Urban Institute, The Effects of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program on College Enrollment and Graduation: An Update, February 2019Įmail interview, Jeremy Redfern, Deputy Press Secretary, Executive Office of the Governor, Oct. Step Up for Students, How the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities Worksįlorida Senate, 2018 Florida Statutes, Florida Unique Abilities Partner Program Step Up for Students, Basic Program Facts about the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC)įlorida Department of Education, McKay Scholarship Ron DeSantis campaign website, Boost Classroom Spending For Students and Teachers, Expand Choice, Vocational and Technical Education, and Hold the Line on College Tuition Phone interview, Billy Townsend, former Polk County School Board member, June 22, 2021 ReimaginEd, The 20-year-old scholarship success that might not have been, June 11, 2021Įmail interview, Scott Kent, Step Up for Students, June 23, 2021 A 2019 study from the Urban Institute found that 58% of Florida tax credit scholarship students leave the program after two years or less.Īnd although policies enacted under DeSantis' administration could mean more students can take advantage of school choice programs, these programs have largely been consolidated under broader umbrellas, Townsend said.īased on the increase of students enrolled in the scholarship programs and pro-student-choice policies that have been enacted under DeSantis' administration, we rate this Promise Kept. He notes these scholarships often have a high turnover rate and that enrollment numbers don't necessarily reflect how many students stay. By the same token, the Gardiner Scholarship grew from more than 14,000 students in 2019-20 to more than 26,000 two years later, an 86% jump.įormer Polk County School Board member Billy Townsend, who has been an outspoken critic of Florida's education system, is skeptical of these numbers. In the 2021-22 school year, more than 165,000 received scholarships, up 16% from 142,736 the previous year. The number of students enrolled in income-based scholarships like the Family Empowerment Scholarship and the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship have increased since 2019, according to numbers Kent provided. The program's expansion lumped the former McKay Scholarship and Gardiner Scholarship into the FES program for students with unique abilities, defined partly as students with a physical or intellectual impairment that limits a major life activity in some way. ![]() ![]() Raising the income eligibility for the Family Empowerment Scholarship/Florida Tax Credit scholarships Įliminating a requirement to have attended public school the year prior Īnd exempting certain students from income eligibility requirements and program participation caps. Step Up for Students spokesperson Scott Kent said the scholarship changes enabled even more students to take advantage of school choice programs by:Ĭreating more spots and eliminating the waiting list for the Florida Tax Credit scholarship With the Legislature's formation of the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Education Options program, or FES, in 2019 and its subsequent expansion of the program in 2020's HB 70's HB 7045 DeSantis achieved his promised expansion. ![]() Ron DeSantis campaigned on the promise that he would "expand choice scholarship programs," particularly by raising the number of participants for the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program and effectively eliminating its waitlist. This is a marked increase from the 15,585 students the scholarship enrolled in 2002-03, its first recorded full year. This school year, 93,141 lower-income students received Florida Tax Credit scholarships, according to Step Up for Students, the nonprofit administering the funds. ![]() Providing public funding for students to attend institutions other than public schools in an effort known as school choice has been a cornerstone of the Republican platform in Florida since the Florida Corporate Income Tax Credit Scholarship program was created in 2001 under Gov.
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