Special education, school choice, and parental rights have made headlines in Florida for years. There has been debate about who can and should provide the best services for children with special education needs, who determines what is best for them, and what options are available. In Florida, there are many public and non-public educational options from which parents have the right to choose what is best for their children.

Of all the educational options available to families in Florida, public education has the most extensive regulation and oversight concerning special education and arguably the most resources and skilled personnel. Yet, with financial support from the state through the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Unique Abilities (FES-UA), many families enroll their children with disabilities in private schools. In the school year 2022-2023, almost 70,000 Florida students were awarded the FES-UA, with over 2,000 private schools participating.

This document attempts to explain the implications for the rights of children with special education needs who are parentally placed in private schools using the FES-UA.  It will begin with an overview of the rights and protections for public school students with special education needs, then cover the limited services and rights for parentally placed private school students with special education needs established by the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). Then it will discuss the requirements and award amounts for FES-UA. Lastly, is a comparison of the rights and protections afforded to students with disabilities parentally placed in non-religious and religious private schools.

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