The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Appropriations
BILL: CS/CS/SB 202
INTRODUCER: Appropriations Committee; Appropriations Committee on Education Committee; and
Senator Simon and others
SUBJECT: K-12 Education
DATE: March 20, 2023 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Sagues, Jahnke Bouck ED Favorable
2. Gray Elwell AED Fav/CS
3. Gray Sadberry AP Fav/CS
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/CS/SB 202 establishes and modifies K-12 education programs to provide additional financial
supports for families and flexibility for school districts. The bill expands educational choice and
opportunity for Florida families, supports public schools by reducing state regulations, and
benefits teachers by removing barriers to certification.
The bill expands and supports school choice by:
 Increasing the number of students served under the Family Empowerment Scholarship for
students with disabilities (FES-UA) by increasing annual scholarship growth rates from 1
percent to 3 percent of Florida’s exceptional education students.
 Expanding eligibility for the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program (FTC) and Family
Empowerment Scholarship Program for education options (FES-EO) to any student that is a
resident of Florida and is eligible to enroll in kindergarten through grade 12 in a public
school, and removing enrollment caps for the FES-EO. 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.
 Expanding the scope of authorized uses for the FTC and FES-EO scholarships to include
specified purchases through an education savings account.
BILL: CS/CS/SB 202 Page 2
 Authorizing excess funds from the FTC to fund FES-UA scholarships.
 Authorizing a limited number of students enrolled in a personalized education program to
participate in the FTC and FES-EO scholarships.
 Requiring scholarship funding organizations to develop purchasing guidelines for authorized
uses of scholarship funds and publish them to their websites.
The bill requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to, by November 1, 2023, recommend
reductions to the Florida Early Learning-20 education code, considering stakeholder input. The
bill provides immediate reductions to regulations by:
 Providing flexibility for school districts by exempting from the required cost per student
station any construction started prior to July 1, 2026.
 Removing the requirement for at least one course within the 24 credits required for a
standard diploma to be completed through online learning.
 Adding flexibility for student transportation by allowing vehicles other than school buses to
regularly transport students.
 Revising the requirements of the acceptable means of demonstrating mastery of general
knowledge and professional preparation and education competence to include documentation
of two years of effective or highly effective teaching in a Florida public school while
teaching under a temporary certificate.
 Increasing the length of a nonrenewable temporary teaching certificate from 3 to 5 years.
 Expressly authorizing any public school, including charter schools, to permit a student to
enroll part-time, and provides for proportional funding based on time of attendance.
 Authorizes the Commissioner of Education to deny an owner, officer or director to
participate in the state school scholarship program if the individual has operated an
educational institution that closed during the school year.
 Extends the timeline to transfer a student record from three to five school days.
 Authorizes the district school tax to be used for payment of salaries and benefits for
employees whose job duties support related activities.
The bill will have a negative impact on state expenditures. In addition to maximizing the
capacity of estimated tax credits and assuming the use of a carryforward or reserve balance
available under the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) the bill will require an additional
$217.2 million state appropriation for Fiscal Year 2023-2024. The impact on state expenditures
will increase or decrease depending on the average awards for the scholarships and if more or
less students participate than forecasted.
In Fiscal Year 2024-2025, the impact on state expenditures is expected to grow as additional
home school students may participate in the program due to increases in the caps in the bill.
The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2023.
II. Present Situation:
The Present Situation is presented under Section III, Effect of Proposed Changes.
