Navigating Florida's Step Up For Students Scholarships: A Comprehensive Guide
Choosing the right educational path can be a daunting task for families. In Florida, Step Up For Students scholarships offer a lifeline, providing the freedom to select the best educational fit, whether it's private school tuition, tutoring, or a customized home education plan. These scholarships empower families to pick what's best, from private school tuition to tutoring support. This guide walks you through the essential details of Florida's Step Up scholarships, outlining each scholarship type, its specific requirements, eligible expenses, and how to effectively access and utilize funds for your child's educational needs.
Understanding Step Up For Students Scholarships
Step Up For Students manages various scholarships, each with its own purpose and guidelines. The specific program you are enrolled in determines how you can use the money and what expenses qualify. It's crucial to understand the distinctions between programs to ensure you're using your scholarship correctly and maximizing its benefits for your child. The core benefits include financial freedom to choose and coverage for diverse educational needs. The flexible ESA funds can be used for a wide range of services and products, such as academic tutoring (Tutero is an approved provider), therapeutic services, specialized curriculum and materials, and educational technology. The process is straightforward, with payments typically sent directly to approved educational providers. For other eligible expenses, a user-friendly reimbursement system allows you to pay upfront and submit receipts through the Education Market Assistant portal for quick processing.
Available Scholarship Programs
Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES-EO): These are the most widely used scholarship programs in Florida. Open to all students meeting basic requirements, they facilitate access to quality private education, irrespective of financial circumstances. These scholarships are for private school tuition only. The new legislation expands the eligibility of the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) and Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO) programs to allow K-12 students who are Florida residents to gain access to a scholarship, regardless of household income. Renewing families will continue to receive first priority. Allows all students who are eligible for FES-EO to use the transportation scholarship.
Unique Abilities Scholarship (FES-UA): This is a specialized Education Savings Account (ESA)-style scholarship designed for students with specific diagnoses or special needs. The highly versatile ESA funds are often used for crucial services like tutoring (a very common and accessible option for families), specialized therapies, educational materials, and curriculum. Funds can also be applied toward private school tuition.
Personalized Education Program (PEP): This is another Education Savings Account (ESA)-style scholarship specifically created for students who are not enrolled full-time in a traditional public or private school setting. It provides you with flexible funds to create and implement a parent-directed education plan. A key benefit of this scholarship is that it provides funding for approved educational expenses such as curriculum, learning materials, and tutoring, which is a popular and accessible option for families. An education savings account program that allows parents to customize the education of students who are not attending public or private schools full-time. PEP will allow parents to purchase instructional materials, pay for part-time tuition at public or private schools and even tuition and fees in home education instructional programs. The new House Bill 1 creates a new program called the Personalized Education Program, or "PEP".
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Eligibility Criteria
Eligibility requirements vary significantly between scholarship programs. To quickly determine which scholarship might be a fit for your child, review the criteria below.
Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA): This scholarship is for students with a documented special needs diagnosis from a qualified healthcare professional. Common qualifying conditions include:
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Down syndrome
- Cerebral palsy
- Intellectual disability
- Spina bifida
Eligibility is not based on household income.
Personalized Education Program (PEP): This scholarship is for students who are not enrolled full-time in a traditional public or private school. It provides funding for a parent-directed education plan and offers flexibility similar to homeschooling, with financial support for approved educational expenses.
Family Empowerment Scholarship - Educational Options (FES-EO) / Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC): These scholarships are based on income or school enrolment requirements. They are generally open to all K-12 students who are Florida residents, though priority is often given to families with lower income levels or those who have received a previous scholarship. New legislation (HB 1) passed that affects Florida’s school choice programs. Signed by Governor DeSantis on March 27, these changes went into effect on July 1, 2023. The new legislation expands the eligibility of the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) and Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO) programs to allow K-12 students who are Florida residents to gain access to a scholarship, regardless of household income.
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Submitting your application early is crucial, as scholarships are typically awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority consideration given to specific groups.
Maximizing Scholarship Benefits: Eligible Expenses
The expenses covered by your scholarship depend on which program your child is enrolled in. It is essential to understand these distinctions to use your funds correctly.
Family Empowerment Scholarship: These scholarships are designated specifically for private school tuition and fees at an approved private school. These funds cannot be used for other educational expenses like tutoring, curriculum, or therapies.
Unique Abilities Scholarship (FES-UA) & Personalized Education Program (PEP): These are Education Savings Account (ESA)-style scholarships, which offer incredible flexibility and can be used for a wide range of educational expenses to create a customized learning experience for your child.
Tutoring (ESA Funds Only): A very common and impactful expense. Tutoring services can significantly improve learning outcomes for students who need extra support in subjects like reading or math. As an approved provider, Tutero can be paid directly through the Education Market Assistant (EMA) portal, which means you will not have to pay out-of-pocket or request reimbursement.
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Tuition (Private School Enrollment): Funds can also be applied toward private school tuition or part-time enrollment in specialized programs. Note: Unlike FES-EO/FTC, FES-UA/PEP funds can be split between tuition and other educational expenses like tutoring.
Therapies: You can cover various therapeutic services that support educational goals, such as speech therapy or occupational therapy.
Curriculum & Materials: This includes textbooks, workbooks, and other educational materials for a home education plan or to supplement schoolwork.
