Step Up For Students - Florida

Florida tax credit scholarship program: in the 2022-23 school year, 100,198 underprivileged Students attended 2,090 private schools on a Step Up for Students' tax credit scholarship. The k-12 scholarship program was created in 2001 to help alleviate the enormous educational challenges faced by children who live in poverty, and it is now the largest such scholarship in the nation. Qualified Students could receive Up to a maximum scholarship of $10,373, depending on grade level and county residence, for private school tuition and fees or Up to $750 in transportation costs to attend an out-of-district public school.

Hope scholarship program: Step Up for students-florida administers the hope scholarship, which was created in 2018 to provide the option of private school scholarships to Students in public schools who have experienced acts of bullying and intimidation. The scholarships are financed by contributions from automobile buyers, who are allowed under the law to redirect Up to $105 of their state taxes on each purchase. Those contributions are used to provide tuition scholarships to participating private schools for a maximum scholarship of $10,373, depending on grade level and county residence, or a $750 transportation scholarship to a attend an out-of-district public school. The scholarship began in 2018 and served 871 Students during the 2022-23 school year. Any unused funds in the hope scholarship program can be used to fund scholarships to Students on the Florida tax credit scholarship program in the next state of Florida fiscal year.

The family empowerment scholarship program was established in 2019 to provide children and families in the state of Florida which have limited resources with educational options to achieve success in their education. The family empowerment scholarship was expanded into two branches: family empowerment scholarship for educational options and for Students with unique abilities (formally known as gardiner scholarship). Family empowerment scholarship educational options: this scholarship is intended to help reduce the wait list for the tax credit scholarship program and similarily serves Students from low-income and working-class households. Step Up for students-florida, as an approved sfo, administered this scholarship and served 88,584 k-12 Students for the 2022-2023 school year. Qualified Students could receive Up to a maximum scholarship of $10,373, depending on grade level and county residence, for private school tuition and fees or Up to $750 in transportation costs to attend an out-of-district public school.family empowerment scholarship for Students with unique abilities (formally known as gardiner scholarship): in the 2022-23 school year, Step Up for students-florida administered this scholarship program for Students with unique abilities with specific diabilities that include: autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, spina bifida, intellectual disability, williams syndrome, and more. Through this scholarship program, 17,902 eligible Students received a scholarship for the 2022-23 school year at an average of $9,773 each. The program empowers families to choose the educational services that best meet the needs of their student, and the money can be spent for schools, therapists, specialists, curriculum, technology even a college savings account.

New worlds reading scholarship program: the new worlds reading scholarship was created in 2018 to provide academic support for elementary school Students in district or charter schools, who struggle in reading. Step Up for students-florida, as an approved scholarship funding organization, administers the program. The scholarship is available to Students in third- through fifth-grade who have scored a level 1 or 2 on the english language arts section of the Florida standards assessment. Each scholarship is worth $500, which the parent can use to pay for tuition and fees related to part-time tutoring, summer and after-school literacy programs, instructional materials and more. Through the new worlds reading scholarship program, 7,447 Students received scholarships in the 2022-23 school year.

Policy, innovation and empowerment: this department takes the message of the scholarship programs to constituency groups, community and political leaders, and local, state, and national news publications. It issues press releases on topics of special concern and writes commentary for various publications. The team analyzes demographic, achievement and participation data, and trends in the program and education choice movement. The team responds to numerous information requests from newspapers, other media, and legislative and agency offices. The team also organizes advocates and supporters who believe children should be educated based on how they learn, rather than where they live. The team educates, informs, and trains parents to be advocates and supporters for the protections and expansion of choice opportunities. These services are provided to parents of children participating in programs administered by the organization and may also be provided to parents utilizing other choice options.