Tuesday was the second meeting where School Board member Paige Brookins has worn her Go Big Red button to honor her side bet with Board Chairman Brad Etheridge on the right. Brookins bet the Chiefland boys would win the state baseball championship against the Red Devils. Etheridge backed Williston. The Red Devils won. Brookins must wear the red badge the entire school year.
By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Public school students in Florida are being offered another opportunity to switch to private schools through a new voucher program called the Family Empowerment Scholarship.
Levy County School Board members, who see declining enrollment as it is, expressed concern Tuesday that the new, broader based voucher program could open the doors even wider to transfers to private schools.
“It pretty much opens up Pandora’s box in the State of Florida,” said Board member Chris Cowart.
The Florida Legislature approved the program in the spring session. The Florida Department of Education is heralding the program as “one of Florida’s greatest victories for low-income and working class families and the first of its kind to extend support to middle income families.”
“The FES Program will provide an educational lifeline to students waiting for an opportunity to find the school that will best work for them and puts more parents in the driver’s seat to determine the best educational environments for their children,” the Florida Department of Education website says.
There are 18,000 scholarships for the entire state in the coming school year.
Superintendent Jeff Edison said the school district has notified parents of the program. He said the scholarship money will flow through the school district to the private school that accepts the student.
Edison said there is likely to be a legal challenge. He said legal challenges have been filed in the past contesting the constitutionality of voucher programs. The school board says vouchers rob the school district of revenue.
The school board receives about $4,300 annually from the State of Florida to educate each student. When the student transfers to a private school or to another school district the Levy County School Board loses the money.
Parents should check with the private school they wish to use before pulling their child out of the Levy County School District. The private school must be willing to accept the student.
One of the criteria says the student’s family income may not exceed 300 percent of the federal poverty level ($77,250 for a family of four). The higher income level provides opportunities for a great number of students.
Past voucher programs, some of which still exist, were strictly for the lowest income students.
Parents won’t go to the school board offices or the school to apply for the scholarship. The application process is online. If the parents don’t have access to the internet at home all the county’s public libraries provide computer access to the public.
School Board of Levy County Regular Meeting June 25 2019; Posted June 25, 2019
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For more information below is the link to Florida Department of Education for FES Program Information: http://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/k-12-scholarship-programs/fes/
Information pages from that FLDOE website:
Family Empowerment Scholarship
The Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES) Program is one of Florida’s greatest victories for low-income and working-class families, and it is the first of its kind to extend support to middle-income families. Following the 2019 Legislative Session, Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 7070, which creates the FES Program and provides 18,000 students life-changing education opportunities for academic and career success.
The FES Program will provide an educational lifeline to students waiting for an opportunity to find the school that will best work for them and puts more parents in the driver’s seat to determine the best educational environments for their children.
Eligibility
A student is eligible for a scholarship if the student meets the following criteria:
The student’s household income level does not exceed 300% of the federal poverty level ($77,250 for a family of four) or the student is on the direct certification list (list of children who qualify for the food assistance program, the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Program, or the Food Distribution on Indian Reservations program), or
The student is currently placed, or during the previous state fiscal year was placed, in foster care or in out-of-home care as defined in s. 39.01
and
The student is eligible to enroll in kindergarten or has spent the prior school year (2018-19) in attendance at a Florida public school. Prior attendance means the student was enrolled in and in attendance at a Florida public school during both the October and February student counts.
Prior to scholarship funds being awarded, the student must be accepted and enrolled in a participating private school. For a list of eligible schools, please view the Department’s Private School Directory. A private school that is currently eligible to participate in any of the scholarship programs is eligible to participate in the FES. However, parents should contact the schools to inquire as to whether the private school will participate in the program.
How to Begin Application Process
Parents who meet the eligibility requirements above and are interested in applying for the FES should first contact one of Florida’s two approved scholarship funding organizations (SFOs) to complete the income verification process. Students who have already applied for the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) Scholarship program may be determined to meet the income eligibility without resubmitting household income documentation to the SFO.
http://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/k-12-scholarship-programs/fes/
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Frequently Asked Questions
Updated May 14, 2019
How many scholarships will be available?
For the 2019-20 school year up to 18,000 scholarships may be awarded. Beginning in 2020-21, the number of students participating in the scholarship program may increase by .25 percent of the state’s total public school student enrollment.
How do I begin the application process?
Parents who meet the eligibility requirements and are interested in applying for the FES should first contact one of Florida’s two approved scholarship funding organizations (SFOs) to complete the income verification process. Parents who have already applied for the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program may not be required to submit additional documentation for income verification.
Will certain students get priority for the new scholarship?
Yes. Priority is given to students whose household income levels do not exceed 185% of the federal poverty level or who are in foster care or out-of-home care.
How much will the scholarship be worth?
The scholarship amount is the lesser of the school’s tuition and fees or the calculated scholarship amount (described next). The scholarship amount is based upon the grade level and district in which the student resides and will be calculated at 95% of the funds per unweighted FTE full-time equivalent in the Florida Education Finance program for a student in the basic program established pursuant to s. 1011.62(1)(c)1., plus a per-full-time equivalent share of funds for all categorical programs, except for the Exceptional Student Education Guaranteed Allocation. The Department will post actual scholarship amounts on the page in the near future.
Who will verify my household income?