Educational Technology: Devices like laptops, tablets, and specialized software are eligible expenses. Cameras are eligible for reimbursement under all scholarships (PEP, Unique Abilities, and Private School) as equipment for an elective course within the Instructional Material category.
Understanding the Education Market Assistant (EMA) Portal
Using your Education Savings Account funds is designed to be straightforward through a two-step process. Everything is managed through the Education Market Assistant portal, which serves as your centralized scholarship management system. Think of this portal as your personal scholarship command center where you can track spending, submit requests, and manage all aspects of your educational funding in one convenient location. The system offers two primary methods for accessing and using your funds, giving you flexibility based on your circumstances and the providers you choose. You can either arrange for direct payment to service providers or you can pay out-of-pocket initially and then request reimbursement through the portal.
Navigating the Reimbursement Process
The reimbursement process is designed to be user-friendly; however, understanding the exact steps involved can be helpful. Here is a simple step-by-step checklist to guide you through submitting a successful reimbursement request:
Log in to the Education Market Assistant portal using your secure credentials. If you haven't created an account yet, you'll need to register first with your scholarship information.
Navigate to the dashboard and locate the "Reimbursements" tab or section, which is where all reimbursement-related activities are managed.
Select the "New" option or button to initiate a fresh reimbursement request for your recent educational expense.
Upload a clear, complete, and itemized receipt that shows exactly what was purchased. Always submit clear, high-quality scans of your documentation. Blurry or partial photos of receipts are difficult to process and may be rejected. Use a scanning app if needed to create professional-quality digital copies of your paperwork. Take special care to double-check that your child's name on all documentation matches exactly with how it appears in the scholarship system. Even minor discrepancies in spelling or the use of nicknames versus legal names can trigger review flags. Consider establishing a regular monthly submission schedule rather than sending requests after each purchase. Submitting once a month creates more efficient processing and typically results in faster turnaround times for your reimbursements. Ensure all services and products are properly itemized on invoices and receipts. A single total amount without breakdown may not provide sufficient detail for approval.
Direct Payment vs. Reimbursement
Direct Payment: This is often the most convenient option for families. You can pay an approved educational provider directly through the Education Market Assistant portal without having to use your personal funds first. This streamlined process allows Step Up to transfer the payment to the provider immediately upon approval.
Reimbursement: This option provides flexibility when working with providers who are not set up for direct portal payments. Some educational service providers or retailers may not be integrated with the direct payment system. Alternatively, you might find eligible educational materials or resources at a regular retail store. In these situations, you would initially pay for the eligible expense using your own funds. Then, you would submit a detailed request for reimbursement through the portal, including all required documentation.
Staying Informed: Accessing Official Rules and Guidelines
Staying informed about current program guidelines is essential for maximizing your benefits. Program rules can change every year as legislation evolves and improvements are made to the scholarship systems. Step Up For Students regularly publishes comprehensive and detailed handbooks for each of its scholarship programs. These handbooks contain everything you need to know about eligibility requirements, application processes, deadlines, and detailed purchasing rules that specify what expenses are covered. The 2023-2024 Handbooks are now available. Access the latest updates and handbooks here.
Handbook Updates
We've merged the FTC and FES-EO handbooks into a new Universal Handbook that includes both Transportation and PEP programs. For PEP, Transportation, FTC, and FES-EO, you can find information regarding your specific program in the Florida Choice Universal Handbook. FES-UA continues with its own handbook called the Florida Choice FES-UA handbook.
Key Considerations for PEP Scholarship
Student Learning Plan (SLP): A Student Learning Plan (SLP) is a personalized plan created by parents or guardians to guide their child’s instruction and identify the services needed to support their academic success. Yes. A Student Learning Plan (SLP) is a customized learning plan developed by parents at least annually to guide instruction for their students and to address the services needed to fulfill the academic needs of their students.
Home Education Evaluation: A home education evaluation is not required for new or renewal PEP applications. However, students who were awarded and funded with a PEP scholarship in the previous school year must take a Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) approved norm-referenced test during the year they use PEP.
Truancy: Your child could be found truant if you do not complete an evaluation and do not receive a funded PEP scholarship. New PEP students should complete the home education evaluation as a precaution.
Dual Enrollment: No. Florida law allows only one active scholarship application per student at a time.
Returning to Home Education: What if my child is awarded and funded for PEP, but I decide I want to return to Home Education through my public school district?
No. Florida law allows only one active scholarship application per student at a time.
Choice Navigators
A School Choice Navigator is an optional service provider intended to help guide parents through the myriad of choices that will become available to them through an ESA. A Choice Navigator is a educational professional who holds a valid Florida teacher certification, adjunct teacher certification, a bachelor or graduate degree in the subject area where any instruction is given, demonstrated mastery of subject area knowledge, or is certified through training from an internationally recognized research-based training program approved by the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE).)
How does a person become a Choice Navigator (what are the requirements)?
A Choice Navigator holds a valid Florida teacher certification, adjunct teacher certification, a bachelor or graduate degree in the subject area where any instruction is given, demonstrated mastery of subject area knowledge, or is certified through an internationally recognized research-based training program approved by the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE).
Are Choice Navigators required?
No, they are optional for all scholarship students. They are intended to help guide parents and guardians through the many educational choices available to them.
What authority does the Choice Navigator have over the PEP student?
None. The Choice Navigator is merely a guide to help you.
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