Florida provides roadmap for Christian education as Catholic enrollment soars

Florida’s Catholic schools saw significant enrollment growth for the second straight year amid flatter numbers nationwide.

The growth is explained in part by the state’s expansive school choice policies, according to a May 2025 white paper from the Florida Catholic Conference and Step Up For Students.

The report highlighted how Florida’s Catholic school enrollment in pre-K through 12th grade surged by 12.1% from 2014-15 to 2024-25, reaching 92,963 students last year. 

Out of the 10 states with the largest Catholic school enrollments, Florida was the only one reporting an enrollment increase, said the report. 

New York, by contrast, saw a 31% drop in Catholic school enrollment over the same period as seven New York City schools announced closures in early 2025. 

“Tuition-free charter schools dominate school choice,” an Education Next article noted March 2025. 

Catholic school enrollment fell by 13.2% from 1.94 million to 1.68 million students nationwide as charter schools expanded, according to the article. 

But in Florida, a 2023 law made all Florida students eligible for state-funded choice scholarships, even if they choose schools with a religious affiliation. 

The share of Florida Catholic school students using these scholarships rose sharply, with the report noting scholarships, including those for special-needs students, played a pivotal role in the enrollment surge. 

Florida’s experience demonstrated scholarships could level the playing field for school choice states where only charter schools and public schools were options. 

Around half of Florida’s K-12 students attended something other than local public schools, with over 1 million opting for private, charter or home education in 2023-24, the report noted. 

Despite the dominance of charter schools in the Sunshine State – 700 schools and 400,000 students – Catholic schools in Florida still led the nation in growth. 

The report also underscored the academic edge of parochial schools, citing National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results from January 2025. 

“A decade ago…Catholic school students were outperforming their public school peers by a grade level to a grade and a half on NAEP tests in reading and math,” the report noted. 

However, Catholic-school students now have an advantage of nearly two grade levels on some of those reports, the most recent NAEP results show. 

The January NAEP report gave public schools a D-minus for 2024, said the Daily Signal – results worse than the 2022 post-pandemic reports causing an avalanche of calls for reform in public education. 

Florida’s scholarship program has been especially helpful for low-income families. 

After attending a charter school in South Florida, Zori Brown chose St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale because she wanted a top-tier school in athletics and academics.  

“Without a choice scholarship, the tuition would have been out of reach for her mom,” the report said. “But with a scholarship, Zori was able to attend the school, star on the volleyball team, and finish near the top of her class. This fall, she’s headed to Dartmouth College, the Ivy League school in New Hampshire.” 

Other states with substantial choice programs including Christian education options, such as Iowa (+2.4%), Wisconsin (+1.3%), and Ohio (+0.7%), also reported year-over-year Catholic school enrollment gains, suggesting Florida’s model could be replicable. 

The report suggested gains could be tougher for states such as New York, where lawmakers have resisted school choice. 

Acceleration of education choice nationwide, coupled with the potential for a federal law expanding school choice including Christian schools, could provide an impetus for Christian education elsewhere, the report’s authors said. 

“The acceleration of education choice across the country – including the real possibility of a federal choice program – means more options and opportunity for more students like Zori,” the report concluded.