Hope FAQs

A student who has experienced and reported an incident of battery, harassment, hazing, bullying, kidnapping, simple battery, sexual offenses, threat or intimidation, or fighting at school will be given the opportunity to enroll in another public school that has capacity or the ability to request and receive a scholarship to attend an eligible private school.

A qualifying incident, as seen above, must have taken place at a K-12 public school, any school related or school-sponsored program or activity, riding the bus or waiting at the bus stop.

A parent who chooses to enroll his or her child in a public school located outside the district in which the student resides shall be eligible for a scholarship to transport the student.

A Hope scholarship for private school shall remain in force until the student returns to public school or graduates from high school, whichever occurs first. A scholarship student who enrolls in a public school or public school program is considered to have returned to a public school for the purpose of determining the end of the scholarship’s term.

The private school scholarship is forfeited when a parent enrolls the student in a public school or the student is enrolled in a DJJ commitment program.

The student is not eligible for scholarship while he or she is:

• Receiving a Florida Tax Credit Scholarship or Family Empowerment Scholarship.
• Participating in a home education program.
• Participating in a private tutoring program pursuant to section 1002.43, F.S.
• Participating in a virtual school, correspondence school, or distance learning program that receives state funding unless the participation is limited to no more than two courses per year.
• Enrolled in the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind.

• SFO websites, http://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/k-12-scholarship-programs/sfo/
• Section 1002.40, F.S.
• Rule 6A.6-0951, F.A.C.

Currently, only Step Up For Students administers this program.

Once the school principal has provided you the original, signed Hope Scholarship Program Incident Report Form, your next step is to determine if you would like to enroll your student in another public school or an eligible private school.

• To enroll in another public school, please contact your school district office.
• To apply for funding to attend an eligible private school or to apply for the transportation scholarship, you will need to contact one of the approved nonprofit Scholarship Funding Organizations (SFO).

Currently, only Step Up for Students administers this program.

You will need to apply for the scholarship through one of the approved SFO by providing the original version of the Hope Scholarship Notification Form and submitting any further documentation required by the SFO you are applying through.

Currently, only Step Up for Students administers this program.

You will need to apply for the scholarship through one of the approved SFO by providing the original version of the Hope Scholarship Notification Form and submitting any further documentation required by the SFO you are applying through. The SFO is responsible for determining eligibility and awarding funding.

Currently, only Step Up for Students administers this program.

By way of receiving the Hope Notification Form signed by your principal or designee, the student is eligible. The SFO in which you have applied under will award the funding. The scholarship is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis and is contingent on available funds.

• Grades K-5 $8,089
• Grades 6-8 $7,529
• Grades 9-12 $7,525

The Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice maintains a directory of private schools which can be found at http://www.floridaschoolchoice.org/information/privateschooldirectory/. You may filter for schools by district.

Yes, the scholarship can be transferred to another eligible private school. You may want to check with your Scholarship Funding Organization if transferring during the school year affects payments to the school(s).

• Select an eligible private school and apply for the admission of his or her child;
• Inform the child's school district when the parent withdraws his or her child to attend an eligible private school within 15 days of that decision;
• Ensure the scholarship student remains in attendance throughout the school year unless excused by the school for illness or other good cause;
• Ensure that the student participating in the scholarship program takes the norm-referenced assessment offered by the private school.
• If desired, request from the school district for the student to take the statewide assessment pursuant to s. 1008.22, F.S., and provide transportation to the test site designated by the district;
• Restrictively endorse or approve a funds transfer of the scholarship payment to the private school for deposit into the account of the private school.