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The value of an A+OSP scholarship was based on a formula that reflects the amount of state aid sent to a district, local public school costs, and other variables. The scholarship could not exceed the cost of a private school’s tuition and fees, and the school was required to accept the scholarship as full payment.
On January 5, 2006, the A+ Opportunity Scholarship Program was declared unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court.
In 2002-03, approximately 2.5 million K-12 students were served by Florida's public schools. In that year, the average state per-pupil spending was $6,411, higher than the maximum scholarship amount in the A+OSP, resulting in savings to the state. In 2003-04, the State Appropriate for Education amounted to $17,199,995,605.
Maximum McKay scholarships equal the lesser of: (i) funding that would have been generated at the student’s assigned public school; or (ii) the cost of the private school’s tuition and fees. The St. Petersburg Times (“Other voucher plan to unfurl,” May 31, 2025) reports, “The amount of the voucher depends upon the amount of services the student was receiving in public school…. [T]he money is simply transferred along with the student leaving for private school … [so the vouchers do not] cost taxpayers or schools any additional money."
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