Tallahassee, Florida – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday said that Florida families might again benefit from significant refunds because to the state’s dedication to affordable higher education—the Florida Prepaid College Program. Celebrated as National College Savings Month, Governor DeSantis emphasized the achievements of this innovative educational program on a Monday press conference.
Under Governor DeSantis’s direction, Florida remains at the forefront in terms of higher education affordability.
“Because of our focus on academic achievement and fiscal responsibility, Florida has both the number one ranked higher education system and the lowest tuition in the country,” said Governor DeSantis. His administration’s policy of freezing tuition costs since he assumed office has resulted in significant financial benefits for families participating in the Prepaid program.
Largest and longest-running program of its kind in the country, Florida’s Prepaid College Plan lets families pay for future education costs at current rates. This forward-looking approach contains protections that guarantee families get refunds when tuition stays below expected levels. Emphasizing the state’s dedication to maintain debt-free and affordable higher education, the initiative has so far returned around $1 billion to participants.
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Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr., also praised the program’s impact.
“Florida is setting an example for the rest of the nation for ensuring that students can access higher education without taking on high amounts of debt,” said Florida Department of Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. “I am proud that Florida not only offers options like Florida Prepaid, but we are also returning money to parents because Governor DeSantis has kept tuition low.”
Chancellor Ray Rodrigues of the State University System of Florida underlined the wider consequences of the state’s educational policies
“There is a national narrative that higher education is extremely costly and not worth it. As the number one state for higher education for eight years in a row, Florida universities are a great return on investment. Florida has held tuition and fees flat and continues to prioritize textbook affordability,” Rodrigues said.
More than 40,000 families are qualified to collect refunds totaling over $130 million for 2024 alone from the latest rollbacks in prepaid plan premiums. These changes, implemented out in 2020 and before this year, have combined to lower prepaid plan rates by $2.6 billion, hence emphasizing a notable drop in education expenses for hundreds of thousands of Florida families.
Governor DeSantis encouraged all qualified families to check their Florida Prepaid accounts in order to claim any pending refunds, therefore guaranteeing that no family loses out on the financial rewards given by their forethought and investment in their children’s education.
