6A-6.0960. Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program

The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program will be implemented as required by Section 1002.395, F.S., to allow nonprofit scholarship-funding organizations to provide scholarships from eligible contributions to qualified students attending eligible private schools or public schools outside the school district in which the student resides or in a laboratory school; or students participating in personalized education programs as defined in Section 1002.01(2), F.S.

(1) Eligibility of nonprofit scholarship-funding organizations.

(a) A nonprofit organization may apply or register to be a scholarship-funding organization by having its principal officer or legal representative submit documentation to the Department of Education as specified in Form IEPC SFO-1, Nonprofit Scholarship-Funding Organization Participation Application for New Scholarship Funding Organization (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-15719), effective August 2023, Form IEPC SFO-2, Nonprofit Scholarship-Funding Organization Participation Renewal for Scholarship Funding Organization (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-04662), effective November 2014, or Form IEPC SFO-3, Nonprofit Scholarship-Funding Organization Participation Application for State Universities and Independent Colleges or Universities (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-13502), effective September 2021, which are hereby incorporated by reference to become a part of this rule. The appropriate Nonprofit Scholarship-Funding Organization Form must be signed by the owner or operator, submitted annually, and be postmarked no later than September 1 for participation in the following school year. The Nonprofit Scholarship Funding Organization Participation Application for New Scholarship Funding Organizations may be submitted by November 1, and upon receipt by the Department of Education will be evaluated pursuant to Section 1002.395(c), F.S. and requirements in this rule.. Forms may be obtained through Florida Department of Education, Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice, 325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1044, Tallahassee, Florida 32399 or https://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/k-12-scholarship-programs/sfo/applications.stml.

(b) By July 1 of each year, the Department of Education shall make available the forms for organizations to use pursuant to paragraph (1)(a) of this rule.

(c) Each application submitted shall be reviewed by the Department in consultation with the Department of Revenue, and the Chief Financial Officer, to determine compliance with Section 1002.395, F.S., and requirements in this rule.

(d) Within thirty (30) days of each application deadline, the Department shall send to each nonprofit scholarship-funding organization applicant, at the address listed on the Nonprofit Scholarship-Funding Organization Form, a written notice of any deficiencies in the application.

(e) Upon notification by the Department, each nonprofit scholarship-funding organization applicant will have thirty (30) days to correct any deficiencies and resubmit the final application.

(f) Within thirty (30) days of receipt of the finalized application, the Commissioner of Education shall recommend approval or disapproval of the application to the State Board of Education.

1. The State Board of Education shall consider the application and recommendation at the next scheduled meeting.

2. In order to assist the State Board of Education in its decision, a Nonprofit Scholarship-Funding Organization must make a brief presentation to the State Board of Education.

3. If the State Board of Education disapproves an organization’s application, it shall provide the organization with a written explanation of that determination.

4. The action of the State Board of Education is not subject to proceedings under Chapter 120, F.S.

(g) No later than March 15 of each year, the Department shall submit to the Florida Department of Revenue and the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation a list of organizations that it has determined to be eligible to be listed as a nonprofit scholarship-funding organization for participation in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program.

(h) A state university; or an independent college which is eligible to participate in the William L. Boyd, IV, Effective Access to Student Education Grant Program, located and chartered in Florida, and is not for profit and accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, is exempt from the initial or renewal application process, but must file a registration notice with the Department of Education in order to be an eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization.

(i) If, at any point during the school year, a nonprofit scholarship-funding organization no longer meets the eligibility requirements for nonprofit scholarship-funding organizations, the Commissioner shall:

1. Issue a notice of noncompliance that gives the nonprofit scholarship-funding organization a reasonable time to meet the requirements, or

2. Issue a notice of proposed action to suspend the nonprofit scholarship-funding organization or to remove the nonprofit scholarship-funding organization from the list of eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organizations where the health, safety, or welfare of students is involved or the nonprofit scholarship-funding organization has failed to meet requirements specified in a notice of noncompliance pursuant to this paragraph.

(j) Nonprofit scholarship-funding organizations suspended or removed pursuant to paragraph (1)(i) of this rule shall have fifteen (15) days from receipt of the notice of proposed action to file with the Department’s agency clerk a request for a proceeding pursuant to Sections 120.569 and 120.57, F.S. All resulting proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with Chapter 120, F.S.

(k) Upon removal of an approved nonprofit scholarship-funding organization, the Department shall notify the Department of Revenue and the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation that the organization is no longer approved to participate in the program.

