House Bill 1403: School Choice

HB 1403: School Choice

Florida’s school choice programs primarily consist of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) including students in a personalized education program (PEP), the Family Empowerment Scholarship for students attending private school (FES-EO), and the Family Empowerment Scholarship for students with disabilities (FES-UA). 

Effective Changes

Private School Participation in Scholarship Programs

• The bill expands the scope of the requirements that participating private schools provide “regular and direct” contact with teachers for students participating in PEP. Current requirements for “regular and direct contact” do not contemplate the instruction of a PEP student directed by his or her parent. Under the bill, regular and direct contact may be satisfied for a PEP student by maintaining contact with teachers at the private school’s physical location at least two school days per week and the student learning plan must address the remaining instructional time. 
• The bill authorizes the DOE to provide guidance to a private school submitting a proposed transition-to-work program plan and provides that the school must consider any guidance provided by the DOE regarding the school’s plan.
• The bill standardizes the requirements for private schools participating in the state’s scholarship programs by requiring participating schools to provide to the SFO all documentation required for a student's participation, including confirmation of the student's admission to the private school, the private school's and student's fee schedules, and any other information required by the SFO to process scholarship payment.
• Private schools must provide such information by the deadlines established by the SFO. The bill makes clear that a student is not eligible to receive a quarterly scholarship payment under any of the state’s choice scholarship programs if the private school fails to meet the deadlines.

Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program - FTC Scholarship Eligibility 

• The bill expands eligibility for FTC scholarships to the dependent children of an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces who has received permanent change of station orders to Florida or whose home of record or state of residence, at the time of renewal, is Florida. Additionally, any student that received a scholarship under the Hope Scholarship Program scholarship during the 2023-2024 school year is deemed eligible for an FTC scholarship.
• The bill clarifies that “enrolled in a public school” for the purposes of scholarship eligibility includes enrollment in the Florida School for Competitive Academics, the Florida Virtual School, and the Florida Scholars Academy. The bill also clarifies that a public school student receiving a scholarship under the New Worlds Scholarship program is authorized to receive a transportation scholarship.
• The bill provides that a student participating in FTC who uses scholarship funds to enroll full-time in a private school will have his or her scholarship account closed and remaining funds reverted to the state if the student remains unenrolled at an eligible private school for 30 days. Additionally, the bill clarifies that a student no longer eligible for a scholarship award if a student enrolls full-time in public school.

Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program - FTC Scholarship Award

• The bill requires that a SFO (Scholarship Funding Organization) establish a process for parents receiving an FTC scholarship for full time private school enrollment to renew their participation, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, with a renewal timeline beginning February 1 and ending April 30 of the prior school year. Renewal must be contingent on confirmation of admission to an eligible private school. The process must require that parents confirm that the scholarship is being renewed or declined by May 31.
• The SFO must establish a process for parents to apply for a new FTC scholarship for the purpose of full time private school enrollment. The process must require that parents confirm that the scholarship is being accepted or declined by a date set by the SFO.
• Similarly, the bill requires a SFO to establish a process for parents of students participating in PEP to apply for a new scholarship or renew an existing scholarship. The process must require that renewals and new applications be made between February 1 and April 30, beginning with the school year prior to 2025-2026. The process must require that parents confirm that the scholarship is being accepted, renewed, or declined, as appropriate, by May 31.

Authorized Uses for a FTC Scholarship 

The bill clarifies the authorized use of scholarship funds for instructional materials. Specifically, equipment used as instructional materials may only be purchased for subjects in language arts and reading, mathematics, social studies, and science.

Personalized Education Programs

• Similar to students transferring from out of state, a private school, or home education program, the bill provides that a middle grades student who transfers into the state's public school system from PEP after the beginning of the second term of grade 8 is not required to meet the civics education requirement for promotion from the middle grades if the student's transcript documents passage of three courses in social studies or two year-long courses in social studies that include coverage of civics education.
• Additionally, if a PEP student transfers to a Florida public high school and the student's transcript shows only course credit in Algebra I or high school reading or English Language Arts (ELA) II or III, the student must pass the statewide, standardized Algebra I end-of-course (EOC) assessment and grade 10 ELA assessment in order to earn a standard high school diploma unless the student earned a comparative or concordant score. If the student’s transcript shows a final course grade and course credit in Algebra I, Geometry, Biology I, or United States History, the transferring course final grade and credit shall be honored without the student taking the requisite statewide, standardized EOC assessment and without the assessment results constituting 30 percent of the student's final course grade.

Responsibilities of FTC Scholarship Recipients

• A parent applying for, or renewing, a FTC scholarship for a student who will be enrolling in private school full time or for PEP participation must comply with the scholarship application or renewal processes and requirements established by the SFO, including, but not limited to, application and acceptance deadlines as a part of the parent’s responsibilities for program participation. A parent forfeits participation in the scholarship program for failure to comply with these responsibilities.
• The bill clarifies that a parent can only apply for one scholarship at a time, whether under the FTC or FES scholarship programs.

