School Choice Facts

Impact on Public Schools

Legislative History

Legal Action

Enrollment Growth

Demographics and Racial Balance

Cost and Fiscal Impact

Evaluations and Research

For More Information

Enrollment Growth

A+ Opportunity Scholarship Program

In 1999-00, Spencer Bibbs Elementary School and A.A. Dixon Elementary School, both in Pensacola, were Florida’s only schools with two failing designations in four years. This reflected the failure of students at those schools to meet minimal reading, writing, and math standards on the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test.

Among nearly 900 students at these schools, parents of 57 students chose to enroll their children in private schools. Per Florida law, these 57 students were chosen by lottery from 93 applicants. Parents of 85 other students chose different public schools.

No new A+OSP scholarships were awarded in 2000-01 or 2001-02, because no Florida school received a second failing grade in the previous two years of testing (see Impact on Public Schools). The program expanded dramatically in 2002-03 as ten new schools received a second failing grade this past year. Program enrollment jumped from 46 students in 2001-02 to 733 students in 2005-06.

See the A+OSP website for more information.

NOTE: On January 5, 2006, the A+ Opportunity Scholarship Program was declared unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court.

McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program

The McKay Scholarships Program, which operated in 1999-00 as a pilot project in Sarasota County, was expanded statewide in 2000-01, with a cap of 5% of students with disabilities in each district. 977 students participated. Substantial growth in 2001-02 and 2002-03 led to a program expansion to 16,144 special needs students receiving McKay Scholarships in 2005-06.

Students are eligible for the McKay Scholarships Program if parents determine that their child is not progressing in public school, regardless of whether that school received a poor grade from the state. As of 2001-02, Florida Statutes no longer limit enrollment in the program, so that any of state’s estimated 397,000 students with disabilities enrolled in public schools are eligible. By law, schools do not have to accept all students (e.g. a school for the blind does not have to accept an autistic student) and can accept payments over and above the state voucher amount.

Prior to the enactment of the McKay Scholarships Program, enrollment decisions for students receiving Exceptional Student Education (ESE) services were made primarily by school officials, not parents. By contrast, the McKay Scholarships Program allows parents to take a more active role in the decision-making process and to decide which school, public or private, can best provide educational opportunities for their child.

See the McKay Scholarships Program website for more information.

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