Don’t Be Fooled By “Historic Education Funding” Talk. Voucher Schools are Florida’s Budget Winners.

“We’ve done a lot for the school districts. In fact, the majority of what we did, by far, is for the school districts… that’s not even close.” 

– Gov. Ron DeSantis 5/10/2019

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While Governor DeSantis and Florida Legislators were touring the state, celebrating “record education spending” and suggesting “the majority” of what they did this session, “by far”, was for the school districts, we did the math that shows the real winners of the 2019-20 Education Budget are (surprise!) Florida’s private voucher schools, who may see staggering increases in the value of their tuition vouchers in the upcoming school year.

On the day SB7070 passed, former Governor Jeb Bush flew into Tallahassee so he could be on the floor of the Florida House when it passed. He immediately applauded its passage, calling it “historic legislation that will usher in greater educational freedom for Florida families.”

The new Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES) will serve up to 18,000 students and will cost an estimated $130 million. It will be funded through the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) and administered by the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE), similar to how McKay scholarships, for special needs children, are currently administered. The calculated scholarship amount for a student, according to the Staff Analysis, will be 95 percent of the unweighted FTE funding amount at the district level for the state fiscal year or the amount of the private school’s tuition and fees, whichever is less.

While much of this session’s debate revolved the constitutionality of the direct funding of the FES/vouchers, little attention was paid to the portions of the bills that increased the value of the current Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTCS)/voucher and Hope Scholarship/voucher, both funded through tax diversion (money laundering?) schemes, to match the new “empowerment voucher.” Private schools accepting those vouchers appear to be some of the biggest winners in this year’s budget.

While legislators celebrate the new “record education spending,” with an additional $783 million increase (3.72%) in Total Education Funding (for FLoirda’s 2.8 million public school students), a $242.60 increase (3.27%) in per-student spending, and a $75 increase (1.79%) in Base Student Allocation, some FTC and Hope voucher students may see funding increases exceeding 150%!

Prior to SB7070, the value of the FTC sand Hope vouchers were calculated as a percentage of the statewide unweighted FTE funding amount for that fiscal year as follows:

• 88 percent for a student enrolled in kindergarten through grade 5,
• 92 percent for a student enrolled in grade 6 through grade 8, and
• 96 percent for a student enrolled in grade 9 through grade 12.

SB7070, also, removed the sliding scale for the award based on income level between 185 percent and 260 percent of the federal poverty level. Prior to SB7070, voucher students with a household income between 245-260% of the federal poverty level only qualified for 50% of the funding offered to students below the 200% federal poverty level. In 2019, 200% of the federal poverty level is equivalent to an annual income of $51,500 for a family of 4 and 260% of the federal poverty level is equivalent to an annual income of $66,950 for a family of 4.

SB7070 expands access to these vouchers to student’s whose household income does not exceed 300 percent of the federal poverty level ($77,250 for a family of 4).

A Few (Shocking) Examples

How do these changes affect the value of these vouchers? Let’s look at a few examples using this year’s Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) Conference Report.

With the passage of SB7070, beginning next school year, the value of these vouchers will be set at 95 percent of the unweighted FTE funding amount at the district level, meaning the value will differ from county to county. For simplicity, we did some of these calculations based on the state average unweighted FTE funding:

A middle school student, whose family income was below the 200% federal poverty level.

2018-2019 school year: 92% of 7,429.42 = $6,835.07

2019-2020 school year: 95% of $7,672.02 = $7,288.42

An increase of: $453.35 or 6.6% more

An elementary student, whose family income was below the 200% federal poverty level.

2018-2019 school year: 88% of $7,429.42 = $6,537.89

2019-2020 school year: 95% of $7,672.02 = $7,288.42

An increase of: $750.53 or 11.5% more

Keep in mind, some districts are funded much higher than other. Voucher recipients in counties like Jefferson and Collier, for example, where FTE funding is above average will see greater than average gains. For example:

A high school student, in Jefferson County (FTE =  $9767.66) whose family income was below the 200% federal poverty level.

2018-2019 school year: 96% of $7,429.42 = $7132.24

2019-2020 school year: 95% of $9767.66 =

An increase of: $2,147.04 or 30.1% more

Also, the elimination of the sliding scale means students whose families have the highest qualifying incomes will see the greatest increases in the value of their voucher:

A high school student whose family income is between 245-260% of the federal poverty level:

2018-2019 school year: 50% of 956% of $7,429.42 = $3,566.12

2019-2020 school year: 95% of $7,672.02 = $7,288.42

An increase of: $3,722.30 or 104.4% more

A middle school student, whose family income is between 245-260% of the federal poverty level.

2018-2019 school year: 50% of 92% of $7,429.42 = $3,417.53

2019-2020 school year: 95% of $7,672.02 = $7,288.42

An increase of: $3,870.89 or 113.3% more

In counties with high FTE funding, like Collier, the increased funding for these students who denefit from the elimination of the sliding scale is mind blowing:

For an elementary student in Collier County (where the UFTE is $8,949.58), whose family income is between 245-260% of the federal poverty level, the increase is impressive:

2018-2019 school year: 50% of 88% of $7,429.42 = $3,268.94

2019-2020 school year: 95% of $8,949.58 = $8502.10

An increase of: $5,233.16 or $160% more!

All of the sudden the $242/3.72% increase in per-student spending, and the $75/1.79% increase in Base Student Allocation doesn’t sound that historic… No wonder the private schools and their legislative supporters have been celebrating.

DISCLAIMER: Actual values of these vouchers may (probably will) vary depending on how the Department of Education and Step Up For Students, the organization that administers most of the FTC and Hope vouchers, interpret the statute. Regardless, when elementary vouchers go from 88% to 95% funding and the sliding scale is eliminated for the upper income qualifiers, large increases will be seen in the value of many of these vouchers.