R Street Institute

Policy Studies Florida

The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program

March 18, 2020
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Key Points

Since the creation of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program in 2001, the private school sector, local communities, and private, voluntary contributors have worked in close partnership to expand educational opportunities to children from low-income families.
The Florida Tax Credit (FTC) Scholarship Program empowers students from low-income families with educational options by awarding them with a scholarship to attend a private school of their choice. Since 2001, the FTC program has served more than 784,000 students from low-income families with an average household income of $25,731.
Today, more than a quarter of all students attending a private school in Florida are doing so through the FTC program.

The FTC program has generated a wide spectrum of activity outside of the government to expand educational opportunity for hundreds of thousands of low-income students across Florida. Private schools are increasingly opting to participate in the program, and many of these schools are choosing to serve higher percentages of scholarship students. Community leaders are starting new schools to serve low-income students, parents are marching on Tallahassee to protect the program, and scholarship demand is exceeding supply. Moreover, the program has mobilized millions of dollars in private, voluntary giving, and these contributors remain engaged in the program year after year.

Press release: How Florida Engages the Community through the Tax Credit Scholarship Program

Image credit:  ITTIGallery

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