Student Funding

Use of Funds 

Parents can use the funds to pay for a variety of educational services, including private school tuition and fees; instructional materials and devices; specialized services by an approved provider or hospital; tutoring; online education; home education; curriculum; therapies and behavior analysis; services from a speech pathologist; fees for nationally norm-referenced testing; AP exams and industry certifications; unbundled courses and services at a public school; tuition or fees from a choice navigator; postsecondary educational institutions in Florida and other defined educational services. 

Funding Amount and Source
Florida’s Family Empowerment Scholarship Program (ESA) is funded through the Florida Education Finance Plan. The per-pupil amount varies according to grade, county of residence, and public school spending for students with disabilities. A matrix of services is utilized to calculate award value with the maximum equating to either 100% of the basic exception student program or the cost of the services, plus the per-pupil amount for certain state categorical programs. ESAs are prorated based on the academic quarter in which the student is deemed eligible for the ESA by a Scholarship Funding Organization. There is no limit on the number of students with disabilities who can participate. 

(Last updated July 15, 2024) 

Student Eligibility

To be awarded an ESA, students must be between the ages of three and 22 and not yet graduated from the 12th grade. Students must have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or have been diagnosed by a physician or psychologist with one of the following: autism spectrum disorder; cerebral palsy; Down syndrome; an intellectual disability; a speech impairment; a language impairment; muscular dystrophy; Phelan-McDermid syndrome; Prader-Willi syndrome; spina bifida; Williams syndrome; anaphylaxis; dual sensory impairment; rare diseases which affect patient populations of fewer than 200,000 Americans; specific learning disabilities; and other health impairments as defined by law. Students are also eligible if (1) they are identified as hearing impaired or visually impaired; (2) they have had a traumatic brain injury; (3) they are hospitalized or homebound with a medically diagnosed physical or psychiatric condition for more than six months; or (4) they are students aged 3, 4, or 5 who are considered “high-risk” due to developmental delay.  

(Last updated July 15, 2024) 

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Rules and Regulations

Program Guidelines

• Income Limit: None; if New, Priority to 185% FPL and Foster Care Prior Year Public School Requirement: None
• Enrollment Cap: 72,615, Plus Exemptions, With Escalator
• Account Cap: 100% of Formula Funding for SPED (Level I to III), 100% of Cost of Matrix of Services (Level IV or V)
• Testing Mandates: State or National, Students with Disabilities Exempt if Testing Not Appropriate
• Special Needs Pathway: Exclusively Special Needs

Participant and Family Guidelines

• Education Requirements: N/A
• Parent Supplemented Funds/Scholarships: Allowed
• Disbursement Payment/Frequency: Quarterly
• Reimbursement Allowed: Yes
• Miscellaneous: None

Education Provider Guidelines

• Accreditation/Approval: State
• Employment Standards: Background checks for teachers and other employees who work with scholarship recipients; Teachers must have a bachelor’s degree, three years of teaching experience or special expertise
• Nondiscrimination: Federal
• Calendar/Curriculum/Attendance: None
• Financial: Surety bond or letter of credit if in operation <3 years; Independent financial report if >$250,000 in scholarships
• Miscellaneous: None

Scholarship Organization Guidelines

• Scholarship to Contribution Ratio: N/A
• State Reporting: Quarterly reporting; Scholarship recipients, scholarships awarded and timeliness of reimbursements
• Financial: Surety bond or letter of credit of $100,000 or 25% of scholarships, whichever is greater; Annual CPA audit
• Award Priority: Renewing students, then low-income students (185% FPL or less) or students in foster care
• Miscellaneous: None

(Last updated July 15, 2024)

Governing Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 1002.394

(Last updated July 15, 2024) 

Legal History

On January 4, 2019, the Florida Supreme Court in Citizens for Strong Schools v. Florida State Board of Education rejected a claim that the state did not adequately fund education, marking the end of a 10-year litigation effort. The high court also preserved Florida’s school choice programs due to plaintiffs’ failure to adequately preserve their arguments throughout the litigation. The high court affirmed two lower court rulings (Citizens for Strong Schools, Inc. v. Florida State Board of Education, No. CA-4534 (Fla. 2d. Jud. Cir. May 24, 2016); and Citizens for Strong Schools v. Florida State Board of Education, No. 1D16-2862 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Dec. 13, 2017)) holding that plaintiffs had no standing to sue regarding the tax-credit scholarship program, and that Florida’s school choice programs did not divert state funding or have any detrimental effect on Florida’s system of public schools. Notwithstanding the Florida Supreme Court’s prior ruling against vouchers (Bush v. Holmes, 886 So. 2d 340 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004), aff’d on other grounds, 919 So. 2d 392 (Fla. 2006)), the Court also held that the McKay voucher program was beneficial and constitutional. Citizens for Strong Schools v. Florida State Board of Education, case No. SC18-67 (FL. Jan 4, 2019). 

 (Last updated July 15, 2024)