The General Appropriations Act provides funding for Florida’s Gardiner Scholarship Program and specifies the annual amount. The amount varies according to grade, county of residence and public school spending for students with disabilities. The Florida legislature appropriated $147.9 million to the ESA program for 2019–20. ESAs are prorated based on the academic quarter in which the student is deemed eligible for the ESA by a scholarship-funding organization.

To be awarded an ESA, students must between the ages of 3 and 22 or be in 12th grade, whichever comes first. Students must have an Individualized Education Plan or have been diagnosed by a physician or psychologist with one of the following: autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, an intellectual disability, muscular dystrophy, Phelan-McDermid syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, spina bifida, Williams syndrome, anaphylaxis, dual sensory impairment or rare diseases which affect patient populations of fewer than 200,000 Americans. Students are also eligible if A) they are identified as deaf or visually impaired, B) they have had a traumatic brain injury defined by the state board of education, C) they are hospitalized or homebound with a medically diagnosed physical or psychiatric condition for more than six months or D) they are students aged 3, 4 or 5 who are considered “high-risk” due to developmental delay.

Although Florida’s McKay voucher is the nation’s largest such program for students with special needs, the state still took an important step to pass ESAs designed to give parents access to educational therapy, tutoring and online learning programs, which are inaccessible through a traditional voucher program. The Florida legislature recently increased funding from $128.3 million to $147.9 million, providing even more students with special needs access to the educational services they need. Lawmakers have also expanded the program to include additional disabilities, as well as 4- and 5-year-old students deemed at risk for developmental delays. Notably, Florida’s ESA program is administered by approved nonprofit organizations that reimburse parents for approved expenses. Step Up for Students, the nonprofit serving the majority of participating students, has developed a payment process for parents who cannot make purchases out of pocket. It is encouraging to see Florida take an innovative approach to delivering services and educational choice programs to more families. Florida’s nonprofit approach to ESA administration provides a good policy example to states considering ESA programs because such organizations have greater autonomy and flexibility than state bureaucracies and are primarily dedicated to ensuring that children have access to the educational options they need.

• Income Limit: None
• Prior Year Public School Requirement: None
• Geographic Limit: Statewide
• Enrollment Cap: None
• Account Cap: 90 percent of state and local funds reflected in the state funding formula and categorical grants for students with special needs
• Testing Mandates: State or National (if deemed appropriate for the child)
• Limited to students with special needs, those diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder; cerebral palsy; Down syndrome; an intellectual disability; muscular dystrophy; Phelan-McDermid syndrome; Prader-Willi syndrome; spina-bifida; Williams syndrome; identified as deaf, visually impaired, or having a traumatic brain injury defined by the State Board of Education; those who are hospitalized or homebound with a medically diagnosed physical or psychiatric condition for more than six months; or students age 3, 4, or 5 who are considered “high-risk” due to developmental delays

Parent Requirements

• Must sign an agreement with the SFO annually to:
  • Affirm that the student is enrolled in a program that meets regular school attendance requirements
  • Affirm that program funds are used only for authorized purposes serving the student’s educational needs
  • Ensure student takes all appropriate standardized assessments, either the state assessment test or a nationally recognized norm-referenced test that is administered by a school
  • Affirm that the parent will not transfer any college savings funds to another beneficiary
  • Affirm that the parent will not take possession of any funding provided by the state
  • Affirm that an insurance company, Medicaid, or any other agency will not be billed for the same services that are paid for using Gardiner Scholarship funds

Fla. Stat. §1002.385

On December 30, 2014, the Circuit Court, Second Judicial Circuit, Leon County, Florida, dismissed, with prejudice, a case challenging the Gardiner Scholarship. The plaintiff, a high school social studies teacher in the Lee County Public Schools, in July of 2014 alleged the law violated the state constitution’s “single subject matter” rule. There was no appeal. Faasse v. Scott, No. 2014 CA 1859 (Fla. 2d Cir. Dec. 30, 2014).