HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/CS/CS/CS/HB 1 School Choice
SPONSOR(S): Education Quality Subcommittee, Education & Employment Committee and PreK-12
Appropriations Subcommittee and Choice & Innovation Subcommittee, Tuck and others
TIED BILLS: None. IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 202
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Choice & Innovation Subcommittee 13 Y, 4 N, As CS Wolff Sleap
2) PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee 11 Y, 3 N, As CS Bailey Potvin
3) Education & Employment Committee 16 Y, 4 N, As CS Wolff Hassell
4) Education Quality Subcommittee 13 Y, 3 N, As CS Wolff Sanchez
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
For decades, Florida has been a national leader in providing high quality education options for its parents and students. In
addition to a myriad of public options, Florida offers scholarship programs that allow parents of eligible stude nts to register
and attend private schools that may better serve a student’s particular needs or to provide educational options for
students with disabilities. These programs primarily consist of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC), the Family
Empowerment Scholarship for students attending private school (FES-EO), and the Family Empowerment Scholarship for
students with disabilities (FES-UA).
The bill increases the number of students with disabilities served under the FES-UA by increasing scholarship growth
rates from 1 percent to 3 percent of Florida’s exceptional education students, annually. Additionally, the bill requires a
participating private school to inform a parent that a student attending the school with a di sability is not entitled to the
special education and related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
The bill expands eligibility for the FTC and FES-EO scholarships to any student who is a resident of Florida and is eligible
to enroll in kindergarten through grade 12 in a public school. The bill establishes the personalized education program as a
parent directed educational choice option and authorizes the student to participate in FTC. The bill retains the priority for
FTC and FES-EO scholarships for those students whose household income does not exceed 185 percent of the federal
poverty level (FPL) and creates a second priority for households with income not exceeding 400 percent of the FPL.
Under the bill, each parent of an eligible student will receive an empowerment savings account to choose among a variety
of options to customize their child’s K-12 education. The bill expands the scope of authorized uses for scholarships.
To provide additional clarity to participants, the bill aligns the parental and student responsibilities for recipients of FTC
and FES-EO scholarships as well as aligns the provisions governing how long an award remains in force and when an
account must be closed. The bill requires that SFOs review student eligibility annually, approve all expenditures prior to
disbursing any funds from the empowerment savings account, and notify parents that participation in a scholarship
program does not guarantee enrollment in a private school. Additionally, the bill requires SFOs to develop purchasing
guidelines for authorized uses of scholarship funds and publish them to their websites.
The bill expressly authorizes any school in Florida, including public charter schools, to permit a student to enroll part -time
and provides that the student will be funded proportionally based on their time of attendance or as contracted services.
Additionally, the bill provides flexibility for traditional public schools as it relates to educator certificate requirements,
transportation, cost per student station, capital improvement funding, transfer of student records, and the online course
requirement for high school graduation. The bill also requires the State Board of Education, with input from stakeholders,
to report to the Governor and Legislature recommended repeals and revisions to the education code to reduce regulation
on public schools.
The estimated fiscal impact on state government expenditures is $209.6 million. See Fiscal Analysis.
The effective date of the bill is July 1, 2023, except for section 21 which is effective upon becoming law.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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 FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Background
For decades, Florida has been a national leader in providing high quality education options for its
parents and students. In addition to a myriad of public options, Florida offers scholarship programs that
allow parents of eligible students to register and attend private schools that may better serve a
student’s particular needs or to provide educational options for students with disabilities. The three
scholarship programs, include:
 The Family Empowerment Scholarship Program, consisting of a scholarship for students
attending private school (FES-EO) and a scholarship for students with a disability (FES-UA);1
 Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program (FTC);2 and
 The Hope Scholarship Program (HOPE).3
Private schools must meet specific criteria in order to be eligible to participate in Florida’s scholarship
programs 4 and the Department of Education (DOE) 5 and Commissioner of Education (commissioner) 6
are tasked with implementation and oversight responsibilities. Florida’s scholarship programs are
administered by Scholarship-funding Organizations (SFO) approved by the DOE. 7
Private School Participation in Scholarship Programs
Present Situation
While each scholarship program has unique requirements for private schools, there are common
criteria that each private school must meet in order to participate in any of the state’s scholarship
programs.8 A private school may be sectarian or nonsectarian, must meet Florida’s definition of a
private school,9 be registered with the state, and be in compliance with all the requirements of a private
school.10 Additionally, a private school must:11
 comply with 42 U.S.C. s. 2000d which prohibits excluding a person from participation in
federally assisted programs on the grounds of race, color, or national origin;
 notify the DOE of its intent to participate in a scholarship program;
 notify the DOE of any changes in the school’s name, director, mailing address, or physical
location within 15 days of the change;
 provide the DOE or the SFO all required documentation for student registration and payment;
 annually complete and submit to the DOE a notarized scholarship compliance statement that
includes certification that all school employees and contracted personnel with direct student
contact have undergone required background screening and met the screening standards;
 demonstrate fiscal soundness in accordance with statutory requirements;
 meet applicable state and local health, safety, and welfare laws, codes, and rules;
 employ or contract with teachers that meet specified requirements;
 maintain a physical location in the state at which each student has regular and direct contact
with teachers;
