Educational Choice in Florida

Education choice isn’t just about charter schools or private schools anymore. Education choice is about giving parents a variety of options for their children. That's where Florida excels.

Giving Parents a Variety of Options

Today, 1.7 million students in Florida attend schools of choice. Most students select from choice programs in their local school district including open enrollment, magnet schools, International Bachelorette programs and career and professional academies. Of these students 1.2 million are choosing options financed by taxpayers or corporate donors.

Scholarship programs run by Step Up For Students, such as the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Hope Scholarship, Reading Scholarship, and the Family Empowerment Scholarship, constitute a small but vibrant part of Florida’s changing education landscape.

The Florida Education Landscape
Pre-K through 12

309,730

Students in 658 Charter Schools privately operated under contract with districts.

273,377

Students in Open Enrollment in 53 school districts.

248,199

Students in Choice and Magnet programs at district schools.

237,290

Students in 2,689 Private Schools.

145,373

Students in Career and Professional Academies at 579 high schools.

133,870

Students awarded private PreKindergarten Scholarships for 4-year-olds.

104,091

Students awarded Tax Credit Scholarships for lower-income students at 1,825 private schools.

91,596

Students in Home Education while reporting results to districts.

55,119

Students in Advanced International Certificate programs for 11th and 12th graders.

36,331*

Students awarded McKay Scholarships for special-needs students (30,695 in 1,525 private schools and 5,636 in district schools).

13,884

Students awarded Gardiner Scholarships for special-needs students.

13,575

Students in International Baccalaureate at district schools.

11,175

Students in full-time Virtual Instruction.

7,319

Students in Lab Schools run by five universities.

3,949

Students in School Transfers related to state or federal performance thresholds.

=1,684,878

Students at High Schools of Their Choice

Source:

2018-19 Florida Department of Education data.

*The 2018-19 changing landscape cannot be compared with past years due to changes in Survey data.