![]() Under state law, the organization is allowed to keep 3% of each voucher amount for administrative costs. John Legg, according to the Step Up for Students website. The organization has deep political connections in Tallahassee, with its board including longtime school-choice leader and Republican donor John Kirtley, Democratic Congressman Al Lawson and former Republican state Sen. Step Up for Students administers a series of voucher-like programs for the state, including the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program, which lawmakers created this year. The Department of Education did not immediately respond to requests for comment. “During the eligibility determination process, there is an increased risk that scholarships will be awarded to ineligible recipients or for incorrect amounts,” state auditors warned, adding that the Florida Department of Education’s input “should be solicited” to fix the matter. Other issues flagged by auditors involved the non-profit organization’s failure to properly check applicants’ household-income eligibility for the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, which provides voucher-like scholarships for low-income students to attend private schools. The error affected 583 students before it was fixed. The audit, issued last week, said special-needs students who were eligible for awards under the Gardiner Scholarship Program saw a delay in funding due to the error by the organization Step Up for Students. TALLAHASSEE - Florida’s largest K-12 scholarship funding organization put at risk assistance to more than 500 students with special needs ahead of the 2018-2019 school year because staff members made a “processing error” involving enrollment documentation, a Florida auditor general report found.
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