1 Section 1002.394, F.S.; see also rule 6A-6.0952, F.A.C.
2 Section 1002.395, F.S.; see also rule 6A-6.0960, F.A.C.
3 Section 1002.40, F.S.; see also rule 6A-6.0951, F.A.C.
4 Section 1002.421(1), F.S.
5 Section 1002.421(2), F.S.
6 Section 1002.421(3), F.S.
7 See ss. 1002.394(11) and 1002.395(6) and (15).
8 See s. 1002.421, F.S.
9 See s. 1002.01(2), F.S.
10 Section 1002.421(1), F.S.
11 Section 1002.421(1)(a)-(r), F.S.; see also Rule 6A-6.03315, F.A.C.
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  provide to parents, either on a website or in other written form, information regarding the
school’s programs, services, and classroom teacher qualifications;
 provide the parent, at least on a quarterly basis, a written report of the student’s progress;
 cooperate with a parent who wants a student to participate in the statewide assessments;
 require employees and contracted personnel with direct student contact to undergo state and
national background screening;
 adopt policies establishing standards of ethical conduct for educational support employees,
instructional personnel, and school administrators;
 conduct employment history checks and screen applicants utilizing educator screening tools
before employing a person in any position with direct student contact; 12
 provide the DOE with the background screening of the private school owner or operator; and
 prohibit education support employees, instructional personnel, and school administrators from
employment in any position which requires direct contact with students if the individual is
ineligible for such employment or have been terminated or have resigned in lieu of termination
for sexual misconduct with a student.
In addition to the requirements above, if a private school receives more than $250,000 in scholarship
funds in one year, the school must hire an independent certified public accountant (CPA) who must
verify that the school meets the requirements outlined in the agreed-upon procedures.13 The
procedures are developed jointly with the SFOs, accrediting associations that are members of the
Florida Association of Academic Nonpublic Schools, and the DOE. 14 They are reviewed biennially.15
The procedures must determine whether the school:
 has been verified as eligible by the DOE;
 has an adequate accounting system, financial controls, and a process for deposits and
classification of scholarship funds; and
 has properly expended scholarship funds.16
A school must submit the CPA’s report annually to the SFO that awarded the majority of the
scholarship funds by September 15. Schools that receive more than $250,000 solely through FES-UA
must submit the report to the DOE.17
If a school fails to meet any of the above requirements, or has consecutive years of material exceptions
listed in the CPA’s report, the commissioner may determine that the private school is ineligible to
participate in a scholarship program.18
The commissioner is authorized to permanently deny or revoke the authority of an owner or operator to
establish or operate a private school in the state if the commissioner decides that the owner or operator
is operating or has operated an educational institution in the state or another state or jurisdiction in a
manner contrary to the health, safety, or welfare of the public. 19
The DOE is required to maintain a disqualification list that includes the following:
 The identity of each person who has been permanently denied an educator certificate or whose
educator certificate has been permanently revoked and has been placed on the list as directed
by the Education Practices Commission.
12 Section 1002.421(1)(o), F.S. A private school may not employ a person whose educator certificate is revoked, who is barred from
reapplying for an educator certificate, or who is on the disqualification list maintained by the DOE. s. 5, ch. 2021-138, L.O.F.
