Local mom: HB 1 offers more flexibility in how families spend their education dollars

My family is incredibly thankful for Florida’s Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities. It allows us to choose how we want our daughter educated by giving us multiple options in how we spend its funds.

That’s why I supported House Bill 1, which will offer more families similar flexibility in how they spend their education dollars.

Our daughter, Kate, has struggled with reading since preschool. As a former teacher, I knew that what she was experiencing was deeper than just a lack of exposure or a delay in her learning. She was drowning and needed a life preserver.

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Midway through kindergarten, when she knew only 12 letters and sounds, we knew that she needed private tutoring. She was attending a small private school that offered tutoring during the school day. Sadly, we did not qualify for the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, so we paid private school tuition and for personal tutoring.

It was a financial burden, but one we were willing to bear.

When the pandemic hit at the end of third grade, that is when I understood just how far behind she was in reading. So I chose to homeschool her for fourth grade to see if I could help build her skills. It was a struggle, and at the end of the school year we paid to have a private psychoeducational evaluation administered. She was identified as having dyslexia and dysgraphia (difficulties with reading and spelling).

I was so relieved to finally have answers, but also scared. How do I teach a dyslexic child to read?

Around that time the state amended eligibility rules for the scholarship, so we applied and were awarded funds for the next school year. The scholarship works as an educational savings account that allows families to use the funds for private school tuition, homeschool expenses, therapies, tutors, technology and related items or services.

As a homeschool family, we use the funds to pay for her part-time co-op run by a friend and former teacher. This year it has covered curriculum, a tablet for her schoolwork, art classes, a homeschool class at the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens and her swim team dues (part of her physical education).

We love that she can swim for a private school swim team as a homeschool student. We are afforded opportunities with this scholarship and can make important decisions about how to build not only her reading skills, but her social, physical and emotional well-being.

What a blessing this scholarship has been and will continue to be as our daughter grows older and moves into different phases of her life.

The educational savings account is currently limited to the Students with Unique Abilities scholarship, but HB 1 will make it available to parents of children who receive the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship and the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options. In addition to assisting families with private school tuition, an educational savings account could help those parents pay for necessities like uniforms, tutors, technology and summer camps.

The ability to choose the best educational setting that can accommodate your child’s needs cannot be overstated.

In addition to being a Students with Unique Abilities mom, I am also a provider as a reading specialist. I am also an advocate for families that need help navigating the school system. I have an education specialist degree with a focus on reading from the University of Florida and over 120 professional development hours in the areas of students with special needs, dyslexia and reading.

As a provider I assess children to pinpoint their reading deficits and then provide customized, structured literacy intervention to help them become better readers, speakers, writers and listeners. I started my business, Bridging the Reading Gap, to help families like ours, whose child is struggling to read but they don’t know what to do.

I became an advocate to help create awareness of the services available to our children — such as the Students with Unique Abilities scholarship ― and help families find the right educational setting for their child. I work not only with families in Florida, but also in California, West Virginia, Connecticut, Georgia and elsewhere.

Signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis on March 27, HB 1 is an amazing opportunity for more scholarship families in Florida to have the expanded options that come with an educational savings account.

Danyse Streets, Fleming Island

This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions. 

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: New voucher law provides more options for spending education dollars