KISSIMMEE — More than 13,000 Florida families have opened college savings accounts through a new partnership that links Voluntary Prekindergarten enrollment with Florida Prepaid College Savings Plans, Governor Ron DeSantis announced. The program, which launched four months ago, gives families a $100 deposit into a Florida Investment 529 Plan account when they apply for VPK — making Florida one of the first states to build a seamless application connecting early education and college savings.
“We’ve kept our world-class public colleges and universities affordable for Florida residents, and our new partnership between the VPK program and Florida Prepaid is already helping thousands of families save for higher education,” said DeSantis. “More than 13,000 families have already taken the opportunity to create college savings accounts while applying for VPK in the four months since this partnership launched.”
Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas framed the initiative as a tool for parental empowerment. “By connecting Florida’s VPK program with Florida Prepaid College Savings Plans, we’re making it easier than ever for families to start planning for their child’s future,” Kamoutsas said. “Higher education opens doors to new opportunities, and this partnership empowers parents to take an important first step toward saving, helping ensure more Florida students are prepared for lifelong success.”
Kevin Thompson, executive director of the Florida Prepaid College Board, said the partnership addresses the inertia many parents face. “For many families, the hardest part of saving for college is simply getting started. This partnership meets parents right where they are — at the very start of their child’s education — and makes that first step easier,” Thompson said. “By connecting VPK enrollment with Florida Prepaid, we’re helping families take action early and plan for the future from the beginning. It’s a simple but powerful idea: when families start early, more opportunities are within reach later.”
Florida’s VPK program, which offers free voluntary prekindergarten to all 4-year-olds, has served more than 3.1 million children and their families since its launch in the 2005-2006 school year. Under DeSantis, the administration has strengthened a VPK provider accountability system, established a VPK-through-Grade 10 coordinated screening and progress monitoring system to identify emergent literacy and early math skill deficiencies, executed a 15-hour emergent literacy training requirement for VPK teachers, and created a summer bridge program for children identified with potential early literacy deficiencies.
Additional information about VPK enrollment and the linked Florida Prepaid application is available through the Florida Department of Education, with enrollment for the next school year ongoing statewide.