State Scholarships Offer Lifeline to Parents Facing Income Challenges Due to COVID-19

For decades, Florida has played a leading role in creating policies to empower parents in determining the best schools or programs to serve their children. The state offers a robust lineup of scholarships for students from low-income families or with special education needs. These options offer parents a lifeline of hope and opportunity for their schoolchildren despite facing income or job loss due to the current crisis.
 
If you are a Florida parent or guardian of a student who will be in kindergarten to 12 ^th grade for the 2020-2021 school year, two state-approved Scholarship Funding Organizations (SFOs) offer easy-to-understand applications and eligibility information.
 
Both Step Up for Students and the AAA Scholarship Foundation, Inc. offer scholarships for children from low-income families through the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program and the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program. Moreover, both SFOs offer the Gardiner Scholarship Program for children age 3-22 with special education needs such as Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, and a number of other qualifying conditions.
 
For more information or to apply for these scholarships for the 2020-2021 school year, please visit the websites of  Step Up for Students and the  AAA Scholarship Foundation, Inc.