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Dear Parents and Guardians,

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1 on Monday, March 27, expanding school choice options in Florida. The changes took effect on July 1, 2023. We know many of you have questions about what this means for your family.

Following are some highlights from the bill and we encourage you to visit the Step Up For Students Legislative Updates page for more details. Please continue checking this page for more updates. Step Up For Students will be adding more information as it is available.

Florida Tax Credit Scholarship and Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Option

  • Expands eligibility for all K-12 students, regardless of household income
  • Converts the scholarships into education savings accounts, or “ESAs” allowing families more flexibility in how they invest in their children’s education.
    • For families who will use the scholarship for full-time private school tuition and fees, parents/guardians must agree to have their Scholarship Funding Organization, or “SFO,” commit scholarship funds on behalf of their students before using ESA funds for other authorized uses of program funds.
  • Creates a new program called the Personalized Education Program, or "PEP", to serve Florida’s home education population who would like to use state scholarship funds in an education savings account to assist with the educational needs of their Personalized Education Students.

To receive more information about this opportunity, including notification of when it’s time to apply, please click here.

 

Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities

  • The program cap has been increased, allowing more students to benefit from a scholarship.
  • Scholarship funds may now be used towards the additional following OPTIONAL items:
    • Approved pre-apprenticeship program.
    • Fees for services provided by a Choice Navigator. This is an optional service made available to families. Please visit our Legislative Updates page to learn more.

To receive more information about this opportunity, including notification of when it’s time to apply, please click here. 

Please be advised:

  • Only one scholarship may be used per student.
  • Once your student is enrolled in a particular scholarship, that scholarship remains in effect for the entire school year. Changes between scholarships are not permitted.
  • Scholarship award amounts are to be used for tuition only. 
  • Award amounts will reflect the current school year award only- rollover funds may not be applied.

     

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