Fifth Third Bank will continue to donate to a Florida scholarship program that provides vouchers for low-income students to attend private schools, some of them banning LGBTQ students.
The bank pulled funding for the AAA Scholarship Foundation Tax Credit Program last week after an Orlando Sentinel investigation found some Christian schools that participate in the program ban LGBTQ students from enrolling.
The bank says it changed its mind after conducting a comprehensive review of the program, saying quote, “We believe that support-whether in the form of scholarships or financial education-helps build stronger, more inclusive communities.”
Opponents to the voucher program say they want statewide rules that only allow schools that don’t discriminate according to a student or parent's sexual orientation or gender identity to receive funding.
Read their full statement here.
