ORLANDO, Fla.—Today, during National College Savings Month, Governor Ron DeSantis announced record refunds to parents through the Florida Prepaid program and encouraged all Florida families to take advantage of an affordable prepaid college plan.
“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 Ron DeSantis. “Florida’s flexible college savings options like the Florida Prepaid program allow parents to get a head start on paying for the future, and even get money back when tuition stays low. And because I have ensured tuition has not been raised in Florida since I’ve become Governor, we have another round of refunds available for parents now.”
“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.”
“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,” said Ray Rodrigues, Chancellor of the State University System of Florida. “National College Savings Month provides an opportunity to highlight the affordability of our public institutions and the benefit Florida’s Prepaid College Savings Programs offer to families.”
In total, nearly $1 billion has been returned to families through Prepaid Florida refunds. The program is notable as both the largest and longest-running prepaid initiative of its kind with a 35-year history helping over 1.2 million families save for college expenses. It allows families to lock in future tuition costs at current rates; if actual tuition remains lower than predicted costs, parents receive refunds.
Since Governor DeSantis took office, there have been two rollbacks on plan rates—one in 2020 and another earlier this year—resulting in reduced costs amounting to $2.6 billion cumulatively across hundreds of thousands of families. Over 40,000 families still need to collect their 2024 refund totaling more than $130 million in unclaimed funds.
To find out if you have an unclaimed refund, please log into your Florida Prepaid account.
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