Understanding the Gardiner and McKay Scholarships
Finding the right educational setting for an exceptional child can be both challenging and costly. Fortunately, if you live in the state of Florida and have a child with a defined disability, there’s help. The Gardiner and McKay Scholarships give families educational options and assistance with those expenses.
What is the Gardiner Scholarship?
The Gardiner is a scholarship for children that are 3 years old through 12th grade, who are eligible for enrollment in a public school but are not enrolled and have a defined disability diagnosed by a licensed physician or psychologist.
The Gardiner funds can be used for private school tuition, to supply educational materials, curriculum, and digital devices to families who homeschool, for specialized therapies, to fund specialized summer or after-school educational programs or towards the child’s Florida Prepaid College Program.
The deadline to apply for previous recipients is June 30th and for new recipients, applications are processed in the order they are received. The scholarship is typically around $10,000 per student, depending on the county of residence and the child’s individual needs. The total amount is limited, so the earliest applicants are more likely to receive funding.
The Gardiner does not automatically renew, so families must monitor deadlines and reapply each year. Children remain eligible until 12th grade or age 22, whichever comes first, provided they do not enroll in a public school.
Contact Info:
1-877-735-7837
What is the McKay Scholarship?
The McKay is a scholarship for Florida public school students with a documented disability and either an IEP or 504 plan who were enrolled in a Florida public school the year prior and are at least 5 years of age by September 1st of the upcoming school year.
The scholarship provides families of students with disabilities two options; a public school voucher or funding towards private school tuition. The voucher allows the family to request attendance at another school either within the same district or in an adjoining district. If the family chooses to enroll their child at a private school, the funding amount is what it would have cost to fund the child’s public education or the amount of tuition and fees at the private school the child will be attending whichever is less.
You can apply at any time, but the eligibility deadline for 100% of the state-funded amount is July 3rd. If you apply by September 2nd, the maximum amount is 75%; by December 3rd, the amount drops to 50%, and January 31st, it drops to 25%.
The McKay automatically renews each year, and children remain eligible until 12th grade or age 22, whichever comes first, provided they do not enroll in a public school.
Contact Info:
1-800-447-1636
To reach the Florida Department of Education by email, follow the Contact Us link on their site.
The Bottom Line
Although each scholarship is structured differently in regards to eligibility requirements and what funding can be used for, they both offer Florida families of children with exceptional needs the ability to customize their child’s education. If you have any questions or need any help in applying, please reach out to Gardiner and McKay directly or feel free to contact us here at Collaborative Corner, and we’d be happy to assist you in any way we can.
For a side by side comparison of the scholarships, you can download this PDF for more information.
If you have questions, please reach out to us. Feel free to contact Amy Nielsen via email at anielsen@collaborativecorner.org or on our website at www.collaborativecorner.org.
Amy Nielsen
Creator/Owner of Big Abilities Blog and Podcast
Panelist and Parent Advocate
anielsen@collaborativecorner.org