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NOTE: On January 5, 2006, the A+ Opportunity Scholarship Program was declared unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court.
Florida’s Legislature and Governor have enacted two statewide programs that give parents vouchers to enroll their children in private religious and non-religious schools:
- A+ Scholarships. Students were eligible for the A+ Opportunity Scholarship Program (A+OSP) if their assigned public school was designated “failing” for two years in a four-year period by the Florida Department of Education. The scholarships they received were valid through the highest grade served by the failing school and could continue through high school if the assigned high school had a rating below C. Parents could enroll eligible students at private schools or at other public schools. In 2002-03, program eligibility expanded from two failing schools in Pensacola to ten more failing schools throughout the state (in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Orange and Escambia counties). Students at 15 double-F schools were eligible to receive vouchers in 2005-06. In 2005-06, 733 students received scholarships to attend private schools.
A state-sponsored evaluation found that the A+OSP has had a positive statewide impact. See Impact on Public Schools.
- McKay Scholarships. Students with disabilities whose parents are dissatisfied with their progress at their assigned public school are eligible for the McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program (McKay Scholarships Program) In 2005-06, 16,144 students are participating.
For further information on these programs, visit FloridaChild or the Florida Department of Education.
Information on the A+OSP and McKay Scholarships Program was updated in December 2005. For more recent developments, go to News.
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