The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program was expanded in 2010 to serve more low-income students, making it both the largest and most accountable program of its type in the nation. The law lets the program grow to better meet student demand. The tax credit was increased from $353 million to $630 million in 2019-20 and can grow by 25 percent any year after which 90 percent of the cap is met. At the same time, the scholarship amount will eventually grow to 80 percent of the basic operational spending formula for public school students.

The bill passed the House and Senate by a bipartisan majority of 122-34, which included the support of nearly half the Democrats, a majority of the Black Caucus and all but two in the Hispanic Caucus. Al Lawson, the Senate’s dean and an African-American legislator from Tallahassee, stood to make the closing arguments in support of the bill. “This gives us a unique opportunity because some of these kids are the poorest of the poor who get this opportunity to attend these schools,” Sen. Lawson said. “I know in my community how these kids are doing and how much they have been able to benefit from this, and I will tell you that you should just embrace these kids and listen to these kids and what they tell you about how rewarding it has been.”

The day the Florida Senate voted to approve the expansion – on March 24, 2010 – some 5,521 mostly low-income students, parents, educators and advocates marched to the Capitol in the largest parental choice rally in the nation.