Scholarships
The following information is from the Florida Department of Education:
On March 27, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law House Bill (HB) 1, which expanded school choice options for all students in Florida. Florida’s choice options empower every family and every child to achieve their educational goals.
Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options
This branch of the scholarship eligibility provides additional educational options for all K-12 students, such as attending a participating private school. Families apply and annually renew through one of the approved scholarship funding organizations (SFO), which are responsible for determining and distributing funding.
Educational Options FAQs (PDF)
Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities
This branch of the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program is designed to offer families of students with disabilities, as young as 3 years of age, access to additional education options. Families may choose to enroll their student in another public school, or they may choose to take the opportunity to receive a personal education savings account (ESA) for their student. With an ESA, instead of having their child attend a public school, parents receive a deposit of public funds into government-authorized savings accounts with restricted, but multiple, uses. An ESA can be used to fund not only items such as private school tuition and fees, but also online learning programs, private tutoring, community college costs, higher education expenses and other approved customized learning services and materials. Families apply and annually renew for participation in FES UA through one of the approved SFOs, which are responsible for determining eligibility, awarding and distributing funding to eligible student accounts, and approving eligible expenditures.
How do I apply?
If you are interested in applying for either branch of the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program, please contact one of the two scholarship funding organizations that administers these programs:
A.A.A. Scholarship Foundation- FL, LLC
P.O. Box 15719, Tampa, FL 33684
Phone/Fax: 888-707-2465
info@aaascholarships.org
Step Up For Students
P.O. Box 54367
Jacksonville, FL 32245-4367
877-735-7837
info@stepupforstudents.org
Florida Tax Credit Scholarships
To expand educational opportunities for children of families that have limited financial resources and to enable children in this state to achieve a greater level of excellence in their education, the Florida Legislature created the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program in 2001. The law provides for state tax credits for contributions to nonprofit scholarship funding organizations, (SFOs). The SFOs then award scholarships to eligible children.
The tax credit amount for the 2024-25 fiscal year is $1,091,957,093.00.
As of the 2023-24 school year, financial eligibility restrictions for FTC have been eliminated. Priority is given first to students whose household income level does not exceed 185% of the federal poverty level or who is in foster care or out-of-home care, then to students whose household income level exceeds 185% of the federal poverty level but does not exceed 400%.
For the 2025-26 school year, up to 100,000 students who will not be enrolled in a private school may participate in FTC as personalized education program (PEP) students. Parents of PEP students will develop an individualized learning plan for their students and may use funds for approved expenses to serve their educational needs.
With these expansions along with the many other existing school choice options, Florida is empowering every family and every child to achieve their educational goals.
To apply for the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, contact an eligible scholarship funding organization directly.
Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program FAQs
The Hope Scholarship
Under Hope Scholarship law, a student is eligible for a scholarship if he or she has been subjected to an incident of battery, harassment, hazing, bullying, kidnapping, simple battery, robbery, sexual offenses, harassment, assault or battery, threat or intimidation, or fighting at the public school; once the incident has been reported to the school.
Bullying, whether by other students or by employees of a public K-12 educational institution, encompasses both words and actions with the intent to demean, dehumanize, embarrass, or cause physical harm. Incidents could involve teasing; social exclusion; sexual, religious, or racial harassment; or public or private humiliation and could occur at any school-related or school-sponsored program or activity or on a school bus of a public K-12 educational institution.
Within 15 days after any incident described above has been reported to school personnel, the school district must provide information to the family about the Hope Scholarship Program and offer the parent an opportunity to enroll his or her student in another public school that has capacity or to request and receive a scholarship to attend an eligible private school, subject to available funding.
Follow these simple steps to participate in the Hope Scholarship Program:
Report the incident to your child’s school. You do not need to provide proof of the incident.
The school district must provide information on the Hope Scholarship and offer to transfer your child to another public school that has space. You can also choose an approved private school. Click here for the list of private schools in your county.
If you choose a private school, make sure the school has space and is accepting students.
Contact Step Up For Students. the scholarship funding organization that will help you with the application process.
Educational Options under the Hope Scholarship Program
Transfer to another public school – The parent has the option of enrolling his or her student in another public school that has capacity. If a parent chooses to enroll his or her student in a public school located outside the district in which the student resides, the parent shall be eligible for a scholarship to transport the student. To transfer to another public school, please contact your school district office. To apply for transportation funding, please contact Step Up For Students.
Transfer to an approved private school – A parent may choose to enroll his or her student in an approved private school. The parent must notify the district of his or her intent to withdraw the student from the public school and place the student in private school. To apply for scholarship funding, please contact Step Up For Students. The form below must be filled out completely in order to apply.
For a list of approved private schools, please visit: http://www.floridaschoolchoice.org/information/privateschooldirectory/.
To learn more about private school requirements in Florida, please review our Private School Information for Parents page at: http://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/private-schools/parent-info.stml
Hope Notification Form (PDF)
Hope Notification Form - Spanish (PDF)