ICYMI: Governor DeSantis Announces More Than 13,000 Families Benefit from New VPK & Florida Prepaid College Savings Plans Partnership

April 23, 2026

Governor's Press Office 850-717-9282 [email protected]

Governor DeSantis Announces More Than 13,000 Families Benefit from New VPK & Florida Prepaid College Savings Plans Partnership

Kissimmee, Fla. - Today, Governor DeSantis announced more than 13,000 families are participating in the partnership between Florida's Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) program and the Florida Prepaid College Savings Plans within the first four months of its launch. Florida was one of the first states to develop a seamless application process that allows families to apply for VPK and open a Florida Investment 529 Plan account and receive $100 to begin saving for higher education through Florida Prepaid at the same time.

"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 Governor Ron 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."

"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," said Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas. "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."

"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," said Kevin Thompson, Executive Director of the Florida Prepaid College Board. "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 was among the first states in the nation to offer free, voluntary prekindergarten for all 4-year-olds. Since the program's launch in the 2005-2006 school year, VPK has served more than 3.1 million children and their families with one goal in mind: to give every child a strong start in education and in life.

Governor Ron DeSantis has enhanced Florida's VPK program by:

• Strengthening and implementing a new VPK provider accountability system to ensure Florida's youngest learners receive high?quality early education and laying a strong foundation for success in kindergarten.
• Establishing a VPK-Grade 10 coordinated screening and progress monitoring system to identify emergent literacy and early math skill deficiencies to provide students with intensive, individualized instruction and support.
• Executing a 15-hour emergent literacy training requirement for VPK teachers, ensuring that VPK educators are equipped with the necessary skills to support early literacy development.
• Creating a summer bridge program to provide VPK children identified with potential early literacy deficiencies with targeted instructional support, ensuring they enter kindergarten better prepared for academic success.

Additional information about Florida's VPK program is available at: https://www.fldoe.org/schools/early-learning/parents/vpk-parents.stml.