Florida Hope Scholarship: Overview, Eligibility, Application, Contacts, Awards and Benefits

The Florida Hope Scholarship offers a lifeline to students who’ve faced violence or bullying at school.

It gives scholarships to students, letting them move to a safer learning place, whether it’s a public or private school.

All public school students in Florida can get the Hope Scholarship, no matter their family’s income.

To qualify, students need to have gone through and reported a school violence or bullying incident. The school district must have documented this incident.

Florida Hope Scholarship

The Florida Hope Scholarship is a program that gives scholarships to students in grades kindergarten through 12 in public schools.

It helps those who have experienced incidents like battery, harassment, bullying, hazing, kidnapping, simple battery, robbery, sexual offenses, sexual harassment, sexual assault, or sexual battery; threat, intimidation, or fighting at school.

Eligibility Criteria

1. Be enrolled in a Florida public school
2. Have experienced and reported an incident of violence or bullying at school
3. Have the incident documented by the school district

Students who are eligible for the Hope Scholarship have the option to:

• Transfer to another public school with capacity
• Receive a scholarship to transport the student to a public school in another school district
• Request a scholarship for the student to enroll in and attend an eligible private school

Application for Florida Hope Scholarship

To apply for the Florida Hope Scholarship, students need to submit an application to the Florida Department of Education.

The application must include documentation of the incident of violence or bullying they experienced.

Students can choose to apply for the Hope Scholarship either online or by mail. The online application is the quickest and most convenient option.

When applying online, students must create an account with the Florida Department of Education.

After setting up their account, they can log in and initiate the Hope Scholarship application.

For the application, students are required to provide the following details:

1. Personal information like their name, address, and date of birth.
2. School information, including the name of their school and their grade level.
3. Information about the incident of violence or bullying they encountered.
4. Documentation of the incident, such as a police report or a school discipline report.

Once the application is submitted, an SFO will reach out to the students to arrange for the disbursement of their scholarship funds.

Contact Details

The Florida Hope Scholarship program is overseen by the Florida Department of Education, and you can reach them at the following contact information:

• Florida Department of Education
• Address: 325 West Gaines Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
• Phone: (850) 245-0505

For students with questions about the Hope Scholarship program, there’s another option. You can also reach out to one of the approved SFOs (Scholarship Funding Organizations). Here’s a list of these approved SFOs:

1. Step Up For Students
   • Address: 1120 SE 5th Avenue, Suite 400, Miami, FL 33131
   • Phone: (800) 987-2958
2. Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program
   • Address: 1025 NW 15th Street, Suite 201, Miami, FL 33125
   • Phone: (800) 577-6370
3. AAA Scholarship Foundation
   • Address: 101 E Washington Street, Suite 1200, Orlando, FL 32801
   • Phone: (800) 624-3089

Students and parents can contact any of these SFOs to receive assistance with the application process and to gather more information about the Hope Scholarship program.

Awards and Ratings