Florida Step Up For Students Scholarships Explained: FES-EO, FTC, FES-UA and PEP

Last verified: October 11, 2026, using the Step Up For Students website, its PEP Family Handbook, a scholarship funding organization page and EdChoice program pages. Florida rules, dates and award amounts change each school year, so confirm everything with Step Up For Students, another approved scholarship funding organization or the Florida Department of Education before you act. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.

Florida has one of the most talked-about education funding systems in the country, and it is also one of the easiest to misread. People say “the Step Up scholarship” as if it were one program. It is really a family of programs that share an administrator, sit under different laws and serve different kinds of students. A family choosing a private school, a family educating at home and a family raising a child with a qualifying disability each land in a different program with different rules.

This guide sorts them out. It is part of our series on state education funding, which starts with the hub guide, State Education Funding Programs for Parents. If you are brand new to the idea of homeschooling, our step-by-step guide to starting homeschooling covers the basics that apply in every state.

Quick answer: Step Up For Students is a nonprofit scholarship funding organization that administers Florida’s FTC and FES-EO private school scholarships and the PEP scholarship for students who are not enrolled full time in a public or private school, among other programs. FTC and FES-EO are open to Florida residents eligible to enroll in K-12 public school regardless of income, with priority tiers when funds are limited. PEP applications for 2026-27 closed April 30, 2026. Check the Step Up For Students website for 2027-28 dates.

The Florida Programs at a Glance

Here is how the four programs compare, based on Step Up For Students and EdChoice descriptions.

Program	Who it is for	Key idea
FTC (Florida Tax Credit Scholarship)	Florida K-12 students eligible for public school, with priority tiers	A scholarship funded through donor contributions that earn tax credits
FES-EO (Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options)	Florida K-12 students eligible for public school, with priority tiers	A scholarship funded through the Florida Education Finance Plan
FES-UA (Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities)	Students ages 3 to 22 with an IEP or qualifying diagnosis	A disability-based account with awards based on a matrix of services
PEP (Personalized Education Program)	Students not enrolled full time in public or private school	An education savings account for customized learning

Two of these programs share a single application, which is why families often hear FTC and FES-EO mentioned together. EdChoice says parents apply through a universal application for both, and that students are first served under FTC until 75 percent of eligible contributions are used, after which FES-EO funds may be awarded. For the family, the practical point is that you apply once and the administrator places you in the program that has funding.

FTC and FES-EO: Private School Scholarships

Step Up For Students says students who are Florida residents and eligible to enroll in a K-12 public school can receive a private school scholarship, regardless of household income. The organization states that these scholarships are worth an average of $8,000. It also says the scholarship covers tuition and fees at eligible private schools, and that remaining funds can support other education expenses through an education savings account.

A few features are worth knowing. The student must be enrolled at an eligible private school for the private school scholarship. Step Up publishes the award amounts by county for each school year, so the figure for your family depends on factors such as grade level and county. The Florida Department of Education assigns the amount, and the PEP handbook notes that later changes in grade level or county do not change an amount already assigned.

EdChoice reported 280,611 participating students in FES-EO and 81,947 in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship for 2025-26. These numbers show the scale of the programs, not a promise that a given family will be funded. Priority rules apply when money is limited.

Who Gets Priority When Funds Are Limited

Step Up For Students lists the priority order for its private school scholarships:

1. Students who are renewing their private school scholarship (FTC or FES-EO).
2. Students whose household income does not exceed 185 percent of the federal poverty level, or who are in foster care or out-of-home care.
3. Students whose household income is between 185 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

Renewing families go first, which is why a first-time applicant should not wait for the last day of an open window. The poverty-level tiers are defined in Step Up’s income priority guidelines, which change annually. If you are unsure which tier you fall into, read the current guidelines and the document checklist on the Step Up site instead of estimating.

PEP: The Personalized Education Program

PEP is the program most relevant to homeschooling families, though Step Up describes it more broadly. It is designed for students who are not enrolled full time in a public or private school, and it provides an education savings account for approved educational expenses. It is open to all families regardless of household income.

