The organization, which provides about 99 percent of Florida’s school choice scholarships, has published a guide outlining what families can and cannot purchase with state-funded vouchers when homeschooling their children.
Step Up For Students has its 2024-2025 Purchase Guide for recipients of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Personalized Education Program or Family Empowerment Scholarship, all forms of federal education assistance. As in the past, authorized purchases include Paddleboards, televisions and tickets to Florida theme parks such as Disney World, Sea World, Universal and Legoland.
The list is largely unchanged since a previous version. sparked a debate during this year’s legislative session about whether the program needed guardrails. A bill introduced by Republican Rep. Josie Tomkow of Central Florida would have limited eligible items to materials related to basic areas such as language arts, math, science and social studies – and excluded items not directly related to education.
The legislature has not approved these changes. The published guide allows the purchases listed above as well as sporting goods such as swimming goggles, skateboards, musical instruments and fancy dress clothing.
“When Florida lawmakers proposed spending limits (on education savings accounts) in the 2024 session, many families approached their legislators or testified at committee hearings against the changes, arguing they would limit their ability to provide arts and other educational opportunities for their children,” said Scott Kent, communications director for Step Up, in an email. “Legislators listened, and the proposals were rejected.”
Step Up defended its reimbursement of theme park tickets when a family provides an explanation of the educational benefit to the student.
“Families have given Step Up numerous examples of how theme parks contribute to their students’ individual learning plans. For example, a family that homeschools their children incorporates all of the history and culture lessons that Disney World offers, including arts and music festivals,” Kent said. “Parents point out how the parks fit directly into the curriculum: If they’re doing zoology, they go to Animal Kingdom; if they’re doing marine biology, they go to Sea World; etc.”
Families can receive reimbursement for teaching materials such as curriculum, tables, chairs and whiteboards, as well as televisions up to 55 inches. Projectors and screens, picnic tables, Girl Scout and Boy Scout fees, woodworking supplies, home Internet service, Nintendo Wii equipment, Legos, board games, ping pong tables, printer ink, and stuffed animals.
According to the guide, the program does not reimburse families for laptops, cell phones, gaming systems (except Wii devices unless they are motion-based), printers, tickets to sporting events or other items.
