Hope Scholarship

Hope Scholarship

What is the Hope Scholarship Program?

The Hope Scholarship Allows parents of children in public school to find a new learning environment for their child who is being bullied or a victim of violence. Students who have reported a qualified incident that took place at a K-12 public school/event may be eligible.

Who is eligible?

The Hope Scholarship is for students in grades kindergarten through 12 who are enrolled in a Florida public school and have been bullied, harassed, assaulted, threatened and or other violent acts to transfer to another public school or enroll in an approved private school.

Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, a student enrolled in a Florida public school in kindergarten through grade 12 who has been subjected to an incident of battery; harassment; hazing; bullying; kidnapping; physical attack; robbery; sexual offenses, harassment, assault, or battery; threat or intimidation; or fighting at school the opportunity to transfer to another public school with capacity or enroll in an approved private school under the Hope Scholarship. Incidents reported may be investigated at the district level, however, there does not have to be substantiation on the part of the district to offer a transfer to another public school with capacity or the ability for the student to move to an eligible private school on scholarshipSchool district personnel in Florida have a responsibility to notify families of the Hope Scholarship Program. For more details on the scholarship, please visit Step Up For Students, the Scholarship Funding Organization that administers this program.

How do I apply?

  1. Report the incident to the Principal/Administrative Office of your child’s current school.
  2. The Principal will begin an investigation into the incident.
  3. Eligible students will receive a Hope Scholarship Program Notification Form from the school Principal or Designee.
  4. To apply for a school within Indian River County Public Schools, please submit the completed SDIRC Choice & Magnet Application with the Hope Scholarship Program Notification Form attached to the Student Enrollment Office.
  5. To apply for a private school or transportation funding to another school district, please contact the nonprofit Scholarship Funding Organization (SFO)  Step Up for Students.

How long is the scholarship?

Upon approval of Hope Scholarship, your child will be permitted to remain at their school of choice until they age out of the school. Reapplication to attend the next school level is not necessary.

How long does it take to receive a scholarship?

Once an incident is reported to your child’s school, the Principal has 15 calendar days to complete the investigation and provide a Hope Scholarship Notification Form to the eligible student. Once the parent has completed the SDIRC Choice & Magnet Application and attached the Hope Scholarship Notification Form and returned it to the Student Enrollment Office, the Student Enrollment Office will process the application within 48 hours of receipt.

Where can I find more information?

FDOE Hope Scholarship webpage

Step up for Students Hope Scholarship webpage