GENERAL FAQ
Q. I’m an active-duty military and currently live out of state, but I’ve been assigned to a base in Florida and plan to move soon. Are my children eligible for a scholarship?
A. Yes. If you are active duty and have been given permanent change of station orders to Florida you will be eligible for the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO), Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA), Personalized Education Program (PEP), or Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) before you make your move. You can apply with your base address or new Florida home address (if you have one) and upload your permanent change of station paperwork with your application.
Q. Can I apply for more than one scholarship at a time for my child?
A. No. Law changes prohibit applying for more than one private school or parent-directed scholarship at a time for your student. You can apply for a new scholarship once you’ve been denied or have declined an awarded scholarship. However, you may apply for both the Transportation Stipend and New Worlds Scholarship Account if your student qualifies.
Q. How can I decline a scholarship that I’ve applied for?
A. You can use this form here to decline a scholarship.
Q. My student was attending a private school on scholarship, but now we attend a public school. What happened to my scholarship? Am I eligible for anything else?
A. If you had an FTC, FES-EO, FES-UA, PEP, or Hope scholarship and enrolled in a public school, your scholarship will end, and the remaining funds will be returned to the state. As a public-school student, you may be eligible for a New Worlds Scholarship Account or a Transportation Stipend.
Q. I was awarded a FES-EO or FTC scholarship for my student, but we now want the FES-UA scholarship instead. How do I apply?
A. You will need to decline the scholarship you were awarded and apply for the scholarship you want as a new student. You can decline a scholarship using this form here.
Q. What is the scholarship value for my county?
A. Official scholarship values will be posted once the new budget is approved by the governor.
FTC and FES-EO
Q. What happens if my student is not enrolled in a private school for 30 days or more?
A. Students who received a funded scholarship but are not enrolled in an eligible private school for 30 days will lose scholarship eligibility and all funds will be returned to the state. The same applies if a student enrolls in a public school during the school year in which they receive a scholarship.
Q. I’m an active-duty military and currently live out of state, but I’ve been assigned to a base in Florida and plan to move soon. Are my children eligible for a scholarship?
A. Yes. If you are on active duty and have been given a permanent change of station orders to Florida, you will be granted eligibility for the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA), Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO), Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC), or the Personalized Education Program (PEP).
Q. I applied for a FES-EO scholarship. Can I apply for another scholarship as a backup?
A. No, you can only apply for one private school or parent-directed scholarship at a time.
Q. If I unenroll my student from a private school, how long do I have to choose another private school?
A. You have 30 days to enroll your student in a new private school. If you have not enrolled your student within 30 days your remaining scholarship funds will be returned to the state.
FES-UA
Q. Is the FES-UA enrollment cap increasing?
A. Yes. The legislature approved an increase of more than 20,000 students. The enrollment cap exemptions, such as being enrolled in a public school in the prior year, remain in place.
Q. How much will the FES-UA scholarships be worth in 2024-25?
A. FES-UA scholarships vary by grade, county and severity of need. The average scholarship is about $10,000, though children with matrix scores of 254 or 255 will see between $22,000 and $34,000 on average.
Q. Where can I see the scholarship values by county?
A. Official scholarship values will be posted once the new budget is approved by the Governor.
Q. Can I use the FES-UA funds to pay for private school tuition and fees for my pre-K student?
A. Yes, you can pay for preschool tuition and fees at an eligible private school.
Q. Can I get FES-UA and VPK for my preschool student?
A. Yes. You can have FES-UA and VPK to pay for preschool tuition and fees.
PEP
Q. A new private school opened that will enroll home education students. Can I use PEP to pay the required tuition?
A. If the school employs a teacher that the student meets with at the school’s physical location at least twice a week and the family has a Student Learning Plan that outlines all other instructional days, then yes, you may use your PEP scholarship to pay tuition at the school. We will link to a published list of approved schools when it becomes available.
Q. What do I do if my student’s physical school is not listed as an option?
A. Florida’s Department of Education (FL DOE) approves private schools to participate in serving PEP students. Be sure to confirm that your school emailed [emailprotected] indicating they wish to participate. It could be the case that the school was not approved by FL DOE.
Q. Am I required to complete a Student Learning Plan (SLP) if my student attends a physical school at least two days a week?