To qualify, Step Up lists these requirements. The student is in grades K-12 and is not enrolled full time in public or private school. Age matters too: five or older by September 1, and younger than 21 on or before September 1 of the application year. Florida residency is also required, with two military exceptions that Step Up spells out on its PEP page.

The PEP handbook explains how PEP differs from regular Florida home education. PEP students are registered with a scholarship funding organization instead of the school district, so they do not file a letter of intent to start a home education program. A student who was previously in a home education program must end that status with the district once the PEP choice is confirmed. A student enrolled full time in a public or private school must withdraw before participating.

PEP comes with participation requirements. Each year parents prepare and submit a student learning plan, which the handbook describes as a customized plan to guide instruction and identify the goods and services needed. PEP students must also take a norm-referenced test every year and submit the results. Home education students in Florida are evaluated through one of five approved methods and report to their district, which is a different system.

The handbook also states that Florida law gives PEP students the same flexibility as home education students for certain opportunities. These include participation in interscholastic extracurricular activities, the Bright Futures Scholarship Program and dual enrollment, as well as eligibility for admission to Florida College System institutions and state universities. Read the handbook’s wording for conditions that apply.

As for dates, Step Up’s PEP page says applications for the 2026-27 school year closed on April 30, 2026, and that families can sign up for updates about 2027-28. The handbook lists funding in four equal quarterly amounts. It also says the student learning plan for the 2026-27 year had to be submitted by May 31, 2026. Because rules and dates are updated each year, check the current handbook for the next cycle.

FES-UA: Scholarships for Students With Unique Abilities

The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, formerly known as the Gardiner and McKay scholarships, serves students with qualifying disabilities. EdChoice says participating students must be ages 3 to 22 and not yet graduated from 12th grade. They must have an IEP or a diagnosis from a physician or psychologist of a qualifying condition. The list of conditions is detailed and includes autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, speech or language impairment and specific learning disabilities, among others.

EdChoice describes awards that vary by grade, county and disability needs and are based on a matrix of services, with no cap on participation. It lists the allowable uses broadly, including private school tuition, therapies, instructional materials, tutoring, online education and home education. Because eligibility depends on documentation, ask the administrator which records they need before you apply. AAA Scholarships’ Florida page lists FES-UA among the programs it administers.

What the Money Can Pay For

Allowed expenses vary by program, so read the list for the program that actually funds your child. According to Step Up’s descriptions, the private school scholarship covers tuition and fees first, and remaining funds can support instructional material, curriculum, postsecondary tuition or approved apprenticeship programs, fees for nationally standardized norm-referenced tests, contracted services from a public school or district, private-pay Florida Virtual School tuition and Choice Navigator fees.

The PEP page and handbook list a similar set with a few additions: tuition and fees at an eligible private school for part-time or hybrid enrollment, a home education instructional program, dual enrollment, full-time private tutoring, approved online or virtual providers, approved pre-apprenticeship programs, standardized testing fees and part-time tutoring. A note in the handbook says a home education instructional program as an authorized use of funds is different from a home education program as defined in Florida statute, so read that distinction before you spend.

The handbook describes three ways to spend: direct billing for services through the provider marketplace, purchasing eligible materials through the online store, and paying out of pocket and requesting reimbursement. It tells families to check two things before spending: that the expense is eligible under the purchasing guide, and that there is enough in the account. It warns that items approved in the past may not be approved now.

Some rules concern location. The handbook says MyScholarShop orders must ship to a Florida address, that reimbursed purchases must ship to a Florida address or P.O. Box, and that certain out-of-state activities and field trips need pre-authorization. Military families have exceptions that the handbook lays out.

Dates and the Application Cycle

A scholarship funding organization page for AAA Scholarships says applications for Florida scholarships for 2026-27 opened on Sunday, February 1, 2026, and that renewing families received an email with instructions on that date. That gives a sense of timing: the main cycle opens early in the calendar year for the following school year.

