School vouchers

A Florida Auditor General report concluded the state Department of Education's voucher management program is riddled with problems. Millions of taxpayer dollars for the program are unaccounted for, infuriating lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle.

Private school owners continue to face financial struggles after the state dramatically expanded the school voucher program in 2023 and struggled to pay them in timely fashion.

Florida’s expansion of vouchers for families who want to enroll their children in private schools is leading to tighter budgets at public schools across the state.

All parents are eligible for public funds to help pay for nonpublic education since state lawmakers have dramatically expanded access to the scholarships in recent years.

More than 120,000 families have already applied for the vouchers.

Against the backdrop of favorable decisions by the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court, Florida was among nine states expanded their school voucher programs

Proponents of the scholarships have touted them as allowing families to customize students’ educations.

Florida is among at least four states that have made most children eligible for taxpayer-funded scholarships to private schools — and are seeing more families using the programs than planned.

Since a major expansion of the program, Florida's private school voucher system has experienced delays in getting money to families and schools.

Six weeks into the school year, families of special needs students still have not received school vouchers following a major expansion of the program.

Nearly 123,000 new students are in line to receive school vouchers under a major expansion of the programs, while an organization that administers the programs says they will not bring an "exodus" from public schools as critics have predicted.

The Florida education system has been in the spotlight lately after Gov. Ron DeSantis banned diversity and inclusion programs in public colleges and approved a controversial social studies curriculum.