The first week of school in New York City may seem like an odd time to celebrate a Florida policy that indirectly addresses both housing affordability and the “birth dearth.” But don’t tell that to Kevin and Alissa Kashani.
Several years ago, the Kashanis found themselves in an all-too-familiar spot for many young families. They wanted to find an alternative to the local public school for their two young children, but they couldn’t afford a private school in the city or a house in a good suburban school district. The Kashanis felt stuck.
A relative suggested they move to South Florida and enroll their children in the Jewish day school Mrs. Kashani’s nieces and nephews attended.
Florida’s K-12 scholarship programs allow parents to direct their children’s education funds to the school of their choice. Thanks to such policies, private-school and home-school families in Florida don’t have to pay twice for education—in the form of tuition for their kids and taxes for others’ kids—the way New York families do.
Moreover, Florida’s school choice policies mean that families enjoy wider residential options, because they don’t have to limit their home search to areas with good schools. “As educational opportunities keep expanding, I believe we’ll continue to see buyer demand spread across more neighborhoods,” Florida realtor Michael Buttacavoli observes, “not because the best schools are becoming less desirable, but because families simply have more options than they did a decade ago.”
The Kashanis settled in a middle-class neighborhood in Broward County near the private school their children now attend using state-funded scholarships. Spared the added expenses for housing and schooling that many young families face elsewhere, the Kashanis then did something that would have seemed impossible back in New York: They had a third child.
Apparently, the Kashanis weren’t the only ones. Since 2020, Florida has seen its total number of births increase roughly 8.5%, more than any other state. This baby boomlet has largely escaped notice because the percentage of Florida’s population under 5 hasn’t increased substantially since 2020. What has increased significantly is the number of young families moving to Florida. They’ve joined the steady stream of retirees relocating, producing a substantial growth in Florida’s overall population.
As the Kashanis’ story suggests, school choice is one of many factors drawing families to Florida. A 2025 survey commissioned by the James Madison Institute found that 7 in 10 families that moved to Florida in the previous year prefer K-12 alternatives to traditional public schools (whether private, charter or home schools).
In addition, a 2025 national Morning Consult survey commissioned by EdChoice found that Americans who aspire to have three or more children disproportionately prefer private, charter and home schooling over conventional public schooling. A series of Florida surveys by the James Madison Institute found similar results.
Obviously, many factors affect couples’ home-buying and family-size decisions, and K-12 scholarship programs alone probably won’t solve America’s housing-affordability and fertility challenges. But the Kashanis’ story suggests universal educational choice has some important side benefits that young families greatly appreciate. State policymakers concerned about housing affordability and the size and quality of their future labor force would be wise to take note.
Mr. Mattox is senior director of the Marshall Center for Education Freedom at the James Madison Institute in Tallahassee, Fla.
