Two years after Florida expanded a law allowing tax dollars to fund private school scholarships, public school districts across Florida are facing declining enrollment and the loss of millions of dollars in public funding as more families opt for state-funded private education.

School officials in Orange County in central Florida estimate that for the 2025–26 school year, more than 30,000 scholarships totaling about $211 million will go to private schools and homeschoolers through the state’s Family Empowerment Scholarship Program, reducing the district’s state funding. The district’s traditional public schools are expected to lose up to 3,000 full-time students by 2026.

The state’s scholarship program was initially created to serve families with limited resources, but the financial eligibility restrictions and enrollment cap were eliminated in 2023. Usage spiked 67% as a result, the Orlando Sentinel reported in February. State voucher spending increased from $1.6 billion in the 2021–22 school year to $4 billion in 2024–25, an analysis by the Florida Policy Institute found.

Polk County, south of Orlando, estimates that private school vouchers and additional charter school funding have diverted $45.7 million from the county’s public schools. Polk County Schools Superintendent Fred Heid said the state has left the county to “subsidize state priorities using local resources.”

News 6, Orlando, Aug. 12
Lakeland Ledger, Aug. 7