Family Empowerment Scholarship

The Senate and House unanimously passed the measure to eliminate the cap on the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities as part of last week's special session.

The measure focuses on the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, which has been limited to nearly 41,000 children. The bill would eliminate the cap this year.

The proposal would increase the number of students this school year while also placing a higher cap on the number of ESE students next year. The Senate is slated to vote on the issue Wednesday.

State Senate and House panels unanimously approved identical measures aimed at allowing more students to receive the state-backed vouchers amid high demand.

Legislative leaders say the session will include an effort to provide “a mechanism to increase the number of students served under the Family Empowerment Scholarship for students with disabilities.”