BILL: CS/CS/SB 202 Page 3
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
Education Choice Scholarships in Florida
Present Situation
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. These programs primarily consist of the Florida Tax Credit
Scholarship (FTC),1 the Family Empowerment Scholarship for students attending private school
(FES-EO), the Family Empowerment Scholarship for students with disabilities (FES-UA),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 and the Florida Department of Education (DOE) and Commissioner of
Education (commissioner) are tasked with implementation and oversight responsibilities. DOE
oversight responsibilities include verification of private school eligibility and compliance, parent
information and complaints, coordination of health and safety inspections, provision of statewide
assessments, and initial site visits.4
Currently, 71 percent of the kindergarten through grade 12 eligible student population qualifies
for an FTC or FES-EO scholarship.5
Scholarship Funding Organizations
Florida’s scholarship programs are administered by DOE-approved non-profit scholarship-
funding organizations (SFO).6 A SFO must be a state university; or an independent college or
university that is eligible to participate in the William L. Boyd, IV, Effective Access to Student
Education Grant Program, located and chartered in this state, is not for profit, and is accredited
by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools; or is a
Florida based charitable organization that complies with scholarship program requirements.7
There are currently two SFOs approved to administer the FES-EO, the FES-UA, the FTC, the
HOPE, and the Reading Scholarship Programs. Specifically, the A.A.A. Scholarship Foundation
administers FTC, FES-EO, and FES-UA scholarships, while Step Up for Students administers
FTC, FES-EO, FES-UA, HOPE, and Reading Scholarship Program scholarships.8
1
Section 1002.395, F.S.; see also rule 6A-6.0960, F.A.C.
2
Section 1002.394, F.S.; see also rule 6A-6.0952, F.A.C.
3
Section 1002.40, F.S.; see also rule 6A-6.0951, F.A.C.
4
Section 1002.421, F.S.
5
Florida House of Representatives, Presentation to the PreK-12 Appropriations Committee, Overview on Florida’s K-12
Choice Scholarship Programs (Feb. 7, 2023), available at
https://myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?PublicationType=Committees&CommitteeId=3209&Session=
2023&DocumentType=Meeting+Packets&FileName=pka+2-7-23.pdf.
6
DOE, Scholarship Funding Organizations, https://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/k-12-scholarship-programs/sfo/
(last visited Feb. 15, 2023).
7
Section 1002.395, F.S.
8
DOE, Scholarship Funding Organizations, https://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/k-12-scholarship-programs/sfo/
(last visited Feb. 15, 2023).
BILL: CS/CS/SB 202 Page 4
Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program
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. The
FTC is funded with contributions to SFOs from taxpayers who receive a tax credit for use against
their liability for specified taxes. The tax credit is equal to 100 percent of the eligible
contributions made. SFOs use these contributions to award scholarships to eligible low-income
students 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.
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. Contingent upon available funds, a
student is initially eligible for an FTC scholarship if he or she is:
 On the direct certification list9 or the student’s household income level does not exceed an
adjusted maximum percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), which is set at 400 percent of
the FPL, or $111,00010 for a family of four, for the 2022-2023 school year.11
 Currently placed, or during the previous state fiscal year was placed, in foster care or in out-
of-home care.
 A sibling of a student participating in the FTC scholarship and the siblings reside in the same
household.
Scholarship Term
Once a student qualifies for an FTC scholarship based on household income during his or her
initial eligibility year, the student continues to be eligible until he or she graduates from high
school or turns 21 years old, whichever occurs first, regardless of household income level in
subsequent years. 12 A scholarship recipient is not required to reapply annually, however, an SFO
may require a recipient to annually confirm continued participation in the program.13
FTC Scholarship Prohibitions
A student is not eligible for a scholarship under the FTC if the student is:
9
See s. 1002.395, F.S.
10
United Stated Department of Health & Human Services, U.S. Federal Poverty Guidelines Used to Determine Financial
Eligibility for Certain Federal Programs, Chart showing multiples of the poverty guidelines for 2022, available at
https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines.
11
Section 1002.395(3)(b)1., F.S. The FPL may be increased by 25 percentage points in the fiscal year following a fiscal year
in which more than 5 percent of the allowable scholarships have not been funded. The eligibility for the 2021-2022 school
year was set at 375 percent of the FPL. See also Step Up for Students, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Parent Handbook
(July 2022), at 3, available at https://www.stepupforstudents.org/wp-content/uploads/2022-2023-FTC-Parent-Handbook-
Final-Draft.pdf.
