As dedicated educators and advocates of School Choice, we believe every child deserves access to a quality education tailored to their unique needs. Our private school proudly serves students through Florida’s scholarship programs, and we have seen how meaningful these opportunities impact their lives. But we are increasingly concerned with how Step Up for Students is managing its financial responsibility to the families and schools it claims to support, especially in the wake of the McKay Scholarship transition THAT BEGAN on July 1, 2022.
Under the current system, Step Up for Students, along with the Florida Department of Education uses a matrix-based funding model, which assigns scholarship award amounts according to the level of need as documented in a student’s IEP. The issue is not with the matrix itself, (although Step Up collapsed the students in the first 3 funding positions, 251-253, into one level) it's that the scholarship organization is failing to honor the published funding levels for students with higher matrix designations, especially the students who are designated as 254 ( $21, 646.00) and 255 ($34835.00). They are lowering the matrix of these students to 251 ($9592.00). The amounts clearly listed on their own materials are not being disbursed as they should be, and even more importantly, why are these students and their families NOT BEING NOTIFIED AND GIVEN DUE PROCESS. Where is this money going?
Is it true that Step Up is not required to be monitored by an outside CPA as the private schools are? In addition, why are there not financial reports for every year on their website? Are they NOT required to be transparent with all the millions and billions of dollars we trust them with?
This failure to follow through has caused significant hardships. In our school alone, hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarship funds have gone unpaid over the last five years. This shortfall forces nonprofit schools like ours to make difficult and often unfair decisions—raising tuition, reducing services, or subsidizing costs through high interest loans just to ensure students receive the support they need and are entitled to legally.
It is unacceptable for an organization entrusted with public dollars and student futures to under-deliver on its own published guidelines. Moreover, to boast of how many more students they are serving every year when they are not meeting the financial requirements of the students they already have in hand! The students most affected by this failure are those who need support the most—students with disabilities and complex learning needs, whose services are directly tied to these funding levels.
We are calling on Step Up for Students to act with integrity and accountability. If School Choice is to remain a truly empowering option for families, then the organizations that facilitate it must do right by the students they serve. That means full, transparent, and timely distribution of scholarship funds in accordance with the state’s own standards and the students' documented needs.
Anything less is a BETRAYAL of the promise of School Choice—and of the families who have placed their trust in this system.
To help us offset the significant costs we have incurred due to this ongoing negligence—and to ensure our students continue receiving the services they deserve—we have included a donation link below. Your support goes directly toward filling the gap left by these funding shortfalls.
https://linktr.ee/lakelandinstituteforlearning
Thank you for standing with us in support of accountability, transparency, and above all, our students.
