday, saying growing demand for alternatives to traditional public schools shows the need for more educational options for American families.

Erika Donalds, founder of the Education Freedom Foundation and wife of Gov.-elect Byron Donalds, told “Bianca Across the Nation” that Florida’s universal school choice program serves more than 500,000 students.

She credited former Gov. Jeb Bush with laying the groundwork for Florida’s school choice expansion 25 years ago through charter schools and the state’s first private school choice program.

She also credited Gov. Ron DeSantis with expanding the program to universal school choice.

“Our foundation helps people found new schools because the demand exceeds the supply,” Erika Donalds said. “Even in a state like Florida, we need more schools so that parents have those options outside of the traditional monopoly system.”

Erika Donalds said Florida’s experience shows how school choice could become a Republican policy initiative with support beyond party lines.

She cited polling showing that more than 70% of Democrats and independents support school choice and said Republicans should make the issue a more prominent part of their national agenda.

“It’s something, I think, that the Republican Party definitely needs to be talking more about,” she said.

Erika Donalds said she plans to use her position as Florida’s incoming first lady to continue advocating for school choice nationally, including protecting existing programs in states that have shifted politically and supporting a federal tax credit scholarship program.

“We need to secure the wins that we’ve gotten in states that have now turned blue, as well as from the federal level, a federal tax credit scholarship,” she said.

Erika Donalds said she would continue her work with the Education Freedom Foundation as first lady, including promoting programs such as Optima, which provides virtual reality instruction for charter schools.

She also said her husband’s private-sector experience would help him address voters’ concerns about rising costs for groceries, gasoline, property taxes, and insurance.