John McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program
Florida's school choice programs ensure that no child will be left behind by allowing parents to choose the best educational setting—public or private—for their child. The McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program provided over 19,850 Florida students with special needs the opportunity to attend a participating private school during the 2007-08 school year. The McKay Scholarships Program also offers parents public school choice. A parent of a special needs student who is dissatisfied with the student’s current school may choose to transfer the student to another public school.
"The school-choice issue is not about public versus private; it's about choice. It's about knowing what works well for my family and being able to make that choice for them." -- Parent of a McKay Scholarships Student
The parent must apply for the McKay Scholarship prior to withdrawing the student from the public school.
General Information
The parent of a public school student with a
disability may request and receive from the State of Florida, a John M. McKay
Scholarship (McKay Scholarship) for the student to enroll in and attend a
private school or attend a public school other than the one to which is
assigned, in accordance with the rules of the State Board of Education.
Eligibility Requirements
To be considered for the McKay Scholarship, the
student must have an Individual Educational Plan (IEP), must be entering grades
K-12, and must have spent the prior school year in attendance at a Florida
public school in accordance with requirements and definitions established by
Florida SB 256. Only students that were counted in the October and February FTE
Surveys at a public school site during the prior school year are eligible for
initial eligibility. Students with disabilities are students who are
documented as having a mental disability, speech impairment, language
impairment, a hearing impairment, a visual impairment, a dual sensory
impairment, a physical impairment, an emotional/behavioral disability, a
specific learning disability, a traumatic brain injury, or autism spectrum
disorder.
If the student does not meet these requirements but has an IEP and is a dependent child of a member of the United States Armed Forces who transfers to a school in Florida from out of state or from a foreign country pursuant to a parent’s permanent change of station orders, the child may be eligible for a McKay Scholarship.
To apply for a McKay Scholarship to a private school click here.
Fact Sheet for Parents / Revised in English, Español and Haitian-Creole
How to Apply
Parents may find more information regarding the
McKay Scholarship program by calling the Office of Independent Education and
Parental Choice at 1-800-447-1636 or by visiting the website at
www.floridaschoolchoice.org/Information/Mckay/.
To apply for a McKay Scholarship to a private school click here.
The parent must apply for the McKay Scholarship prior to withdrawing the student from the public school.
Call us at 305-512-5994 for more information about McKay Scholarships at Goliath Academy.