(2) Nonprofit scholarship-funding organization requirements.

(a) Eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organizations shall ten (10) times a year, no later than July 10,  August 10, September 10, October 10, November 10, January 10, February 10, March 10, April 10 and no later than fifteen (15) days after the last payment date of the school year, submit in a format to be specified by the Department an electronic list of all participating Florida Tax Credit scholarship students. The list shall include the following information:

1. Demographic information for each student, including name, date of birth, social security number, grade level, gender, race, parent’s name, mailing address, email address, telephone number, and student’s household income level;

2. Information on the student’s school of attendance, including tuition, fees, and transportation amounts;

3. The amount and type of each student’s scholarship; and,

4. Year-to-date information on the amount paid for each scholarship student during the school year and the school attended, including the first date of attendance and withdraw date. If a student attended more than one school, the summary shall detail the amount of the scholarship payments that the student generated by each school.

(b) Four (4) times a year, no later than October 30, January 30, April 30, and July 30 of each year, eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organizations shall submit, in a manner to be specified by the Department, electronic lists of expenditures for all scholarship students, providers of services, and participating private schools. The lists shall include the following information:

1. Initial balance in each student’s account as of July 1;

2. Program award amount for each student;

3. Private school expenditure for each student;

4. Expenditures by purpose type as specified in Section 1002.395(6)(f), F.S.; and,

5. The balance remaining in each student’s account.

(3) Nothing in this rule shall abrogate the Department’s authority to request any other information related to the scholarship program.

(4) Qualified students. Applications for a Florida Tax Credit Scholarship shall be made by parents directly through an eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization. The nonprofit scholarship-funding organization shall identify qualified students and award all scholarships consistent with the requirements of Sections 1002.395 and 212.099, F.S. The process used to identify qualified students and award scholarships is subject to the annual financial and compliance audit required by law.

(5) Private school participation. To participate in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, a school must meet the definition of an “eligible private school” as defined in Section 1002.395(2)(g), F.S., and:

(a) Annually meet all scholarship compliance requirements for private schools pursuant to Rule 6A-6.03315, F.A.C.; and,

(b) Continue to adhere to all statutory and rule requirements after determined eligible to participate in the program pursuant to Rule 6A-6.03315, F.A.C.

(6) Measurement of student achievement. Private schools participating in the program are responsible for ensuring that all students in grades three through ten who are receiving scholarships are assessed annually and the results reported as required by Section 1002.395(8)(b), F.S. Achievement data for scholarship students shall not be used to rate publicly the performance of private schools that participate in the program.

(a) Pursuant to Section 1002.395(9)(e), F.S., relating to the identification and selection of nationally norm-referenced tests for the measurement of student achievement, participating private schools must annually administer a nationally norm-referenced test that has been approved by the Department and listed on the Department’s website to students receiving Florida Income Tax Credit Scholarships. The list may be accessed at http://www.fldoe.org/schools/school-choice/k-12-scholarship-programs/ftc/annual-assessment-requirement.stml.

(b) The Department of Education may approve the use of a nationally norm-referenced assessment if it meets the following criteria:

1. The assessment has norming studies that show dates of the studies, definition of the populations sampled, the procedure used to draw the samples, sample sizes, participation rates, and any weighting or smoothing procedure used to make the sample data better represent the population. Norming studies must have been conducted within the last ten (10) years, with five (5) years being preferable.

2. The assessment has internal consistency/reliability and must be reported for content sub-domains (e.g., mathematics, reading) at a minimum of 0.80, and that reliability data be reported for each grade level.

3. For any open-ended, constructed-response items, rater agreement information (e.g., exact rater agreement rates, intraclass correlations, or kappa coefficients) is reported.

4. The standard error of measurement and conditional standard error of measurement (at various test score levels) are reported.

5. The test developer includes a clear description of the construct to be measured, the purpose of the test, intended interpretation of the scores/other test results, and intended test-taking population.

6. Documentation includes conceptual, empirical, and theoretical evidence that the test meets its intended purposes and support the intended interpretations of test results for the intended populations.

7. Documentation includes evidence that each test is aligned with rigorous content standards, and serves as an adequate measure of K-12 student achievement in core academic areas.

Rulemaking Authority 1002.395(9)(i), (12)(d), (15)(h)-(i) FS. Law Implemented 1002.395 FS. History–New 2-5-07, Amended 11-26-08, 6-22-10, 10-25-10, 11-4-14, 3-22-17, 8-21-18, 9-21-21, 8-22-23.