Step Up For Students’ private school page says families can sign up to be notified when applications become available for the 2027-28 school year. Its PEP page says the same. For private school scholarship deadlines in the current cycle, check the Step Up dates page, because a deadline that applies to new private school applicants is not the same as the PEP deadline.

The handbook also describes deadline exceptions for some students, including dependents of active-duty military members and students in foster care or out-of-home care. Those families can apply outside the usual window, with documentation, and different dates apply. If you think you qualify for an exception, call the administrator instead of guessing.

Step Up is not the only administrator in Florida. The PEP handbook notes that a parent may choose to apply to a different scholarship funding organization, with the caution that PEP funds cannot be transferred between organizations. AAA Scholarships’ Florida page says it administers FTC and FES-EO, PEP and FES-UA scholarships. If you are weighing options, compare the portals, the support and the dates before you choose.

Rules That Can Affect Your Scholarship

Florida programs have clear rules about enrollment. The PEP handbook says a student may not be enrolled full time in a public school while being considered for funding through FES-UA, FES-EO or FTC, including PEP. A student can still use federally funded public school services such as IDEA services, or pay for public school classes or activities if contracted directly with the school. The state runs a full-time enrollment crosscheck, and the handbook says a student whose crosscheck shows full-time public school enrollment cannot be funded until the family documents otherwise.

Beginning in 2026-27, the handbook says families may need to complete a public school attendance attestation or submit proof of withdrawal. It also warns that a student found by the Florida Department of Education to be enrolled full time in a Florida public school can forfeit the scholarship for the entire year. Withdraw from public school in the right order and keep the paperwork.

The handbook also says that allowing another party, such as a provider or school representative, to access or manage your account is prohibited and could lead to losing the scholarship. Keep your login private and do the purchasing yourself.

Questions to Ask Before You Apply

A short list of questions keeps the process manageable:

• Which program fits my child: private school, PEP or a disability-based scholarship?
• What are the current dates and priority tiers for the school year I want?
• Which documents will I need, and which are specific to my situation, such as income or foster status?
• Is my child currently enrolled full time in a public school, and how do I withdraw correctly?
• Do I plan to homeschool with PEP, and am I ready to submit a student learning plan and annual assessment results?
• What is the current approved-expense list, and how do I check an item before I buy it?
• Who is the administrator, and do I want to compare organizations?

Our guide to how to apply for an education savings account turns these into a checklist you can use in any state, and our guide to whether homeschoolers can use state education funds compares Florida with other states.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Step Up For Students a government agency?

No. The PEP handbook describes it as a nonprofit scholarship funding organization approved by the state of Florida to administer the PEP scholarship and other education choice programs.

Can homeschoolers in Florida get a scholarship?

Florida’s PEP scholarship is designed for students who are not enrolled full time in a public or private school, and a home education instructional program is on its list of eligible expenses. Read the handbook carefully, because PEP is not the same as filing as a home education student with the school district.

Is there an income limit?

Step Up says the private school scholarships and PEP are open regardless of household income. Income tiers matter for priority when funds are limited, according to Step Up’s priority list.

How much is the scholarship?

Step Up says private school scholarships are worth an average of $8,000. Your own amount depends on the program, grade and county, and Step Up publishes the current tables.

When do I apply for 2027-28?

Step Up says to sign up on its website for notices when applications open for 2027-28. We do not list a date here because it was not announced when we checked. Verify on the Step Up site.

Can I use the scholarship if we move out of Florida?

Florida residency is required, with the military exceptions described on the PEP page. Talk to the administrator before you move. N: Sources (reviewed October 11, 2026): Step Up For Students private school scholarships; Step Up For Students PEP; Step Up PEP Family Handbook; AAA Scholarships Florida parents page; EdChoice program pages for FES-EO, FTC and FES-UA. Florida DOE pages could not be opened for this review, so confirm details there. Not legal, tax or financial advice.