Compare bill The Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES) may only be used towards private school tuition and fees. The page numbers, when listed, for citations are constantly under review. Amendments to Proposed Committee Substitutes (PCSs) are located on the PCS tab. The journals or printed bills of the respective chambers should be consulted for official purposes. Florida Sales Tax Credit Scholarship Program 6 Once submitted, your application will be saved in your online account for future reference. Committee Javascript must be enabled for site search. Diaz. CS/CS/SB 1220: K-12 Scholarship Programs. Schedule, GENERAL BILL (Post-Meeting), Appropriations A student who received a Florida Tax Credit (FTC) scholarship in the previous school year but did not receive a renewal scholarship because of a lack of funds. Companion bills that are identical word-for-word, not including titles. “Our biggest concern is religious freedom. The Family Empowerment Scholarship Program. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed legislation that will dramatically expand a voucher program that helps students go to private schools, the latest step in a two-decade push to expand school choice in Florida. The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program no longer requires prior year enrollment in a public school. “Up to $30 million will be reserved, if necessary, to ensure these life-altering scholarships are protected for those students who are seeking to renew their existing scholarship,” according to the document. A bill that is contingent upon passage of another bill within the same chamber, e.g., a trust fund bill, a bill providing a public record exemption, or an implementing bill. All rights reserved. The tax credit cap amount for the 2019-2020 fiscal year is $873,565,674. This study finds that students who enroll in private school through the FTC program are more likely to go to and graduate from college than their public school peers. “As our state and nation face historically challenging times, it is imperative that we help disadvantaged students access the educational setting that best fits their unique learning needs,” Bush added. Beginning in the 2016–17 academic year, the legislature loosened the household income requirements to include more middle-income families, and students are no longer required to spend their prior year in public school before participating in the program. The law lets the program grow to better meet student demand. When Florida launched the program last year, enrollment was capped at 18,000 students for the 2019-2020 school year. Under this bill, Florida’s newest private school voucher — the state-funded Family Empowerment Scholarship — would be merged with the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship … South Florida Prep also received at least $236,000 from a state-run tax-credit scholarship for low-income kids. The Republican governor said the bill “expands and builds off the success” of the Florida Empowerment Scholarship program, which he pushed to create shortly after taking office in 2019. View By Category. The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program was expanded in 2010 to serve more low-income students, making it both the largest and most accountable program of its type in the nation. However, Resolutions and Concurrent Resolutions are considered identical if the only difference is the word "House" or "Senate.". Bills that have selected provisions that are similar in text. We are going to continue to push forward until every family in the state has the opportunity and every student regardless of ZIP code has a chance to choose the school that is the best fit for them,” Diaz said during Thursday’s news conference. In 2001, Florida created the second Scholarship Tax Credit program by enacting the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. The push to expand school choice in Florida began after former Gov. The program was created to alleviate the waitlist of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program while expanding school choice options for thousands of other low- and middle-income residents. Applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis in the order all documents are received. No business can receive a tax credit for more than 10% of the aggregate amount of tax credits allowed in a given year. In addition to expanding the Family Empowerment Scholarship, the bill also changes some eligibility requirements for students who seek vouchers. AAA Scholarship Foundation (AAA) is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization and state approved Scholarship Funding Organization (SFO) that exclusively serves eligible low-income children through the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program which allows any company that pays Florida corporate income tax to redirect up to 100 percent of its tax liability to AAA in order to […] The journals or printed bills of the respective chambers should be consulted as the official documents of the Legislature. For the 2017-2018 school year, a student is eligible for a scholarship from a nonprofit SFO through this program, if: a. the student is currently placed, or during the previous state fiscal year was placed, in foster care… Jeb Bush took office in 1999. Applications