Disbursement of FTC Scholarship Award 

• The bill requires that the DOE notify the SFOs of the deadlines for submitting the verified list of eligible students. A SFO must submit the verified list of students and any information requested by the DOE in a timely manner. 
• The bill aligns the FTC program with the FES program by stating that funds received by parents under the FTC scholarship programs are not income for tax purposes. 

Provisions Amending both FES-EO and FES-UA Scholarships 

• The bill clarifies that the ineligibility of a student based on enrollment in a public school only applies if the student enrolls full-time and that “enrolled in a public school” for the purposes of scholarship eligibility includes enrollment in the Florida School for Competitive Academics, 139 the Florida Virtual School, and the Florida Scholars Academy. The bill also clarifies that a public school student receiving a scholarship under the New Worlds Scholarship program is authorized to receive a transportation scholarship.
• The bill requires that a SFO establish a process for parents receiving a FES scholarship to renew their participation, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, with a renewal timeline beginning February 1 and ending April 30 of the prior school year. Renewal must be contingent on confirmation of admission to an eligible private school. The process must require that a parent confirm that the scholarship will be renewed or declined by May 31.
• The SFO must establish a process for new FES scholarship applicants, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, to submit their application beginning no earlier than February 1 of the prior school year until November 15. Applications received by the SFO after this date will be considered, on a first come first served basis, for the following fiscal year. The process must require that a parent confirm that the scholarship will be accepted or declined by December 15.
• The bill requires that the SFO, for each renewing scholarship student, verify the student’s continued eligibility to participate in the program at least 30 days prior to each quarterly payment. The SFO must submit a verified list of eligible scholarship students to the DOE, by a deadline set by the DOE . Upon receiving the verified list, the DOE must release to the SFO for deposit into the student’s account in quarterly payments no later than August 1, November 1, February 1 and April 1.
• Similarly, for new scholarship applicants, the SFO must verify a student’s eligibility to participate in the program at least 30 days prior to each quarterly payment. The SFO must submit a verified list of eligible scholarship students to the DOE, by a deadline set by the DOE . Upon receiving the verified list, the DOE must release to the SFO for deposit into the student’s account in quarterly payments no later than September 1, November 1, February 1, and April 1. 
• The bill clarifies that a parent can only apply for one scholarship at a time, whether under the FES or FTC scholarship programs, and requires a parent applying for, or renewing, a FES-EO or FES-UA scholarship to comply with the scholarship application or renewal processes and requirements established by the SFO, including, but not limited to, application and acceptance deadlines as a part of the parents’ responsibilities for program participation. A parent forfeits participation in the scholarship program for failure to comply with these responsibilities.
• A participating private school must confirm a student’s admission to the private school and provide any other information required by an SFO to process scholarship payments for full-time tuition and fees at the private school.
• The DOE’s release of state funds for any scholarship under FES by the DOE is contingent on verification that the SFO follows the spend down requirements for eligible contributions under the FTC scholarship program based upon the SFO's submitted verified list of eligible scholarship students.
• The bill requires that the SFO make payment for tuition and fees for students enrolled full-time in eligible private schools within 7 days of approval by the parent and private school.
• Within 30 days of the release of funds to the SFO, the bill requires the SFO to report to the DOE the amount of funds distributed for student scholarships. If the amount of funds distributed is less than the amount received by the SFO, the DOE is authorized to adjust the amount of subsequent quarterly payments to account for the overpayment. 

FES-EO Scholarship Specific Provisions

• The bill expands eligibility for a FES-EO scholarship to the dependent children of an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces who has received permanent change of station orders to Florida.
• The bill provides that any student that received a HSP scholarship during the 2023-2024 school year is deemed eligible for an FES-EO scholarship.
• The bill clarifies the authorized use of scholarship funds for instructional materials. Specifically, equipment used as instructional materials may only be purchased for subjects in language arts and reading, mathematics, social studies, and science.
• The bill requires that a FES-EO scholarship account for a student attending private school full-time must be closed and remaining funds reverted to the state if the student is unenrolled from an eligible private school for 30 days. 

