A Florida Promise: School Choice
Providing Options for Parents
“Choices abound in every aspect of our life – except education. In what is arguably the most important area of our lives, families have virtually no choice.” Jeb Bush
All students can learn, but different students need different environments to learn and flourish academically, emotionally and physically. To better meet the needs of students, Florida created several school choice programs.
- McKay Scholarships
- Corporate Tax Scholarships
- Charter Schools
- Virtual Schools
- Opportunity Scholarships
McKay Scholarships
Students with physical, developmental or learning disabilities, such as blindness, autism and dyslexia, may need specialized care or learning environment to succeed. Yet, providing high quality services to this deserving population within the public school system is difficult and costly. So the state created options within both the public and private sector to better serve these students.
In 2001, Florida created the McKay Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities. Under the scholarship program, parents of students with disabilities can choose the school – public or private – that best meets the needs of their children.
Today, this school choice program serves more than 17,000 students with disabilities, less than 5 percent of the more than 400,000 students with special needs in the public school system. The scholarship is around $7,000, less than what it would cost if the necessary services were provided in the public system.
Learn more about McKay Scholarships.
Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship
Creating a financial incentive to encourage private support of education alternatives was another opportunity to help low income families provide a quality education for their children.
In 2001, Florida established a corporate tax credit for contributions to not-for-profit organizations that award scholarships to children of low income families to attend a private or public school of their choice. Scholarships to attend a private school are worth up to $3750, for tuition, books and transportation. Scholarships of up to $500 for transportation to public schools in neighboring districts are also eligible for the tax credit.
Corporations earn a tax credit, dollar-for-dollar, for up to 75 percent of its state income tax liability. The state may award $88 million in tax credits annually
Since the program was launched, private organizations have awarded 51,181 scholarships – 41 percent to African American students and 22 percent to Hispanic students.
Learn more about Corporate Tax Credit Scholarships.
Learn more about the scholarship organizations who provide the Corporate Tax Credit Scholarships.
Charter Schools
Since its inception in 1996, charter schools have become the fastest growing school choice option in Florida. They are an important example of the success for school choice reform. From alternative curriculums to special needs programs, these charter schools meet a variety of needs. Florida currently has 356 charter schools which makes us the third largest in the nation. Charter schools serve over 98,000 Florida students.
Charter schools are authorized and supported by local school districts but are run by private citizens under a “charter” with the local school district. They are free to determine specialized curriculum and programs. In exchange for that freedom, charter schools are expected to perform as well as or better than the traditional public schools. Charter school students do take the FCAT and their schools are graded by the state.
Learn more about Charter School options.
Virtual Schools
Florida has three virtual schools. The Florida Virtual School began as a grant-based pilot project in 1997. It is a grade 7-12 public virtual school, offering over 85 online courses free to middle and high school students. All Florida students whether public, charter, private or home educated are eligible to enroll either full-time or for individual courses. Certified teachers guide students through the course and communicate with them regularly via phone and email. Over 68,000 students have taken advantage of having access to courses anytime during the day.
Learn more about Florida’s Virtual School.
Florida also has two kindergarten through eighth grade virtual schools. These are full-time programs. Students enrolled in these schools receive a computer, printer, internet connection and textbooks. For more information, visit www.connectionsacademy.com and www.flva.org.
Opportunity Scholarships
A public education system that traps poor students in failing schools is fundamentally flawed. Low-income families that can’t afford to send their children to private school have few or no options.
In 1999, Florida proposed the first-ever statewide voucher program, called Opportunity Scholarships, to give parents the ability to move their children out of failing schools. Under the program, students in schools that received an “F” for two out of four years were allowed to attend a public or private school of their choice. If parents chose a private school, the state would pay the cost of tuition up to a set amount. The scholarships provided the necessary financial resources for low income parents to choose a higher performing school for their child.
In 2006, the program provided scholarships to 734 students, 95 percent of whom were minority, including 64 percent African American and 30 percent Hispanic. Of the 56 schools that participated in the program, 67 percent were religions, 32 percent were non-religious and 2 percent were military. The average annual tuition paid by the state was $4206, about 60 percent of the average cost for students in public school.
On January 5, 2006, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Opportunity Scholarships unconstitutional. Students in the program were allowed to finish the school year in the school of their choice. Today, students in failing schools only have the option to attend another higher performing public school.
