Once upon a time there was a sturdy American tradition known as separation of church and state. Most Americans thought it was a bad idea to send public dollars to religious schools, because doing so would mean the death of the common school, the public schools that have been a foundation stone of our democracy. Once we begin subsidizing schools run by religious denominations, the very idea of public education as a meeting ground for all is at risk.

But many states are now taking that road, because there is so much big money behind the idea of “school choice.” School choice used to be the battle cry of segregationists in the 1960s, and school choice does indeed promote segregation–by race, religion, and class. But backers of vouchers don’t care about segregation, nor do they care about education quality. They want choice. Period.

Florida voters decisively defeated a constitutional amendment in 2012 that would have permitted vouchers, but voucher advocates are pressing ahead through the legislature, as in other states where vouchers can’t win on the ballot.

In Florida, big money is subsidizing a major campaign for school vouchers, so that children may choose to attend fundamentalist schools, Catholic schools, Jewish schools, Muslim schools, and schools run by any other denomination. Deep pockets and powerful political forces are pressing for vouchers:

“Those forces include the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Americans for Prosperity and influential think tanks like the conservative James Madison Institute and former Gov. Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Florida’s Future. All have thrown their considerable weight behind the expansion.

And then there is the money. The voucher program’s top supporter, Tampa venture capitalist John Kirtley, controls a political committee in Florida that spent nearly $2.4 million to influence races in 2010 and 2012. He plans to spend at least $1.5 million in 2014, he said.

The efforts have made expanding the voucher program a top priority of this year’s legislative session.”

Due to the influence of Jeb Bush, the state’s Republicans are supportive of vouchers. So the outside funders have been targeting contributions to Democrats to assure passage of their voucher legislation:

“Kirtley’s political committee, the Florida Federation for Children, has channeled more than $2.3 million into political advertisements and direct mail to help favored candidates since 2010.

The Florida Federation for Children has been “heavily involved in Democratic primaries, where there are legislators who have supported their constituents’ desires for parental choice in education,” Kirtley said.

“We also have been involved in Republican primaries, but fewer, since there is usually a consensus among those candidates about educational choice,” he said. “If there is a contrast either way in a general election, we will be involved there as well.”

The Florida Chamber of Commerce has been another strong advocate for the proposed expansion, said David Hart, the organization’s executive vice president. “Many of our member companies around the state support this program and have made pretty generous contributions toward supporting scholarships,” he said.

The chamber spends thousands of dollars on political advertisements and direct mail pieces. But because the organization advocates for a variety of issues, it is virtually impossible to track how much of that spending is related to tax credit scholarships.

Other influential groups that have lined up in support include Americans for Prosperity, the Foundation for Florida’s Future, the James Madison Institute and StudentsFirst.