More military families will be able to qualify for state K-12 education choice scholarships due to a rule change approved today by the Florida Board of Education.
The rule was made in response to the passage of HB 7045, which expanded scholarship eligibility to dependents of active duty military families.
The change approved today clarifies that rule to expand eligibility to dependents of military reservists.
Dakeyan Graham, executive director of independent education and parental choice for the Florida Department of Education, told board members the change was proposed at stakeholders’ requests during a series of community meetings held after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill in May.
Following presentation of an overview of the changes included in HB 7045, Graham said Florida “continues to lead the nation in our choice options.”
Billed as the largest expansion of education choice in Florida history, the new law merged the state’s two scholarship programs for students with unique abilities, McKay and Gardiner, and combined them with the Family Empowerment Scholarship program approved in 2019.
One category of the Family Empowerment Scholarship now serves students with unique abilities and special needs, while the other will continue to serve lower-income families.
The law left intact the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program, which is funded by corporate tax donations, and the Hope Scholarship program for students who have experienced bullying at district schools. More than 160,000 students across Florida participate in K-12 scholarship programs. The law is expected to add as many as 61,000 new students and cost about $200 million, according to a legislative analysis.
The law simplifies eligibility requirements by aligning qualifying income levels of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship with the Family Empowerment Scholarship. The two programs previously had different income requirements.
The legislation also provides greater convenience for families by placing management of the Family Empowerment program under nonprofit scholarship organizations, which include Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog.
Under the legislation, families currently receiving flexible spending dollars under the Gardiner program will continue to receive their scholarships as education savings accounts, with McKay’s traditional scholarships converting to education savings accounts starting in 2022-23. Families currently participating in each program will receive whichever dollar amounts were higher, whether that was in the previous law or in HB 7045.
One aspect of HB 7045 that has drawn enthusiastic support is elimination of a requirement that students attend a district school the previous year to qualify for the scholarship. That rule resulted in some families whose incomes took a hit during the pandemic from being turned down for scholarships that would have helped them keep their children in private schools.
