2024-25 Florida Voucher Funding Approaches $4 Billion
Step Up for Students (the politically connected, scholarship funding organization that oversees more than 99% of Florida’s voucher funding) announced today that more than 460,000 of Florida’s students have been awarded publicly funded vouchers for the 2024-25 school year. This is up from 380,000 students funded during the 2023-24 school year. They say it is “a sign of continued demand for educational options.”
It is also a sign of continued diversion of public education funding to private options with little to no accountability and a sign of Florida’s willingness to fund tuition discounts for wealthy families who had never before enrolled their children in the public school system.
Listed below are the number of vouchers awarded per Florida voucher program, per Step Up’s announcement. The “Cost” calculations and the clarifications in parentheses are mine. The actual amounts spent this year will be slightly higher due to the small increase in per pupil funding in the 2024-25 funding calculation):
Tax Credit Scholarships (Originally for low income children now without income limits, these vouchers, funded through a corporate tax diversion scheme, can be worth up to the state’s unweighted per-pupil funding, though they may not exceed private school tuition and fees. The maximum voucher amount for each student is based upon their grade level and county of residence. In the 2023-24 school year, the average award amount was $7,950.)
- Renewal: 48,165
- New: 13,683
- Total: 61,848
Estimated Cost for 2024-25: $491,691,600 (half a billion dollars)
Educational Options Scholarships (The maximum voucher amount for each student is based upon their grade level and county of residence. In the 2023-24 school year, the average award amount was $7,950.)
- Renewal: 156,511
- New: 89,768
- Total: 246,279
Estimated Cost for 2024-25: 1,957,918,050 (TWO billion dollars)
Personalized Education Program (these are homeschooled students receiving full per-pupil funding through the Florida Tax Credit scholarship scheme. The maximum voucher amount for each student is based upon their grade level and county of residence. In the 2023-24 school year, the average award amount was $7,950.)
- Renewal: 15,624
- New: 34,107
- Total: 49,731
Estimated Cost for 2024-25: $395,361,450 (395 Million tax dollars to homeschoolers)
Unique Abilities (Funding per student is based on their level of need. The average voucher in the 2023/24 school year was approximately $10,000.)
- Renewal: 74,982
- New: 28,490
- Total: 103,472
Estimated Cost for 2024-25: $1,034,720,000 (One Billion dollars)
Total – All programs
- Renewal: 295,282 (22% decided not to renew for one reason or another.)
- New: 166,048
- Total Students Awarded: 461,330
Estimated Total Cost for privatization of Public Education in Florida in 2024-25: $3,879,691,100 (VERY close to the $4 BILLION cost the Florida Policy Institute warned the legislature about in 2023).
What do we know about vouchers in Florida?
- While legislators continue to endorse a so-called education accountability system, relying on onerous and abusive high stakes standardized testing and over-regulation of Florida’s public schools, they allow tax dollars to flow to virtually unaccountable private schools and homeschoolers.
- Reports have shown that over 85 percent of new voucher funding in Florida is going to students previously enrolled in private school, never attended public school or homeschooling. Over 60% of new private school vouchers went to families making well over the previous income limits. As reported in Politico, wealthy parents have benefitted the MOST from Florida’s Universal Voucher expansion.
- There has been no overall “mass exodus” from public schools but voucher programs are diverting much needed funding away from them. Last year, only 13% of new voucher recipients left their public school. Almost a quarter of last year’s voucher recipients chose not to re-apply this year – some of those students may have graduated or moved away but many, likely, have returned to their previous public schools.
- As I wrote about recently: “With an annual GDP of nearly $1.3 trillion, low state debt and and $17 Billion budget surplus, Florida has the economic capacity to adequately fund its school system but, it appears, that is not a priority.” Rather, the priority continues to be diverting billions of tax dollars (four billion to be exact) to private options via unaccountable vouchers.
- The Florida Legislature should learn to trust the Florida Policy Institute’s calculations and predictions.
$4 Billion dollars spent on vouchers for students in 2024-25 is a definite sign of continued diversion of public education funding to private options with little to no accountability and a sign of Florida’s willingness to fund tuition discounts for wealthy families who had never before enrolled their children in the public school system.
When we flip the legislature and swear in Governor Deegan in a few years, what should we lower the family income limit to for people to be allowed to still receive these scholarships?
Welcome back! I wondered where you were.I hope you enjoyed some nice time off of Twitter/X. I was afraid you missed the answer to your last question. I wrote about that here: https://accountabaloney.com/florida-has-the-capacity-but-not-the-commitment-to-adequately-fund-its-public-schools/
Regardless of who is governor or controls the legislature, Florida has the capacity to fully fund public schools – and by that I mean make them whole from the Rick Scott/Great Recession cuts and then ensure funding, at a minimum, keeps up with inflation.
If our public schools were adequately and equitably funded, I believe low quality private schools would fade from the picture without legislation.
ICYWW: The comment I am responding to comes from an individual who is NOT “JagsFanBrian” but pretending to be him. This person is a frequent commenter (one might call them a troll) who, instead of simply commenting anonymously, pretends to be someone who follows me on Twitter/X. Ahhh social media… gotta love it.
My name is Brian and I’m a Jags fan. I appreciate your response but what I’m looking for is an answer to this question – what should we lower the family income limit to for people to be allowed to still receive these scholarships?
Funny, because you used the twitter handle of an acquaintance of mine from Jacksonville and your IP address is from St. Petersburg. Do your friends know you aren’t cheering for the Bucs?
I believe Florida, with its booming economy, should work towards adequately and equitably funding public schools.
I am concerned about children receiving inadequate education. I believe that is bad for our future economy, bad for democracy and especially bad for those children (even if their parents “choose” it).
The HB1 expansion to Universal Vouchers has primarily funded those who were never in public school and homeschoolers. Meaning much of the recent “historic increases” are going to fund students who, by parental choice, were never funded before. As you know, compared to public schools, there are essentially no accountability or academic standards and very few regulations for these tax funded programs (it is frankly not very conservative). I wonder how long the taxpayer will be willing to pay for such an unaccountable use of our tax dollars?
Thanks for the comment clarifying that you have opposition to these vouchers being expanded to be available to everyone, when previously they were available based on income. My question is – what should we lower the income eligibility to for people to still be allowed to receive these vouchers? Back to whatever it was before this expansion we oppose? Thank you.
I did not say that, but yes, I opposed HB1. I believe the expansion to Universal Vouchers was a gift to the wealthy and those whose kids were not in public school (or school at all)- prove me wrong. I believe the expansion has done nothing to improve education in Florida. If the GOP wants to fund homeschoolers and tuition discounts for wealthy individuals, that endeavor should not impact funding for Florida’s public schools.
I believe Florida, with its booming economy, should work towards adequately and equitably funding public schools. We have the capacity, but not the commitment, to do so. Lower income voucher students and those with learning challenges, by and large, do NOT have access to high quality private schools. Their “choices” are very limited and not guaranteed. Children with disabilities lose their right to a free and appropriate education when they accept a voucher.
As I said before: If our public schools were adequately and equitably funded, I believe low quality private schools would fade from the picture without legislation.
Changing voucher legislation is not my priority. Deregulating and adequately funding public schools is. Stop trying to paint me into a corner.
BTW, I will be near Tampa several times this fall, would love to meet in person and chat if you are willing to come out from hiding and have these conversations in person.