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FLORIDA

The American Federation for Children – Florida seeks to empower families, especially lower-income families, with the freedom to choose the best K-12 education for their children. We are a project of the American Federation for Children (AFC).

FLORIDA’S SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAMS:

Tax Credit Scholarship for Bullied and Harassed Students - Hope Scholarship Program

Voucher Program for Students with Special Needs - John M. McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities

Tax Credit Scholarship

Tuition Tax Credit

Voucher Program - Family Empowerment Scholarship Program

Special Needs Education Savings Account Program - Gardiner Scholarship Program

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Tax Credit Scholarship for Bullied and Harassed Students - Hope Scholarship Program

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

  • Florida public school in kindergarten through grade 12 who has been subjected to an incident of battery; harassment; hazing; bullying; kidnapping; physical attack; robbery; sexual offenses, harassment, assault, or battery; threat or intimidation; or fighting at school the opportunity to transfer to another public school with capacity or enroll in an approved private school under the Hope Scholarship.

Voucher Program for Students with Special Needs - John M. McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

  • Student must: 
    • Have an individualized education plan (IEP) or have an accommodation plan under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 
    • Have spent the prior school year in attendance at a Florida public school or the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind 

  • Children of U.S. military personnel who are transferring are exempt from the prior year public school attendance requirement

  • Children who received specialized instructional services under the Voluntary Pre-K Education Program (VPK) the previous school year are exempt from prior year public school attendance requirements.

Tax Credit Scholarship

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

  • Family income cannot exceed 260% of the federal poverty level ($68,900 for a family of four in 2021-22) for a partial scholarship
     
  • Renewing students get first priority. Students with family income at or below 185% of the federal poverty level ($49,025 for family of four in 2021-22), renewing students, and students in foster care or out-of-home care get priority.

Tuition Tax Credit

Voucher Program - Family Empowerment Scholarship Program

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

  • The student’s household income level does not exceed 300% of the federal poverty level ($79,500 for a family of four in 2021-22) or the student is on the direct certification list (list of children who qualify for the food assistance program, the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Program, or the Food Distribution on Indian Reservations program); or

  • The student is currently placed, or during the previous state fiscal year was placed, in foster care or in out-of-home care; and

  • The student is eligible to enroll in kindergarten or has spent the prior school year (2018-19) in attendance at a Florida public school. Prior attendance means the student was enrolled in and in attendance at a Florida public school during both the October and February student counts. A sibling of a student who is participating in the scholarship program under the above eligibility criteria is eligible for a scholarship if the student resides in the same household as the sibling.

  • Students who received a Florida Tax Credit Scholarship in the previous year and then lost scholarship funding.

Special Needs Education Savings Account Program - Gardiner Scholarship Program

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

  • Student must have been diagnosed with one of the following: anaphylaxis, autism, cerebral palsy, deafness, Down syndrome, dual sensory impaired, high-risk, hospital or homebound, intellectual disability, muscular dystrophy, Phelan-McDermid syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare disease as defined by the National Organization for Rare Disorders, spina bifida, traumatic brain injury, visually impaired, Williams syndrome, or be considered a high-risk 3-, 4- or 5-year-old child with a developmental delay in cognition, language or physical development

  • Student must have either an individual education plan (IEP) from a Florida school district or a formal diagnosis from a licensed physician or psychologist

PARENT REQUIREMENTS

  • Parent must sign an agreement with the scholarship funding organization (SFO) annually to: 
    • Affirm that the student is enrolled in a program that meets regular school attendance requirements 
    • Use program funds only for authorized purposes, including not submitting payment to both Medicare and Gardiner for the same service 
    • Ensure that the student takes all appropriate standardized assessments, either the state assessment test or a nationally recognized norm-referenced test 
    • Affirm that the parent will not transfer any college saving funds to another beneficiary 
    • Affirm that the parent will not take possession of any funding provided by the state
  • Education Savings Account

FLORIDA VOICES FOR CHOICE

Hear from parents, students, educators and advocates on the power of school choice in your state.

AFC BOOTS ON THE GROUND

Our team focuses its time and resources on supporting state-level efforts to provide low-income and middle-income families with access to great schools through private school choice.

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