An approved non-profit scholarship funding organization will verify your household income.
The Florida Department of Education will verify all eligibility requirements other than household income. The Department will work with SFOs to receive additional documentation necessary to verify eligibility.
Probably not. If the scholarship funding organization has already verified your household income and has enough documentation to verify that you meet the income requirements for the FES, they may use the existing documentation to determine income eligibility for the FES.
How will scholarship payments be made?
The Department of Education will make quarterly scholarship payments. Payments will be made September 1, November 1, February 1, and April 1 of each school year. However, for the 2019-20 school year, the first payment will be made by October 1.
The initial payment will be made after the Department verifies that the student has been accepted into a participating private school, and subsequent quarterly payments will be made upon verification of continued enrollment and attendance at the private school.
The scholarship payment will be by individual warrant made payable to the student’s parent and mailed by the department to the private school the student is enrolled in. The parent must restrictively endorse the warrant to the private school for deposit into the account of the private school.
Can I receive the FES and another scholarship program?
No. A student may not participate in more than one scholarship program.
What can the scholarship funds be used for?
The FES can be used for tuition and fees at a participating private school.
Does part-time enrollment in virtual courses affect the “Florida Empowerment Scholarship?”
Yes. An FES student may not take any state funded virtual school courses without jeopardizing scholarship eligibility.
How can I find out whether a private school is participating in the program?
A private school that is eligible to participate in any of the existing scholarship programs (FTC, McKay, Gardiner or Hope) is eligible to participate in the FES. Please review the Private School Directory for a listing of eligible private schools. A parent should contact the private school they are interested in and confirm that the school will participate in the FES.
What are my responsibilities as a parent?
- The parent must select the private school and apply for the admission of his or her student.
- The parent must request the scholarship at least 60 days before the date of the first scholarship payment.
- The parent must inform the applicable school district when the parent withdraws his or her student from a public school to attend an eligible private school.
- Any student participating in the program must remain in attendance throughout the school year unless excused by the school for illness or other good cause.
- Before enrolling in a private school, a student and his or her parent or guardian must meet with the private school’s principal or the principal’s designee to review the school’s academic programs and policies, customized educational programs, code of student conduct, and attendance policies.
- The parent shall ensure that the student participating in the scholarship program takes the norm-referenced assessment offered by the private school. The parent may also choose to have the student participate in the statewide assessments.
- If the parent requests that the student participating in the program take all statewide assessments required pursuant to s. 1008.22, the parent is responsible for transporting the student to the assessment site designated by the school district.
- Upon receipt of a scholarship warrant, the parent to whom the warrant is issued must restrictively endorse the warrant to the private school for deposit into the private school’s account. The parent may not designate any entity or individual associated with the participating private school as the parent’s attorney in fact to endorse a scholarship warrant. A participant who fails to comply with this paragraph forfeits the scholarship.
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Scholarship Funding Organizations
Scholarship Funding Organizations 2018-2019
Each of the Scholarship Funding Organizations (SFO) below is approved to administer the Family Empowerment Scholarship, the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, the Gardiner Scholarship, the Hope Scholarship, and the Reading Scholarship Programs. Please contact the SFO to determine the programs they administer.
A.A.A.
Scholarship Foundation- FL, LLC
P.O. Box 15719, Tampa, FL 33684
Phone/Fax: 888-707-2465
info@aaascholarships.org
Step Up For Students
P.O. Box 54367
Jacksonville, FL 32245-4367
877-735-7837
info@stepupforstudents.org
Previous Years
Scholarship Funding Organizations 2017-2018
A.A.A.
Scholarship Foundation- FL, LLC
P.O. Box 15719, Tampa, FL 33684
Phone/Fax: 888-707-2465
info@aaascholarships.org
Step Up For Students
P.O. Box 54367
Jacksonville, FL 32245-4367
877-735-7837
info@stepupforstudents.org
Scholarship Funding Organizations 2016-2017
A.A.A.
Scholarship Foundation- FL, LLC
P.O. Box 15719, Tampa, FL 33684
Phone/Fax: 888-707-2465
info@aaascholarships.org
Step Up For Students
P.O. Box 54367
Jacksonville, FL 32245-4367
877-735-7837
info@stepupforstudents.org
Scholarship Funding Organizations 2015-2016
A.A.A.
Scholarship Foundation- FL, LLC
P.O. Box 15719, Tampa, FL 33684
Phone/Fax: 888-707-2465
info@aaascholarships.org
Step Up For Students
P.O. Box 54367
Jacksonville, FL 32245-4367
877-735-7837
info@stepupforstudents.org
Scholarship Funding Organizations 2014-2015
A.A.A.
Scholarship Foundation- FL, LLC
P.O. Box 15719, Tampa, FL 33684
Phone/Fax: 888-707-2465
info@aaascholarships.org
Step Up For Students
P.O. Box 54367
Jacksonville, FL 32245-4367
877-735-7837
info@stepupforstudents.org
Scholarship Funding Organizations 2013-2014
Step Up For Students
P.O. Box 54367
Jacksonville, FL 32245-4367
877-735-7837
info@stepupforstudents.org
Scholarship Funding Organizations 2012-2013
Step Up For Students
P.O. Box 54367
Jacksonville, FL 32245-4367
877-735-7837
info@stepupforstudents.org
