Florida

How Florida Tax Credit Scholarships are Awarded

Step 1) Apply with us.

In order to prove their eligibility, households must complete AAA’s application and provide supporting documentation by the stated deadline. The households must meet both the state and AAA’s requirements (click here for the 2019-20 Florida income chart). Each household member is required to provide proof of income. AAA does not rely on a household’s enrollment in a state food assistance or TANF program as proof of eligibility, a process sometimes referred to as “direct certification,” since those programs audit less than 3 percent of their recipient households.

In Florida, the household must reapply annually by the stated deadline.

Step 2) We notify you of your eligibility determination for the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship.

Processing of applications is typically completed within ten to twelve weeks once ALL required documentation has been received. Parents can check the status of their application by clicking on the “Check the Status of your Application” link. Once applications are in the “Completed” status, a determination letter will be mailed to the address on file within four to six weeks.

Households that are determined eligible AND have received funding for the upcoming school year will receive 1) a Scholarship Award Letter and 2) a School Commitment Form (SCF) in the mail directly from AAA. Those that are determined ineligible will receive a denial letter in the mail directly from AAA.

Please DO NOT enroll your student into a private school until you have actually received an AAA Scholarship Award Letter and SCF. Funding is not guaranteed. If you enroll your student before receipt of an SCF, you will be responsible for their tuition and fees and you may not qualify for future scholarship funding.

Step 3) If eligible, you tell us that you accept the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship.

The use of a scholarship cannot be postponed. The household must find an eligible private school for their student(s) as soon as they receive a scholarship award letter and SCF. Failure to meet the deadline stated on the SCF will result in the forfeiture of the awarded scholarship. Families should make a copy of the blank SCF before taking it to an eligible private school in case they decide to transfer to a different eligible private school later in the year. By completing the school enrollment form, both the parents and the schools agree to abide by the terms of the AAA Parent/School Handbooks.

Schools should not accept any students without an SCF unless the household: 1) is willing to self-pay their tuition and fees until they are awarded a scholarship and 2) will self-pay if they are not. If a household receives an SCF in error or their eligibility is revoked, the private school that has enrolled the student will be notified as soon as possible. By accepting the scholarship student(s) and scholarship payment(s) the private school agrees to repay any incorrectly made or overpayment of funds on behalf of the student(s), regardless of the reason. Households that document eligibility but are placed on a waitlist do not have a scholarship unless they receive a Scholarship Award Letter and SCF at a later date.

Step 4) Florida Tax Credit Scholarship payments are disbursed during the year.

Four times during the school year, AAA sends the school a verification form to ascertain whether the student remains enrolled and is current on any funds personally owed to the school. If the verification report is returned to us by the deadline, AAA then disburses one-quarter of the scholarship award in the form of a check, made payable to the parent/guardian but for deposit only by the school. The parent/guardian must restrictively endorse the check over to the school before it can be deposited.

Scholarship Values

The maximum value of an awarded scholarship is determined by each state. In an effort to ensure that the neediest families receive the most help, income-based scholarships are based on the following sliding scale for Florida:

• 100% scholarship for families with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level
• 88% scholarship for families with incomes of between 200 and 214.9 percent of the federal poverty level
• 74% scholarship for families with incomes of between 215 and 229.9 percent of the federal poverty level
• 60%  scholarship for families with incomes of between 230 and 244.9 percent of the federal poverty level
• 50% scholarship for families with incomes of between 245 and 250 percent of the federal poverty level