HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/CS/HB 1403 School Choice
SPONSOR(S): Education & Employment Committee, Choice & Innovation Subcommittee, Tomkow
TIED BILLS: None. IDEN./SIM. BILLS: None.
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Choice & Innovation Subcommittee 15 Y, 0 N, As CS Wolff Sleap
2) PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee 11 Y, 0 N Bailey Potvin
3) Education & Employment Committee 19 Y, 0 N, As CS Wolff Hassell
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
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). The bill expands eligibility for scholarship programs 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, the bill increases
the growth rate of the FES-UA scholarship program cap from 3 percent to 5 percent, while also including an
automatic increase of an additional 1 percent based on demand.
The bill establishes firm deadlines for Scholarship Funding Organizations (SFO) and parents related to the
application and renewal of the FTC, PEP, FES-UA, and FES-EO scholarship programs. The deadlines
prioritize disbursing scholarship funds to renewal students prior to new students, and authorizes FTC funds to
be used for full-time private school scholarships year-round, as long as funds remain. The bill further codifies
deadlines and responsibilities of SFOs and the Department of Education (DOE) regarding the disbursement of
funds for the FES scholarship program.
The bill updates the quarterly reporting requirements for SFOs to include information on applications received,
application review timeframes, reimbursements received, and reimbursement processing timeframes.
Additionally, the bill requires a SFO to establish a process to collect input and feedback from parents, private
schools, and providers before implementing substantial modifications or enhancements to the reimbursement
process. The bill requires a SFO to make payment for tuition and fees for full-time enrollment within seven
business days after approval by the parent and school.
The bill requires the Center for Students with Unique Abilities to develop appropriate purchasing guidelines for
recipients of the FES-UA scholarship. The bill also clarifies several authorized uses of scholarship funds,
including, instructional materials for the FES-EO and FTC programs and transition services for the FES-UA.
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, and shifts the tax credits to the FTC scholarship program. The bill
clarifies that public school students receiving the New Worlds Scholarship remain eligible for transportation
scholarships under the FES and FTC scholarship programs.
The estimated fiscal impact on state government expenditures is $106.0 million. See Fiscal Analysis.
Except as expressly provided in the bill, the bill has an effective date of July 1, 2024.
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 or receiving
parent-directed instruction. The three scholarship programs, include:
The FES-EO , consisting of a scholarship for students attending private school and a FES-UA
scholarship for students with a disability;1
The FTC,2 consisting of a scholarship for students attending private school and a scholarship
for students in a PEP ;3
The Hope Scholarship Program (HSP).4
Private schools must meet specific criteria in order to be eligible to participate in Florida’s scholarship
programs 5 and the Department of Education (DOE) 6 and Commissioner of Education (commissioner)7
are tasked with implementation and oversight responsibilities. Florida’s scholarship programs are
administered by SFOs approved by the DOE.8
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.9 A private school may be sectarian or nonsectarian, must meet Florida’s definition of a
private school,10 be registered with the state, and be in compliance with all the requirements of a
private school.11 Additionally, a private school must:12
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;
1 Section 1002.394, F.S.; see also r. 6A-6.0952, F.A.C.
2 Section 1002.395, F.S.; see also r. 6A-6.0960, F.A.C.
3 Section 1002.395(7)(b), F.S.
4 Section 1002.40, F.S.; see also r. 6A-6.0951, F.A.C.
5 Section 1002.421(1), F.S.
6 Section 1002.421(2), F.S.
7 Section 1002.421(3), F.S.
8 See ss. 1002.394(11) and 1002.395(6) and (15), F.S.
9 See s. 1002.421, F.S.
10 See s. 1002.01(3), F.S.
11 Section 1002.421(1), F.S.
12 Section 1002.421(1)(a)-(s), F.S.; see also r. 6A-6.03315, F.A.C.
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maintain a physical location in the state at which each student has regular and direct contact
with teachers;
provide to parents, either on a website or in other written form, information regarding the
school’s programs, services, classroom teacher qualifications, and 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 student would receive if enrolled in a
public school under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended;
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 Florida’s statewide, standardized
assessments;
adopt policies establishing standards of ethical conduct for educational support employees,
instructional personnel, and school administrators;
not be owned or operated by a person or an entity domiciled in, owned by, or in any way
controlled by a foreign country of concern or foreign principal, as identified in law.
