Legislative Updates

What you need 
to know

House Bills 1403, 1361, and 5101 were passed by the Florida Legislature, and they are currently awaiting the Governor’s signature.

If signed by the Governor, these new pieces of legislation would take effect July 1 and make the following changes to Florida’s scholarship programs listed below.

We encourage you to check back in the coming weeks for updates regarding the implementation of the legislative changes.

Is Your Family Interested in a Scholarship?

Learn more about the different scholarships available for your student and apply today.

Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO) and Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) Programs

  • Allow active-duty military members who have permanent change of station orders to Florida to apply for scholarships before they have a Florida address.
  • Prohibit families from applying for multiple scholarships for the same student at the same time.
  • Require, for RENEWAL FES-EO students, the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) to release funds to scholarship-funding organizations (SFOs) no later than Aug. 1, Nov. 1, Feb. 1, and April 1.
  • Require, for NEW FES-EO students, the FLDOE to release funds to SFOs no later than Sept. 1, Nov. 1, Feb. 1, and April 1.
  • Require SFOs to release payments for full-time tuition and fees within 7 business days after approval by the parent and the private school.
  • Require SFOs to publish a purchasing handbook by Aug. 1, 2024, and by July 1 in all following years. The handbook must include a list of prohibited items and services, and items or services that require pre-authorization or additional documentation. The handbook must be published on the SFOs’ websites and provided to the Commissioner of Education.

Family Empowerment Scholarship
for Unique Abilities (FES-UA)

  • Expand the availability of scholarships by increasing the cap for the 2024-25 school year to 72,615 students. Categorical exemptions, for students to be considered outside of the program cap, remain.
  • Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, the cap on available scholarships will annually increase by 5% (up from 3%) of the state’s exceptional student education enrollment, minus gifted students. The cap will increase by an additional 1% following any year in which 95% of available scholarships are funded.
  • Allow parents to use scholarship funds to pay tuition and fees for a prekindergarten program offered by an eligible private school.
  • Allow a student to be 3 or 4 years old during the year in which the student applies, instead of requiring the student to be 3 or 4 before applying.
  • Engage UCF’s Center for Students with Unique Abilities to create purchasing guidelines for the FES-UA program with assistance from Florida’s SFOs and input from parents of participating students.
  • Require, for RENEWAL FES-UA students, the Florida Department of Education to release funds to SFOs no later than Aug. 1, Nov. 1, Feb. 1, and April 1.
  • Require, for NEW FES-UA students, the FLDOE to release funds to SFOs no later than Sept. 1, Nov. 1, Feb. 1, and April 1.
  • Require SFOs to release payments for full-time tuition and fees within 7 business days after approval by the parent and the private school.

Personalized Education for Every Student

Explore the new scholarship program that focuses on personalized education.

Personalized Education Program (PEP)

  • Allow PEP students to use scholarship funds to pay for tuition at private schools where they spend at least two days per week on the school’s physical campus and their learning plan accounts for the remaining instructional time.

Hope Scholarship Program

  • Merge the Hope Scholarship Program with the FES-EO and FTC scholarship programs.
  • Direct the eligible financial contributions to the FTC scholarship program.
  • Allow students with bullying incidents documented by their public schools to qualify for FES-EO or FTC scholarships.

The Changing Educational Landscape

See the recent numbers behind education choice here in Florida.

Transportation Scholarship

  • Repeal the current Transportation Scholarship for public school students.
  • Create a new Transportation Stipend, which will award $750 per eligible household for K-8 students to supplement transportation costs to a Florida, non-virtual public school that is different than their assigned school.
  • Prioritize students who received a Transportation Scholarship in the 23-24 school year to receive transportation stipends for the 24-25 school year.

New Worlds Scholarship Accounts

  • Expands eligibility to include Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) students with substantial deficiencies in early literacy and/or math skills, based on their most recent progress monitoring results.
  • Increases scholarship award amount from $500 to $1200 per student.
  • Requires the Department of Education to release scholarship funding to the SFO within 45 days of a student being found eligible for the program.
  • Establishes that parents/guardians will use Step Up For Students direct-pay platforms to use their Education Savings Account (ESA) funds beginning in the '24-25 school year.
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