JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The rapid expansion of school choice in Florida has now led to a lawsuit claiming the organization charged with disbursing scholarship funds has failed to accurately pay.
Florida lawmakers have opened up more and more opportunities for students to receive private school scholarships over the years, culminating in the passage of universal school choice in 2023.
But a coalition of private schools from across the state is now alleging that, as those options have expanded, the consistency and accuracy of award amounts have gotten worse and worse.
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“There’s been a range of $300 million to $600 million of state funds that came by way of DOE that is no longer able to be traced,” Attorney Lamonte Carter said.
Carter is representing seven named private schools, including ICity Christian School here in Jacksonville, as part of the new legal challenge that seeks to recoup unpaid scholarship dollars.
The lawsuit targets Step Up for Students, the nonprofit tasked with managing the state’s private school scholarships.
Carter claimed each school has been underpaid between half a million and a million dollars over the past five years.
He also argued many of those missing or incorrect scholarship payments were intended for special needs students.
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Carter explained that’s led to some of the school operators having to dig into their own pockets to keep their doors open.
“Depleting personal funds, taking high-interest loans, loans out on your own personal homes. A lot of that and more has taken place to continue to service these children that had dollars committed and never received,” Carter said.
In a statement sent to Action News Jax, a Step Up for Students spokesperson pushed back on the claims, calling them “unfounded.”
“Their complaints are not indicative of any larger issues with the programs, rather are specific to their schools. Step Up For Students is disappointed that the schools have chosen to file a lawsuit, which we believe is motivated by their goal of effecting policy and legislative changes, which would undermine anti-fraud controls,” said the Step Up For Students spokesperson. “We will work with our attorneys to address the allegations the schools have raised and respond accordingly.”
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Carter noted there is pending legislation that aims to improve the financial accountability of the state’s universal school choice scholarships.
The bill has already cleared the state Senate.
But he argues it falls short in some key ways, like the frequency of audits.
And while the lawsuit does aim to recoup unpaid funds for the schools involved, improving the system overall is also a goal.
“We’re pushing for transparency, accountability, standards operating procedures and sound fiduciary responsibility,” Carter said.
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