WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — It’s a $200 million school choice plan, signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis this week.

And for some local families, the option has been transformative.

“I have not been let down by Florida school choice," said Katie Swingle. "This scholarship changed our lives.”

Swingle, a mom of four boys, spends most afternoons in the pick up line outside St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Winter Haven.

It’s a place she never imagined her oldest son, Gregory, could attend.

“He is a fantastic, wonderful child, also diagnosed with autism — something he was diagnosed with at 3 years old," she said, adding that a Gardiner Scholarship for special needs was game-changing for her son. “Within six months in the right environment, at that school (in Tallahassee) with those teachers, he was reading. He was writing. He was on fire."

That’s why Florida Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican, filed HB 7045. Along with SB 48, it streamlines five school choice programs for lower income and special needs students into three.

“I believe this bill is going to help every child get the right education for them," he said. “It’s important that we remind these bureaucrats that parents are responsible for raising their children. And we give those parents the best options.”

The bill was signed into law by DeSantis Tuesday, despite some concerns — including from school choice proponents who worried structural changes might impact Gardiner Scholarship recipients.

“I understand why families of special needs students would be nervous about change, they have a stressful life as it is … there’s nothing bad in this bill for them," Fine said. “Every current Gardiner student is guaranteed to get the same amount of money they’ve always gotten, if not more. This is a huge win, not only new Gardiner families, but current Gardiner families who now, hopefully, will not end up on wait lists."

Yet others, like Democrat Rep. Anna Eskamani, continue to worry about oversight.

“We’re continuing to expand this publicly funded program with very little accountability. There’s no metrics these institutions receiving public dollars have to meet," she said. “I trust parents to decide if a child should go to a traditional public school, homeschooled, or in this case, receive a voucher. But at the end of the day, knowledge is power. And we want to make sure that when you’re making a decision, you know what the credentials are of a private school that receives public money.”

As for Swingle, her family has greatly benefited from the Gardiner Scholarship, which they use to pay for therapy programs and school tuition.

And as she watches her seventh grader excel in his studies, she calls the scholarship her family got a “gift." She sees Gregory as one, too.

"He’s my life. I’m an autism mom. Autism moms are a special breed," she said, holding back tears. “Gardiner allows this. Gardiner allows this.”