Florida Department of Education/Tuition assistance
Florida Tuition and Fee Exemption for Students from Care
Amount varies
No tuition and no fees at any Florida College System institution, state university, or school district workforce programme, for students who were in out of home care. It lasts until you are 28. There are six routes in and they are worth reading, because more of them qualify than most people expect, including being adopted from the department.
Tuition and fees, including lab fees, are not charged at all. It is an exemption rather than a payment, so nothing arrives and nothing is owed. Valid until you reach 28.
No deadline
What you need
The official page does not list required documents. Check the official page before you apply, since a provider can ask for paperwork it does not publish.
How to apply
- 1Check which of the six routes is yoursYou qualify if you were the subject of a shelter, dependency or termination of parental rights proceeding and any one of these is true: you were in out of home care at 18, or in the custody of a relative or nonrelative at 18, or you were placed in a guardianship by the court after at least six months in the custody of the department past age 16, or you were reunited with a parent before 18 after at least 18 months in care from age 14 and you are Pell Grant eligible, or you were adopted from the department after 5 May 1997, or you were placed in a permanent guardianship you stayed in until you turned 18 or enrolled.
- 2Tell the admissions or financial aid office before you are billedThe institution applies the exemption and verifies it. Raise it before fees are due rather than asking for a refund afterwards.
Where this comes from
- Official source
- https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=1000-1099/1009/Sections/1009.25.html
- Last checked by SCRN
- 2026-10-11Verified null days ago
- How it was verified
- Checked against the official page by a person at SCRN
- Source level
- Provider verifiedRead from the provider's own page.
- Deadline
- The source states there is noneNo deadline. It is claimed at the institution when you enrol, and it applies each term you are enrolled.
- How often
- per term