13 Section 1002.421(1)(q), F.S. Step Up for Students, Agreed Upon Procedures, School Financial Report Requirement, Florida Schoo l
Choice Programs, https://www.stepupforstudents.org/for-schools-providers/agreed-upon-procedures/?highlight=agreed-
upon%20procedures (last visited March. 8, 2023).
14 Section 1002.395(6)(o)2., F.S.
15 Section 1002.395(6)(o)1.b., F.S.
16 Section 1002.395(6)(o), F.S.
17 Section 1002.421(1)(q), F.S. Effective July 1, 2022, students participating in the McKay Scholarship will join the Family
Empowerment Scholarship under educational options for students with disabilities.
18 Section 1002.421(1)(a)-(r), F.S. (flush left provisions and the end of the paragraph)
19 Section 1002.431(3)(c), F.S.
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  The identity of each person who has been permanently disqualified by the commissioner from
owning or operating a private school that participates in state scholarship programs.
 The identity of each person who has been terminated, or has resigned in lieu of termination,
from employment as a result of sexual misconduct with a student.
 The identity of each person who is ineligible for educator certification or employment. 20
An individual may be removed from the disqualification list if the person demonstrates:
 A completed law enforcement investigation resulted in an exoneration or no conviction or finding
of guilt and a completed investigation and proceeding, as applicable, by the responsible
education agency resulted in a finding that the person did not commit disqualifying conduct;
 The person was not the subject of the report of disqualifying conduct and was included on the
disqualification list in error or as a result of mistaken identity; or
 The employer that submitted the person for inclusion on the disqualification list requests that the
person be removed and submits documentation to support the request. 21
Effect of Proposed Changes
The bill provides additional information for parents of students with disabilities considering private
schools by requiring that a private school participating in any of the state’s scholarship programs
provide parents, either by publishing on the school’s website or in writing, a statement that a parentally
placed private school student with a disability does not have an individual right to receive some or all of
the special education and related services that the child would receive if enrolled in a public school
under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
The bill expands the commissioner’s oversight powers by allowing her or him to permanently deny or
revoke the authority of an owner, officer, or director to establish or operate a private school in the state,
and include such individual on the disqualification list maintained by the DOE, if the commissioner
determines that the owner, officer, or director has operated an educational institution that closed during
the school year. An individual may be removed from the disqualification list if the individual reimburses
the department or eligible SFO the amount of scholarship funds received by the educational institution
during the school year in which it closed.
Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program
Present Situation
The FTC was created in 2001 and enables taxpayers to make private, voluntary contributions to a SFO,
to expand educational opportunities for families that have limited financial resources, and enables
Florida’s children to achieve a greater level of excellence in their education. 22 The FTC is funded with
contributions to SFOs from taxpayers who receive a tax credit for use against their liability for corporate
income tax, insurance premium tax, severance taxes on oil and gas production, self-accrued sales tax
liabilities of direct pay permit holders or alcoholic beverage taxes on beer, wine, and spirits and rental
or license fees.23 The tax credit is equal to 100 percent of the eligible contributions made. 24 SFOs use
these contributions to award scholarships for the cost of tuition and fees at an eligible private school or
transportation expenses to a Florida public school in which a student is enrolled and that is different
from the school to which the student was assigned. 25
20 Section 1001.10(4)(b), F.S.
21 Section 1001.10(4)(c), F.S.
22 Section 1002.395(1)(b), F.S.
23 Section 1002.395(1) and (5) and s. 212.099(2), F.S. Information and documentation provided to the DOE and the Auditor General
relating to the identity of a taxpayer that provides an eligible contribution under this section shall remain confidential at all times.
Section 1002.395(6)(q), F.S. (flush-left provision at end of section).
24 Sections 220.1875(1), 212.099(2), and 1002.395(5), F.S.
25 Section 1002.395(6)(d), F.S. An eligible contribution is a monetary contribution from a taxpayer to an eligible nonprofit SFO. The
taxpayer may not designate a specific child as the beneficiary of the contribution. Section 1002.395(2)(e), F.S.
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 The DOE, the Department of Revenue (DOR), and the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Taxes
(DABT) cooperatively administer the FTC.26
FTC Scholarship Eligibility
The FTC provides scholarships to students, with priority given to children from low-income families and
those who are in foster care or out-of-home care.27 Contingent upon available funds, a student is
initially eligible for a FTC scholarship if he or she meets one or more of th