We know this isn't new news. And we don't want to overdo the voucher posts. But it's worth noting that nearly halfway through Gov. Crist's term, vouchers are one of the few parts of the Jeb Bush education program that Crist has embraced beyond statements in press releases.

Crist was in a Jacksonville church yesterday, before a predominantly black audience, for the fifth annual Step Up for Students rally to support corporate tax credit vouchers.

"We are no longer just competing with other states in this great nation, but with other countries as well," he said in a press release from the governor's office. "Step Up For Students Scholarships are helping us diversify our education system to achieve greater results and provide our children and future workforce with a world-class education."

The scholarships are "an example of what we need to do to adapt public education to a new century," he said in another release sent out by the Florida School Choice Fund. For more on the event, see this Florida Times Union story and video.

- Ron Matus, state education reporter (Photo of Crist with student Denisha Merriweather and Step Up For Students founder John Kirtley, courtesy of Step Up For Students)