Florida is among the minority group of US states that directly funds school tutoring programs with state public resources, while the majority of states still rely on temporary federal funds or one-off initiatives for these actions. The state invested $20 million from its budget in the program created by HB 1361, administered by the Lastinger Center for Learning at the University of Florida, which connects school districts to accredited providers based on their specific needs.
The program serves all public school districts and charter schools in Florida. For students from kindergarten through 5th grade, eligible students are those classified at levels 1 or 2 in progress monitoring or with substantial reading disabilities. For 6th through 12th grade, there is artificial intelligence support. The subjects covered are reading and mathematics, with virtual tutoring as one of the available modalities.
A survey by FutureEd identified 41 bills related to school tutoring under consideration in 19 states during the 2026 legislative session, indicating an effort to make tutoring a permanent part of educational systems rather than just an emergency measure linked to the pandemic.
Other states are also allocating their own resources to the issue: Louisiana with $30 million for tutoring from kindergarten through 5th grade, with plans to expand through 8th grade and increase funding to $45 million, and New York with $10 million in a pilot program in its state budget.
