Title I:  Private Schools 2024-2025

Parents and guardians are permitted under Florida law to seek public school choice options and also private school options in certain programs and/or to choose to enroll their children in non-public schools in order to select a school they believe will best meet their children's learning needs.  When considering a private school option, it is important to know some of the fundamental differences between private and public schools in Florida.

• Private elementary and secondary schools are not approved, accredited, or regulated by the Department of Education.
• Florida's private schools issue independent school diplomas that do not require approval from the state of Florida.
• Florida private schools establish their own system of school accountability, grading, reporting, and evaluating and are not included in the state's measurement of public schools.
• Private elementary and secondary schools are structured as private corporations, churches, or private businesses that only report directory information and the enrollment of compulsory attendance-aged students to the Department of Education.
• Private schools are not subject to school definitions and requirements specified in education statutes, and they are not under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education.
• Local school districts are required to operate Title I, Part A programs in private schools that choose to participate and are eligible. Public federal Title I, Part A funds are generated from the top of a school district’s funding to provide equitable services to private schools in which students residing in Title I school zones in the district are enrolled and are free-reduced lunch eligible. Such programs are provided to students that reside in Title I school zones and are academically needy based on a service delivery plan developed collaboratively between the private school and the school district. Parent permission for services is required.
• Local school districts are also required to provide Title I, Part A funds and services to serve eligible students that cross district lines to enroll in participating private schools in other counties in Florida.

The Leon County Schools Title I Program also provides services to eligible students, parents, and teachers in the following private schools for the 2024-2025 school year:

• The Achieve Academy
• Anchor Academy
• Capital Preparatory
• John Paul II Catholic High School
• Kingdom Life Preparatory Academy
• Kingdom Life Preparatory Academy II
• Tallahassee Adventist Christian Academy
• Trinity Catholic School
• V.O.W.N.O.W Academy