Florida Lawmakers Voice Concerns Over Accountability in School Voucher Program
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida lawmakers expressed frustration Wednesday over difficulties tracking how state funds are being used within the state’s rapidly expanding school voucher program, raising questions about accountability for scholarship funding organizations. The concerns center on challenges in assigning state identification numbers to students new to the public school system who receive vouchers, and inconsistencies in data tracking between districts.
Florida considerably broadened its voucher program in 2023, making all students eligible for taxpayer-financed vouchers to attend private schools through the Family Empowerment Scholarships. The program is funded through both taxpayer dollars and the Florida Tax Credit program, which relies on private corporate donations. House Bill 1, signed into law in 2023, prioritizes the use of tax credit funds before allocated legislative funding.
The issue arose during a recent discussion where representatives from Scholarship Funding Organizations (SFOs) detailed their processes for verifying student enrollment. Lawmakers learned that students who have never been enrolled in a public school - and therefore lack a state ID number – face a complex process to obtain one, sometimes requiring a withdrawal request from their zoned district despite never having attended.
“There’s no accountability,” Rep. Ashley Gantt, D-Miami, told the USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida.”Millions of dollars are being paid to these scholarship organizations, and there is zero accountability when they’re required to track students the same way public schools are required.”
Rep. Toby Overdorf, R-Palm City, questioned the complexity of the system, asking, ”How long does it take to change a form so the numbers follow the student and go to each department?”
SFO representatives stated they crosscheck scholarship files with district enrollment data, but acknowledged discrepancies exist due to differing systems across districts. Despite these assurances, lawmakers remained unconvinced that sufficient oversight is in place to ensure proper allocation of public funds.
Florida law mandates that every student receiving public funds have a state-assigned ID number. The concerns highlight a growing debate over openness and accountability as the voucher program continues to expand and utilize increasing amounts of public money.