Lee and Collier private school scholarships more than doubled in three years

Lee and Collier counties had 10,394 students using Florida Tax Credit or Family Empowerment Educational Options scholarships in the 2025-26 school year, more than double the total three years earlier.

WINK reporter Damien Alvarado reported the county figures Tuesday from data provided by Step Up for Students. Lee County rose from 3,454 participating students in 2022-23 to 7,154 in 2025-26. Collier County rose from 1,253 to 3,240.

Together, the two counties added 5,687 scholarship users, an increase of 120.8 percent.

How much scholarship funding reached Lee and Collier

The same Step Up data put 2025-26 FTC and FES-EO funding at about $56.3 million for Lee County students and $29.7 million for Collier County students. The combined amount was $86 million.

Those figures exclude the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities. Step Up's public research page lists 286,284 FTC and FES-EO students statewide in 2025-26 and an average award of about $8,000.

The newly published 2026-27 award chart lists Lee County awards from $8,001 for grades 9-12 to $8,779 for grades K-3. Collier County awards run from $9,367 to $10,176 across the same grade bands.

What the increase says about public school enrollment

The participation increase does not equal the number of students who left a district school. Step Up told WINK that 659 newly entering scholarship students in Lee County and 245 in Collier County had attended public school the previous year.

Final 2026-27 county participation totals are still pending. Step Up told the outlet to expect them in late September or early October after scholarship funding is distributed.

The programs operate across both Lee County and Collier County. Step Up says Florida residents eligible for K-12 public school may qualify regardless of household income, with priority rules applied to applications.