Regular and direct contact with a teacher for a scholarship student at an eligible private school is
defined as a program of instruction that provides for a minimum of 170 actual school instruction days
with the required instructional hours under the direct instruction of the private school teacher at the
school’s approved physical location. This may include occasional off-site activities including the FES-
UA transition-to-work plan under the supervision of the private school teacher.13
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.14 The
procedures are developed jointly with the SFOs, accrediting associations that are members of the
Florida Association of Academic Nonpublic Schools, and the DOE, 15 and are reviewed biennially.16 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.17
A school must submit the CPA’s report annually to the SFO that awarded the majority of the
scholarship funds by September 15.18
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.19
The commissioner is authorized 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 list20, if the commissioner decides that the owner, officer, or director:21
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; or
has operated an educational institution that closed during the school year.
13 Rule 6A-6.03315, F.A.C.
14 Section 1002.421(1)(q), F.S.; see also Step Up for Students, Agreed Upon Procedures, School Financial Report Req uirement,
Florida School Choice Programs, available at https://www.stepupforstudents.org/wp-content/uploads/Agreed-Upon-Procedures-2022-
2023.pdf.
15 Section 1002.395(6)(q)2., F.S.
16 Section 1002.395(6)(q)1.b., F.S.
17 Section 1002.395(6)(q), F.S.
18 Section 1002.421(1)(q), F.S.
19 Section 1002.421(1), F.S. (flush left provisions and the end of the paragraph).
20 See s. 1001.10(4)(b ), F.S.
21 Section 1002.421(3)(c), F.S.
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An individual may be removed from the disqualification list, following the closure of an educational
institution, if the individual reimburses the department or SFO the amount of scholarship funds received
by the educational institution during the school year in which it closed. 22
Transition-to-work Program
A transition-to-work program consists of academic instruction, work skills training, and a volunteer or
paid work experience.23 A FES-UA scholarship recipient who has not received a high school diploma or
certificate of completion and who is at least 17 years old, but not older than 22 years old, may enroll in
a private school’s transition-to-work program.24 A student enrolled in the program must, at a minimum,
receive 15 instructional hours at the private school, including both academic and work skills training,
and participate in 10 hours of work at a volunteer or paid work experience.25
To offer the program, a participating private school must:
develop a program plan, which includes a description of the academic instruction and work skills
training a student will received and goals for students in the program;
submit the program plan to the DOE;
develop a personalized transition-to-work program plan for each student enrolled, ensuring the
student, his or her parent and the school principal sign the plan, and submit the plan to the
DOE;
provide a release of liability form signed by the student, his or her parent and a representative of
the business offering the volunteer or paid work experience;
assign a case manager or job coach to visit the student’s job site weekly and provide any
necessary support and guidance to the student;
provide quarterly reports explaining the student’s progress and performance in the program to
the student and his or her parent; and
maintain accurate attendance and performance records for the student. 26
Effect of Proposed Changes
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 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.
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.
Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program
22 Section 1002.421(3)(c)2., F.S.
23 Section 1002.394(16), F.S.
24 Id.
25 Section 1002.394(16)(b), F.S.
26 Section 1002.394(16)(a), F.S.
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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, to include those with limited financial resources, and
enables Florida’s children to achieve a greater level of excellence in their education. 27 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.28 The tax credit is equal to 100 percent of the eligible contributions
made.29 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. 30
The DOE, the Department of Revenue (DOR), and the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Taxes
(DABT) cooperatively administer the FTC.31
In 2023, the Legislature expanded eligibility for a FTC scholarship for all Floridians eligible to attend
public school in Florida while simultaneously turning the scholarship into an educational savings
account by expanding the authorized uses for the FTC scholarship. 32 The expansion served to continue
the Legislature’s goal of providing Florida’s families with the option to pursue the educational
opportunities most appropriate for them while maintaining a strong system of public schools for all
Floridians.
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.33 Contingen