School Choice and Student Sorting: Early Evidence from Florida’s Universal Voucher Expansion

• In Event: Opportunity and Outcomes in School Choice Contexts

Abstract

This study evaluates the early-stage effects of Florida’s HB1 universal voucher expansion on school-level student composition. Using panel data from 2018/19 to 2023/24 and fixed-effects regressions, it investigates changes in overall stability, critical subgroup representation, as well as racial, linguistic, and economic diversity at the school level. Preliminary results show declining stability in public schools and modest but uneven shifts in diversity. Notable patterns were found across charter status and geographic features. The findings highlight how universal voucher policies may reshape school demographics and reinforce or reduce segregation. This study informs local and national policy makers about school choice by emphasizing the structural implications of privatization for educational equity.

Author

• Bingxin Cao, University of Florida