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Feature News | Tuesday, September 08, 2020

Florida offers tuition help for parents

Scholarships offered for special needs students, low and middle-income families

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Image on the home page of Step Up for Students, one of two approved scholarship funding organizations in Florida.

Photographer: Via stepupforstudents.org/

Image on the home page of Step Up for Students, one of two approved scholarship funding organizations in Florida.

MIAMI | The state of Florida offers a number of scholarship options for families who want to send their children to a Catholic school. Some of these are income-based, some are for special needs students and some are geared to promote school readiness among young children.

Archdiocese of Miami schools accept many of these educational scholarships, although different schools may accept different ones.

These scholarships are funded either by the state or through the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, and administered by approved scholarship funding organizations. Established in 2001, FTC encourages private, voluntary contributions from corporate donors to non-profit scholarship funding organizations that award scholarships to children from low-income families.

The approved scholarship funding organizations in Florida are Step Up for Students and AAA Scholarship Foundation.

Here's a list of the scholarships available for families in the Archdiocese of Miami. The following information was compiled from My Choices in Ed FL and the Catholic schools tab on the Archdiocese of Miami website.

 

Family Empowerment Scholarships

Family Empowerment Scholarships are publicly funded scholarships to help lower and middle-income families send their child to a participating private school. Students must be entering Kindergarten or have attended a public school the previous school year or have recently been in foster or out of home care.

The income limits range from $51,720 for a 2-person household to $105,480 for a 6-person household. The average scholarship value is $7,250.47 for grades Kindergarten through 3; $6,775.32 for grades 4 through 8; and $6,795.12 for grades 9 through 12.

Apply at Step Up for Students or AAA Scholarship Foundation.

 

Florida Tax Credit Scholarships

Florida Tax Credit Scholarships are available to help lower-income families send their students attend a participating private school or to cover transportation costs to attend a different public school in another school district. Students who have recently been in foster or out of home care are also eligible.

The income limits range from $44,824 for a 2-person household to $91,416 for a 6-person household. The average scholarship value for an eligible private school is $6,800.

Apply at Step Up for Students or AAA Scholarship Foundation.

 

Gardiner Scholarships

Gardiner Scholarships are available to families of children with special needs. Scholarships may be used for a variety of educational services, including private school tuition, tutoring, specialized services like occupational therapy or speech therapy, instructional materials and more.

Students must have an Individual Educational Plan (a written plan for the special education of a student with a disability) and or a 504 Accommodation Plan that is effective for more than six months.

More information at Gardiner Scholarships in Florida.

 

McKay Scholarships

McKay scholarships are available to help students with special needs attend a participating private school or a public school of their choice. Students must have an Individual Education Plan or a 504-accommodation plan that is effective for more than six months.

Students must be entering Kindergarten or have attended a public school the previous school year or have recently been in foster or out of home care. Dependent children of members of the United States Armed Forces are also eligible.

The average value of a McKay Scholarship is $8,262 for students with an Individual Education Plan; $4,626 for students with a 504-accommodation plan.

More information at the Florida Dept. of Education.

 

School readiness

Florida’s School Readiness Program offers financial assistance to low-income families for early education and care so their young children can do well in school in the future and the families can become financially self-sufficient.

Services vary based on individual needs and range from extended day care to after-school and school-age care in some instances.

More information at Florida Early Learning.

 

VPK

Florida’s Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program or VPK is a free educational program that prepares 4-year-olds for kindergarten and beyond. Children must live in Florida and be 4 on or before September 1 of the school year they enroll.

Parents can choose from private childcare centers or public schools and school-year or summer programs. Parents of 4-year-olds with special needs have an option outside the classroom setting.

Apply at Florida Early Learning.

Image on the home page of the AAA Scholarship Foundation, one of two approved scholarship funding organizations in Florida.

Photographer: Via aaascholarships.org/

Image on the home page of the AAA Scholarship Foundation, one of two approved scholarship funding organizations in Florida.


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