A parent’s guide to Florida’s voucher program

Following Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signing of HB 1 March 27, 2023, Florida now offers one of the largest school choice programs in the entire country.

The bill eliminated the financial eligibility restrictions and enrollment cap of the previous program — effectively opening the program to all families.

“Florida is No. 1 when it comes to education freedom and education choice, and today’s bill signing represents the largest expansion of education choice in the history of these United States,” DeSantis said at the bill signing.

According to DeSantis, Florida had 1.3 million students enrolled in private, charter and district choice options through the previous program, which only was open to families whose household income did not exceed 400% of the federal poverty level. In 2022, that was $110,000 for a family of four.

“HB 1 is definitely transformational; it’s the expansion of school choice,” Florida District 45 State Rep. Carolina Amesty said. “At the end of the day, it’s the parents’ taxpayer dollars that follow that child, and the parent decides where to take that voucher. It could be private school; it could be homeschool; it could be Florida Virtual School.

“Part of the requirements of school choice is that every institution — private, public, homeschool — does have to grant a state assessment test to the child, so there is a lot of measurement on quality,” she said.

HB 1 took effect July 1, 2023. 

WHAT DOES THE BILL CHANGE?
Under HB 1, any Florida resident — regardless of household income — who is eligible to attend a K-12 public school is now eligible to apply for the school choice funds.

Previously called the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, the bill now converts the scholarship into an education savings account, which gives families more flexibility, said Nathan Nadeau, of Step Up for Students, a Florida nonprofit that assists families in school choice.

Although details regarding specific dollar amounts are not available, the amount awarded for the 2022-23 school year in Orange County was $7,839 for kindergarten through third grade; $7,256 for fourth through eighth grades; and $7,252 for ninth through 12th grades.

The exact funding amount will be the amount the family’s public school district receives in per-student funding. Only students who are not attending a public school are eligible for funding.

The bill also creates a new program called the Personalized Education Program, which allows parents to customize the education of students who are not attending public or private schools full-time, i.e. homeschooling. PEP will allow parents to purchase instructional materials; pay for part-time tuition at public or private schools; and even tuition and fees in home education instructional programs.

HOW CAN FUNDING BE USED?
Families can use the money to pay tuition at a private school, including faith-based schools; or at an eligible postsecondary institution. Families also can use the funds to pay for testing, including Advanced Placement exams and industry certification tests.

The money also can pay for curriculum materials, tutoring and counseling, and even services such as speech language pathology and occupational therapy.

Through the new ESA structure, funds will be dispersed directly to families. However, if the family plans to use the funds for tuition, that must be paid first. If there is money leftover, that can be used on other expenses.

If families have extra funds, they can bank up to $24,000 until the scholarship expires. That occurs when the student turns 21, graduates high school or enrolls in a public school.

“This legislation is a transformational opportunity to make it clear that the money follows the child, and parents have a right to guide their child’s education as they see fit,” Florida Sen. Corey Simon said. “We recognize that parents are a child’s first and best teachers. A street address or level of income should never replace the vital and irreplaceable role of a parent to decide what academic experience best fits the needs of their child.”

HOW IS FUNDING PRIORITIZED?
Under the new universal funding, there are priority tiers, Nadeau said. 

The first tier is any family at 185% or below the federal poverty level ($51,337.50 for a family of four in 2022). The second is any family between 186% to 400% of the poverty level. The third tier is open to anyone.

However, Nadeau said the Florida of Department of Education will process applications in batches in order of receipt. So, a third tier family who applies early may be funded before a first tier family who applies later.

Nadeau notes the first two tiers comprise families who already were eligible in years past, so most new families seeking scholarships should be in the third tier.

The tax credit cap amount for the 2022-2023 fiscal year was $1,091,957,093.

Step Up for Students officials expect high demand for both the ESA and PEP programs. PEP is limited to 20,000 students in the 2023-24 school year and may grow by 40,000 in each subsequent year. 

WHAT ARE LOCAL IMPACTS?
It is likely the ESA funding will not cover 100% tuition at any West Orange-area private schools.

For example, The First Academy’s tuition for the 2023-24 school year ranges from $14,440 to $23,190 through the K-12 years. Foundation Academy’s tuition ranges from $14,000 to $16,590.

However, for families who were not eligible previously, the ESA funding now could make private school a possibility.

Foundation Academy President David Buckles said his school seen an immediate boost in interest. However, Foundation has been at capacity in recent years. Therefore, Buckles suggests families begin the process early.

In April, Foundation broke ground on a new cafeteria, worship center and 40,000-square-foot classroom building at its Tilden campus.

Buckles said Foundation will not raise tuition based on HB 1 funding. 

“We will review our strategic plan and determine what increase will be needed to accomplish the strategic plan for the year,” he said. 

Florida District 42 State Rep. Anna Eskamani — a proud K-12 product of Orange County Public Schools — voted no on HB 1.

“I would not be where I am today or who I am today if it (weren’t) for public education,” she said. “I  have a lot of concerns about the lack of accountability of many of our private schools. … We do, unfortunately, have bad apples in the system, and there are for-profit private schools … that accept this public money, and they don’t deliver strong results.”

Eskamani said there still are questions regarding what happens to voucher funds if a private school closes. She also is concerned about potential discrimination during the application process and expulsion processes at private schools.

Finally, Eskamani said the PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee worked to earmark $350 million as a shield to protect public school districts from financial impacts related to the voucher program. 

“We were very concerned that if more children and families choose the voucher, it would actually impact the school district budgets,” she said. “That’s why we have money on the back of the bill … so school districts don’t feel that pinch.” 

For the 2022-23 year, OCPS’ budget was $2,464,570,651 (General Fund), $285,694,898 (Special Revenue Fund), $238,173,675 (Debt Service Fund), $2,596,615,714 (Capital Projects Fund) and $385,173,621 (Internal Service Fund).

HOW TO CHOOSE A PRIVATE SCHOOL
Not all private schools are the same, so here are some ways parents should investigate their options.

“Any time a family is looking to make a change, the best plan is to gather information regarding space availability, accreditation, curriculum, diploma options, class sizes, school times and extracurricular options, as well as cost,” Foundation Academy President David Buckles said. “After gathering information, a campus visit during the school day or an admission event is a great way to meet the people (who) will be providing the educational experience to your child on a daily basis. It is an excellent way to validate your selection or cross it off the list — much like college.”

Buckles said it is also critical that the school’s culture and values align with your family.

“Understand the mission and vision of the school,” he said. “All schools should be teaching academics at a level that allows a student to graduate and then attend an Ivy League school, if they wish. But if the culture in the school does not meet or exceed the same family values at home, then why send your student there?”

STEPS TO TAKE
If a family decides to take advantage of the school choice program, parents must: 

• Research and choose an eligible private school or other educational option. School lists can be found on the Florida Department of Education’s Private School Directory.

• Apply for a scholarship through Step Up for Students’ Education Market Assistant, stepupforstudents.org/ema.

• Students cannot receive or use a voucher while attending a public school, so parents will need to withdraw their child before receiving the funds.