Pass SB 318 – Fix Florida’s Broken School Funding Accounting

Florida’s school funding system is unfairly penalizing public schools because of how vouchers are accounted for in the FEFP formula. When a family receives a Family Empowerment Scholarship (voucher), the state automatically deducts that full amount from the local public school district’s state funding — as if the child had been enrolled in public school and then left. This deduction happens even if the child has NEVER attended a public school — for example: Children who have always attended private school Children who have always been homeschooled New families who choose private school immediately The district never educated that child, never budgeted for them, and still has the same number of actual public students to teach — yet it loses thousands of dollars per voucher anyway. This broken accounting rule is a major reason many districts face budget shortfalls despite stable or growing public enrollment. For example, St. Johns County is projecting $10–15 million in cuts, largely due to voucher deductions for students who were never in their public schools. SB 318 fixes this by: Creating a separate categorical fund for vouchers (no more automatic deductions from public school districts) Adding a $250 million+ Educational Enrollment Stabilization Program to prevent shortfalls or instability Improving tracking and accountability so funding matches actual students SB 318 passed the Senate unanimously in January 2026 and is now stalled in the House (session ends March 13). Please support and pass SB 318 to stop penalizing public schools for vouchers used by kids who were never enrolled. Thank you for protecting fair funding for our public schools.