FES-UA Scholarship Specific Provisions

• The bill expands access to the FES-UA program, by increasing the growth rate of the cap on the number of eligible FES-UA scholarships to 5 percent of the state’s total exceptional student education full-time equivalent student population, not including gifted students. Additionally, the bill provides an acceleration mechanism whereby the growth rate will increase by 1 percent for any year where more than 95 percent of the available FES-UA scholarships were funded the prior year.
• The bill expands eligibility for a FES-UA scholarship to the dependent children of an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces who has received permanent change of station orders to Florida or whose home of record or state of residence, at the time of renewal, is Florida and clarifies that a student need only be 3 or 4 years of age during the year in which his or her parent applies for a FES-UA scholarship.
• The bill removes the provision of law relating to FES-UA wait list as the newly created application and renewal deadlines and required SFO processes provide the framework for handling all FES-UA applications.
• The bill expands the authorized uses for FES-UA scholarship funds to include prekindergarten programs offered by eligible private schools which participate in the state’s scholarship programs and offers education to students in any grades K-12.
• The bill requires a SFO to notify parents of students receiving a FES-UA scholarship of available state and local services, including, but not limited to, vocational rehabilitation and blind services and defines transition services as a coordinated set of activities which are focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of a student with a disability to facilitate the student’s movement from school to post-school activities, based on the specific student’s needs. 
• The bill requires that the parent of a student receiving a FES-UA scholarship that enrolls full-time in a private school, to approve each payment to the eligible private school before scholarship funds may be released to the school. The parent is prohibited from designating any entity or individual associated with the eligible private school as the parent’s attorney in fact to approve the transfer. This change aligns the requirements of FES-UA with other scholarship requirements used to pay eligible private school tuition and fees.

The Hope Scholarship Program

• Given the expansion of eligibility under the FTC and FES-EO scholarship programs and the low utilization rate of the HSP, the bill repeals the scholarship funding portion of the Hope Scholarship Program, but maintains requirements for parental notification of the opportunity to enroll at another public school and scholarship eligibility to attend an eligible private school under the FES and FTC scholarship programs for students subjected to a specified incident, such as bullying or harassment. The bill makes it clear that all students who received a HSP scholarship in the 2023-2024 school year are eligible for scholarships under the FTC and FES-EO scholarship programs. 
• Additionally, the bill maintains the tax credits created for the HSP and transfers the tax credit revenue to the FTC scholarship program to provide additional funding for scholarships under that program. The bill updates the provisions of law governing eligible contributions to the FTC scholarship program to include those eligible contributions previously allocated to the HSP.

DOE Scholarship Oversight and SFO Administration - DOE Oversight

The bill requires that the DOE notify all SFOs of the deadlines for submitting the verified list of scholarship students and clarifies that in conducting its cross-check of the list of scholarship students provided by a SFO, the DOE must use the full-time equivalent student membership data to avoid duplication.

The bill updates the requirements for the annual report the DOE must require from SFOs to include the following information:

• The number of scholarship applications received, the number of applications processed within 30 days after receipt, and the number of incomplete applications received;
• Data related to reimbursement submissions, including the average number of days for a reimbursement to be reviewed and the average number of days for a reimbursement to be approved; and
• Any parent input and feedback collected regarding the program.

DOE Scholarship Oversight and SFO Administration -SFO Administration

• The bill requires that each SFO establish a process to collect input and feedback from parents, private schools, and providers before implementing substantial modifications or enhancements to the reimbursement process.
• For an SFO administering the FTC scholarship program, the bill requires that a SFO annually expend 100 percent of any eligible contributions from the prior fiscal year and at least 75 percent of eligible contributions during the fiscal year in which they are received.
• The bill requires that the calculation of the 25 percent authorized to be carried forward occur on June 30, rather than September 30, as previously authorized. Any funds that are in excess of the authorized 25 percent must be used to provide scholarships or transferred to other SFOs to provide scholarships. The early deadline provided for in the bill will assist in getting available funds to a SFO that can use them for scholarships earlier. These changes will maximize the number of FTC scholarships awarded prior to the award of FES-EO scholarships.
• The bill clarifies that new scholarships are awarded on a first-come, first served basis unless income prioritization is selected. The SFO is only required to verify income of parents seeking a priority award.
• The bill clarifies the prohibition on an SFO owner or operator also owning or operating a participating private school or for his or her child to receive a choice scholarship.
• The bill revises the requirements for the development of purchasing guidelines by requiring the joint-development of such guidelines for FTC and FES-EO by all approved SFOs and requiring that all SFOs assist the Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities with the development of purchasing guidelines for FES-UA scholarships and to publish the guidelines on the SFO website.
• The bill authorizes a charitable organization seeking to be an approved SFO to apply with the DOE at any time, rather than the previous requirement that DOE have at least two application periods.

Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities

Effective upon becoming law, the bill requires that the center, in collaboration with SFOs and scholarship parents of a student with a disability, to develop the purchasing guidelines to be used by the SFOs administering FES-UA scholarships. The initial purchasing guidelines must be published by July 1, 2024, and, thereafter, revised guidelines must be published annually by July 1.

Virtual Instruction Programs

The bill removes the requirement for a virtual provider to document that it is nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies, employment practices, and operations. 

Status: Bill passed on March 7, 2024 

JPEF Related Resource: Parents' Guide to Choosing a School