Gov. DeSantis announces school choice scholarship program success

Writer: Nicholas Karsen
Published: Updated:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Florida has surpassed 500,000 students participating in Florida’s school choice scholarship program.

During the conference in Jacksonville on Friday morning, he announced that more than 30,000 students are participating in the New Worlds Scholarship Accounts Program, with an additional 18,000 students utilizing the transportation stipend created by House Bill 1.

“Florida is the number one state for education because of our commitment to providing every student with the option that works best for them,” said DeSantis. “I am proud that we have enabled over 500,000 students to access a high-quality education that fits their individual needs.”

In 2023, DeSantis signed House Bill 1, which established universal school choice. The bill eliminated financial eligibility restrictions and the enrollment cap for the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options.

HB 1 also increased the annual scholarship cap growth for the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities and created a new opportunity for Florida students not enrolled full-time in a public or private school to participate in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program through a parent-directed Personalized Education Program. 

HB 1 added a transportation stipend to the Florida Empowerment Scholarship Program. 

In total, nearly 1.4 million students are utilizing a school choice option in Florida.

Watch the entire conference above.



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