A. Yes, an SLP is required for all PEP students, whether they attend a physical school or not.
Q. What is the Student Learning Plan?
A. Student Learning Plan (SLP) is a customized learning plan developed by parents or guardians and revised, at least annually, to guide instruction for their students and to address the services needed to fulfill their academic needs. PEP parents and guardians must complete a Student Learning Plan for each student prior to funding.
NEW WORLDS
Q. My student has a New Worlds Scholarship Account and is attending a public-school full time. Can I also apply for the new K-8 Transportation Stipend?
A. Yes, so long as your student is attending a public school other than the school they are assigned, you may be eligible for one K-8 Transportation Stipend for your household.
Q. My student is attending a private preschool or private daycare. Can I still get a New Worlds Scholarship Account?
A. If your student is attending a private preschool or private day care through the Florida Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) program, then you are eligible to apply for a New Worlds Scholarship Account if you meet the other requirements. You cannot get a New Worlds scholarship if you are using any other scholarship to pay for pre-K.
Q. How do I demonstrate that my student has substantial deficiencies in math or reading literacy so we can qualify for the New Worlds Scholarship?
A. Your student’s eligibility will be determined by the recent Progress monitoring report or on their most recent English Language Arts (ELA) scores, or if it has been determined that their student has characteristics of dyslexia or dyscalculia.
Q. How much is the New Words Scholarship Account worth?
A. The scholarship is worth $1,200 per student for 2024-25. Scholarships for the 2023-24 school year, which will continue to be awarded through September will remain at $500.
TRANSPORTATION
Q. I applied for a Transportation Stipend for my student to attend another public school. Can I also apply for another scholarship?
A. Yes, you can apply for a New Worlds Scholarship Account if your student meets the eligibility requirements.
Q. How much is the Transportation Stipend worth?
A. A one-time payment of $750 per household.
Q. I have students attending different public schools, can I get more than one Transportation Stipend?
A. No, stipends are limited to one $750 stipend per household.
Q. My student attends a virtual school, but can we use the Transportation Stipend to cover expenses related to field trips or other assignments that may require travel?
A. No. Students attending a virtual school are not eligible for a Transportation Stipend.
Q. Do I have to report the Transportation Stipend as income on my taxes?
A. No. The state legislature has specified that the Transportation Stipend is not considered income.
HOPE SCHOLARSHIP
Q. What is happening to the Hope Scholarship?
A. The Hope Scholarship is merging with the FTC and FES-EO scholarships. Current Hope students are granted renewal eligibility for the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) or the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO). Beginning July 1, 2024, students with qualifying incidents notified by a public school of the scholarship opportunity will qualify for the FTC or FES-EO Scholarship program instead of a Hope Scholarship. Qualifying incidents are not required for a student to be eligible for FTC or FES-EO scholarships.
Q. My student was using the Hope Scholarship in the 2023-24 school year. What can we apply for in 2024-25?
A. You can apply for any scholarship that your student is eligible for. All students who received a Hope Scholarship for the 2023-24 school year will be automatically eligible for a Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) or Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO). You can apply as a NEW student here.
Q. My student would be a renewal student with priority status under the Hope Scholarship. Will we lose that priority status now that we must apply as a new student under FTC or the Transportation Stipend?
A. Even though you will be applying as a NEW FTC, FES-EO or Transportation Stipend student, we will still grant you priority for awarded status.
Q. My student was on the Hope Scholarship using the transportation option. What should I apply for now?
A. If you wish to keep your child enrolled in a different public school than the one, they were assigned to, you will now need to apply for the Transportation Stipend.
Q. My student was bullied in their public school after the Dec. 15 application deadline. Can I still apply?
A. The eligibility requirements remain so you will be able to apply for an FTC or FES-EO scholarship AFTER the Dec. 15 application deadline so long as an incident report document is provided.
Q. Will I be able to use the Hope Scholarship to pay for more than tuition and fees?
A. The Hope Scholarship is technically ending, and you will need to apply for and receive a FTC or FES-EO scholarship going forward. That means you will be able to spend any remaining funds after tuition and fees are paid on things like tutoring or after-school activities.
