JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Several Florida private schools have filed a lawsuit against Step Up For Students, a nonprofit organization responsible for administering state scholarship funds, alleging significant delays and inconsistencies in scholarship payments that have caused financial harm and disrupted educational services.
The plaintiffs include Square Pegs Learning Center, Mountaineer’s School of Autism, Lakeland Institute for Learning, Educational Harbor Christian School, Diverse Abilities School, ICITY Christian School, and Dickens Sanomi Academy. These schools serve students participating in state-funded scholarship programs such as the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, and the Hope Scholarship.
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On Friday, the attorney representing the private schools held a news conference to discuss the lawsuit.
According to the complaint filed in Duval County, Step Up For Students approved scholarship funding for eligible students but failed to disburse payments in a timely or consistent manner. The schools report delays ranging from 90 days to over a year, partial payments, unexplained funding reductions, and in some cases, no payments for more than two years.
“This scholarship program was created to expand educational opportunity, including for students with disabilities. When the administration of those funds breaks down, schools face financial strain, families experience uncertainty and students are placed at risk of service disruption. Our purpose today is simple. It’s not political. It’s accountability, it is transparency and it is ensuring that our programs funded for students operate as intended under the law,” said Terry Harrison, the executive director of ICITY Christian School in Jacksonville.
The schools say they relied on the funding approvals to enroll students, hire staff, allocate resources, and provide specialized educational services, especially for students with disabilities. Theys say the delayed payments have forced them into operational debt, staffing cuts, program reductions, and even permanent closure of at least one school.
The lawsuit alleges breach of contract, operational nonperformance, and breach of fiduciary duty by Step Up For Students. It also seeks injunctive relief to compel the organization to promptly disburse the approved scholarship funds.
Step Up For Students is designated by the state to manage these scholarship programs and has acknowledged operational challenges following legislative expansions that increased scholarship volume. However, the plaintiffs argue that the organization failed to implement adequate safeguards to prevent prolonged payment delays.
The schools emphasize that they cannot impose tuition penalties or deny educational access to scholarship students without undermining the programs’ purpose and harming vulnerable students.
Plaintiffs are seeking damages exceeding $50,000, along with costs, interest, and other relief as deemed appropriate by the court. They have also requested a jury trial.
News4JAX reached out to Step Up For Students for a response to the lawsuit and received this statement:
“Step Up For Students has worked extremely closely with these schools who believe they have not been fully funded. We demonstrated to them that their claims against Step Up are unfounded. For example, they repeatedly point to matrix scores for students with unique abilities. Step Up For Students has no input on setting matrix scores. Those are the sole responsibility of district schools and the state. Their complaints are not indicative of any larger issues with the programs, rather are specific to their schools.
Step Up For Students is disappointed that the schools have chosen to file a lawsuit, which we believe is motivated by their goal of effecting policy and legislative changes, which would undermine anti-fraud controls. We will work with our attorneys to address the allegations the schools have raised and respond accordingly."