are approved on a first-come, first-served basis. Ron DeSantis. Delete everything after the enacting clause and insert: • Referred to Education; Appropriations Subcommittee on Education; Appropriations -SJ 89, • On Committee agenda-- Education, 01/21/20, 2:30 pm, 412 Knott Building, • Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute), • On Committee agenda-- Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, 02/25/20, 9:00 am, 412 Knott Building, • Subcommittee Recommendation: CS/CS by Appropriations Subcommittee on Education; YEAS 5 NAYS 3 -SJ 347, • On Committee agenda-- Appropriations, 03/03/20, 1:00 pm, 412 Knott Building, • CS/CS by- Appropriations; YEAS 13 NAYS 8 -SJ 461, • Pending reference review -under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute), Last Action: 6/26/2020 Chapter No. The SFOs then award scholarships to eligible children of low-income families. “We’re not going to stop, governor. The organizations argue it is unconstitutional for Florida taxpayers to give scholarships to students to attend private schools, including religious schools like Cristo Rey Tampa Salesian High School. For example, a student who is unable to renew a Florida Tax Credit scholarship during the 2020-2021 school year because of a lack of funds in the program will be given priority to receive a Family Empowerment scholarship. Florida’s tax-credit scholarship program is the country’s largest private school choice program in terms of participating students. Senate Education Chairman Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah, called the bill a “victory” and vowed to push for further school-choice expansion in the future. (Pre-Meeting), S 1220 (Post-Meeting). The “once in, always in” rule was part of HB7067, signed into law in late June by Florida Gov. This year, the slow march to the Betsy DeVosification of Florida continues with a Florida Senate bill that would merge the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship … / Scholarships / FTC To expand educational opportunities for children of families that have limited financial resources and to enable children in this state to achieve a greater level of excellence in their education, the Florida Legislature created the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program in 2001. Similar bill “This will be more opportunity,” DeSantis said during a news conference at Cristo Rey Tampa Salesian High School, a Catholic school in Tampa. 2020-94), Last Action: 3/14/2020 S Died in Education, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 7067 (Ch. Companion bills that are substantially similar in text or have substantial portions of text that are largely the same. (Pre-Meeting), Appropriations Subcommittee on Education 2020-95, companion bill(s) passed, see HB 641 (Ch. But in signing the bill Thursday, DeSantis raised the cap to more than 46,600 students for the 2020-2021 school year. • A renewal student is one who used a Florida Tax Credit Scholarship in the 2019-20 school year. State education officials, however, said the $30 million would be set aside for vouchers because “economic uncertainty has slowed commitment for contribution renewals,” according to a 143-page document released by the Florida Department of Education this month. The program, which is funded directly from the state education budget, is designed to serve lower-income and working-class families. Every year only selected SFOs are approved to provide Florida Tax Credit Scholarships. Linked bill Appropriations ; The DOR will also send you an approval letter through your online account. The credit is equal to 85% of the donation made to a scholarship organization and can be applied to either the business profits tax or the business enterprise tax, or any combination of the two. Appropriations Subcommittee on Education (AED). The Florida Tax Credit (FTC) scholarship program, the nation’s largest private school choice program, provides more than 100,000 scholarships annually that can be used to enroll in participating private schools. Since then, the Republican-led Legislature has created voucher programs for bullied kids and students with disabilities and the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program, which is funded by corporations that receive tax credits. In the ongoing battle against parental choice, Florida’s teachers union has once again showed their true colors when they took to the courts to sue against tax credit scholarships. During an earlier interview with POLITICO Florida, King said his father, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., probably would have supported tax-credit scholarships. “However, we know the situation is fluid, and we know how many students and families depend on these scholarships, so we continue to monitor closely," he added. Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program-FTC: Created in 2001 by the Florida Legislature Step Up For Students has since provided nearly 399,000 scholarships to low income Florida schoolchildren, children who are in foster care and children who are homeless. As always, funding is limited. The bill (HB 7067), passed during the legislative session that ended in March, will help nearly 29,000 more students receive vouchers next school year. Skip to Navigation | Skip to Main Content | Skip to Site Map.