The Missing Piece in Florida’s Education Choice Landscape

In a move to revolutionize the education landscape, last year, seven states enacted new school choice programs, while an additional 10 states expanded programs, earning 2023 the moniker “the Year of School Choice.”

In Florida, students can participate in four school choice programs—two Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), a tax credit scholarship program and a Hope Scholarship Program to help bullied students.

Families are enrolling in these programs in droves. An EdChoice report revealed enrollment in the expanded Family Empowerment Scholarship Program increased 30 percent since the last school year, with over 85,000 students enrolled in the 2023-24 school year.

Florida families can use their ESA dollars to pay for pre-approved private school tuition, homeschooling materials, or other school-related costs. The ESA program enables many Florida students with the opportunity to receive an education tailored to their individual needs, that is unless their education choice happens to be a full-time online private school. And in that case, well, they are on their own.