12
Section 1002.395, F.S.
13
See Step Up for Students, 2022-2023 Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Parent Handbook (July 2022), at 4-5, available at
https://www.stepupforstudents.org/wp-content/uploads/2022-2023-FTC-Parent-Handbook-Final-Draft.pdf;
AAA Scholarship Foundation, 2021-2022 Parent and School Handbook-Florida Income-Based Scholarship Program, at 5,
available at https://www.aaascholarships.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Parent-and-School-Handbook_FL_2021-
22_v3_rev20220616.pdf.
BILL: CS/CS/SB 202 Page 5
 Enrolled in a school operating for the purpose of providing educational services to youth in
Department of Juvenile Justice commitment programs;
 Receiving a scholarship from another eligible SFO under this section;
 Receiving an educational scholarship pursuant to this chapter;
 Participating in a home education program;
 Participating in a private tutoring program;
 Participating in a virtual or correspondence school or distance learning program that receives
state funding for the student’s participation unless the participation is limited to no more than
two courses per school year; or
 Enrolled in the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind.
Authorized Use of FTC Funds
An FTC scholarship may be used to cover the tuition and fees for a student to attend an eligible
private school, or receive a transportation scholarship to another public school.
FTC Scholarship Award Amount
Effective with the 2021-2022 school year, the Legislature increased the FTC scholarship amount
to be the full amount provided for the student, from the previous 95 percent calculated amount.14
The maximum scholarship award amount for the 2021-2022 school year was $7,408 per
student.15
In lieu of a scholarship for enrollment in a private school, an eligible16 student may receive a
scholarship for transportation to a public school other than the public school to which the student
was assigned. The transportation scholarship award must be an amount equal to the school
district expenditure per student riding a school bus, as determined by the DOE, or $750,
whichever is greater.
Responsibilities of FTC Scholarship Recipients
Parents and students must meet specified requirements for participation, which include enrolling
in a private school, taking a norm-referenced assessment, authorizing payment to the private
school, complying with income verifications, and satisfying attendance requirements.
With a few exceptions, Florida law requires all children who will be six years of age on February
1 of each school year and are less than 16 years of age to attend school regularly. Children who
will be five years of age by September 1 of each school year are eligible for public
kindergarten.17
State law directs district school boards to establish attendance policies defining excused or
unexcused absences or tardiness. Specific criteria for determining whether an absence or
14
Section 1002.395, F.S. (2021); See also section 5, ch. 2021-27, L.O.F.
15
DOE, FTC Scholarship Program: Fact Sheet (Oct. 2022), available at
https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/5606/urlt/FTC-Oct-2022-line.pdf.
16
The student must be on the direct certification list, the student’s house income level does not exceed 185 percent of the
FPL, or the student is placed in foster care or in out-of-home care.
17
Section 1003.21(1)(a), F.S.
BILL: CS/CS/SB 202 Page 6
tardiness is excused or unexcused are determined by the district school board.18 The parent of a
student who is absent from school must justify the absence, and the absence is evaluated based
on the school board’s attendance policies.19
Regular attendance, as required by law, can be satisfied by attendance in a:
 Public school supported by public funds;
 Parochial, religious, or denominational school;
 Private school supported in a whole or in part by tuition charges by endowment or gifts;
 Home education program; or
 Private tutoring program.20
Dispersal of FTC Scholarship Award
The SFO sends scholarship payment checks quarterly to each student’s school of enrollment,
after the school completes the attendance verification. A payment made by warrant and delivered
by the SFO to the private school must be restrictively endorsed by the parent.
An SFO may also make scholarship payments directly to eligible private schools by funds
transfer (including debit cards, electronic payment cards, or any other means the DOE deems
commercially viable or cost-effective). Payments must be approved by the parent before the
funds are deposited. 21
Family Empowerment Scholarship Program
The FES-EO and FES-UA provide children of families in Florida with educational options,
including children of families with limited financial resources, children of law enforcement and
military families, and children with disab