Florida Scholarships Give K-12 Students Educational Options

Scholarship Fast Facts

2024-25 Fast Facts:

54,239 students enrolled on the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC).

253,370 students enrolled on Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO).

59,925 students with the Personalized Education Program scholarship (PEP).

More than 120,000 students on FTC or FES-EO qualify for free or reduced-price lunches

55% Black or Hispanic.

39% of students live in single-parent households.

2,278 participating private schools.

Download the Private School Scholarship Fact Sheet ›

Download the Personalized Education Program (PEP) Fact Sheet ›

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

Florida’s two private school scholarship programs, the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program and the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO) give students learning options not available to them because of their financial circumstances.

Both programs provide private school scholarships or help with transportation costs to an out-of-district public school.

Florida also offers the first-of-its-kind education savings account program for parents wishing to provide a home education program for their child called the Personalized Education Program (PEP).

Urban Institute Study

A first-of-its-kind student on the long-term effects of the scholarship program found that FTC scholarship students are up to 43 percent more likely to go to college and up to 29 percent more likely to earn an associate's degree. See fact sheet here.

Florida Department of Education Reports

More than a decade of research by academics at the University of Florida, Northwestern University and now Florida State University, have found that once on the scholarship program, students who had been struggling academically now maintain pace with the average student nationally.

The Typical Student

Average Household Income

More than 120,000 students qualify for free or reduced price lunches.

Black or Hispanic

19 percent of students are Black and 36 percent are Hispanic. About 60 percent of students are nonwhite.

Lives with one parent

39 percent of students live in single-parent households

Has struggled academically

A state-commissioned researcher has determined that scholarship students “tend to be among the lowest-performing students in their prior school, regardless of the performance level of their public school.”

The Typical School

Small in size

The average total enrollment is 155 students.

Scholarships growing in popularity

53 percent of students are using a scholarship to help pay tuition.

Serves elementary students

Of the more than 183,000 students served, 31 percent of all scholarship students are in grades K-2 and 51 percent are in grades K-5.

Faith-based

61 percent of private schools identified as religious, though 82 percent of all students attend a religious school. Catholic schools are the single largest religious group.

Transparency and Legal Requirements

Scholarship students are tested

Every scholarship student in grades 3-10 is required to take a nationally norm-referenced test approved by the state.

Academic gains are measured and reported

A University of Florida research team each year publicly reports the test gains in reading and math, both statewide and for schools with at least 30 students.

Scholarship money is monitored

Every school receiving more than $250,000 in scholarship money each year must file a financial report by an independent CPA.

The History of Choice in Florida

Read Program History

Florida Scholarship Law

Florida’s education choice programs are governed in the Florida Statutes chapter 1002. In 2001, the main law was 1,332 words. In 2022, it was 27,406 (governed by 1002.394, 1002.395, 1002.40, 1002.42 and 1002.421.)

Read more about program rules and accountability here.

Reports

Academics

In 2006, the State Legislature required that every scholarship student take a nationally norm-referenced test approved by the state Department of Education (DOE) every year. Those test scores are reported to a research team that is under contract with DOE to write an annual evaluation. Evaluations are currently done by researchers at the Learning Systems Institute at Florida State University.

2008 Baseline Report on Test Scores

2009 Report on Test Score Gains

2010 Report on Test Score Gains

2011 Report on Test Score Gains

2012 Report on Test Score Gains

2013 Report on Test Score Gains

2014 Report on Test Score Gains

2015 Report on Test Score Gains

2016 Report on Test Score Gains

2017 Report on Test Score Gains

2018 Report on Test Score Gains

2019 Report on Test Score Gains