What you need
to know
House Bills 1403 and 1361 were passed by the Florida Legislature, and they were signed into law. The budget and it's accompanying bills (5101) have not yet been signed by the Governor.
These new pieces of legislation would take effect July 1 and make the following changes to Florida’s scholarship programs listed below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Choose one of the following options to skip below:
• Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO) and Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) Programs• Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA)• Personalized Education Program (PEP)• Hope Scholarship Program• Transportation Scholarship• New Worlds Scholarship Accounts
Is Your Family Interested in a Scholarship?
Learn more about the different scholarships available for your student and apply today.
Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO) and Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) Programs
- Allow active-duty military members who have permanent change of station orders to Florida to apply for scholarships before they have a Florida address.
- Prohibit families from applying for multiple scholarships for the same student at the same time.
- Require, for RENEWAL FES-EO students, the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) to release funds to scholarship-funding organizations (SFOs) no later than Aug. 1, Nov. 1, Feb. 1, and April 1.
- Require, for NEW FES-EO students, the FLDOE to release funds to SFOs no later than Sept. 1, Nov. 1, Feb. 1, and April 1.
- Require SFOs to release payments for full-time tuition and fees within 7 business days after approval by the parent and the private school.
- Require SFOs to publish a purchasing handbook by Aug. 1, 2024, and by July 1 in all following years. The handbook must include a list of prohibited items and services, and items or services that require pre-authorization or additional documentation. The handbook must be published on the SFOs’ websites and provided to the Commissioner of Education.
Family Empowerment Scholarship
for Unique Abilities (FES-UA)
- Expand the availability of scholarships by increasing the cap for the 2024-25 school year to 72,615 students. Categorical exemptions, for students to be considered outside of the program cap, remain.
- Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, the cap on available scholarships will annually increase by 5% (up from 3%) of the state’s exceptional student education enrollment, minus gifted students. The cap will increase by an additional 1% following any year in which 95% of available scholarships are funded.
- Allow parents to use scholarship funds to pay tuition and fees for a prekindergarten program offered by an eligible private school.
- Allow a student to be 3 or 4 years old during the year in which the student applies, instead of requiring the student to be 3 or 4 before applying.
- Engage UCF’s Center for Students with Unique Abilities to create purchasing guidelines for the FES-UA program with assistance from Florida’s SFOs and input from parents of participating students.
- Require, for RENEWAL FES-UA students, the Florida Department of Education to release funds to SFOs no later than Aug. 1, Nov. 1, Feb. 1, and April 1.
- Require, for NEW FES-UA students, the FLDOE to release funds to SFOs no later than Sept. 1, Nov. 1, Feb. 1, and April 1.
- Require SFOs to release payments for full-time tuition and fees within 7 business days after approval by the parent and the private school.
Personalized Education for Every Student
Explore the new scholarship program that focuses on personalized education.
Personalized Education Program (PEP)
- Allow PEP students to use scholarship funds to pay for tuition at private schools where they spend at least two days per week on the school’s physical campus and their learning plan accounts for the remaining instructional time.
Hope Scholarship Program
- Merge the Hope Scholarship Program with the FES-EO and FTC scholarship programs.
- Direct the eligible financial contributions to the FTC scholarship program.
- Allow students with bullying incidents documented by their public schools to qualify for FES-EO or FTC scholarships.
The Changing Educational Landscape
See the recent numbers behind education choice here in Florida.
Transportation Scholarship
- Repeal the current Transportation Scholarship for public school students.
- Create a new Transportation Stipend, which will award $750 per eligible household for K-8 students to supplement transportation costs to a Florida, non-virtual public school that is different than their assigned school.
- Prioritize students who received a Transportation Scholarship in the 23-24 school year to receive transportation stipends for the 24-25 school year.
New Worlds Scholarship Accounts
- Expands eligibility to include Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) students with substantial deficiencies in early literacy and/or math skills, based on their most recent progress monitoring results.
- Increases scholarship award amount from $500 to $1200 per student.
- Requires the Department of Education to release scholarship funding to the SFO within 45 days of a student being found eligible for the program.
- Establishes that parents/guardians will use Step Up For Students direct-pay platforms to use their Education Savings Account (ESA) funds beginning in the '24-25 school year.
