Step Up for Students for Florida Homeschoolers: What It Covers and How to Apply

Last updated: June 2026. This is a general overview, not legal or financial advice — program rules change every year, so confirm your details directly with Step Up for Students.

If you homeschool in Florida, you've heard the name. Step Up for Students comes up at park days, in Facebook groups, from the friend whose kids are thriving outside a classroom. And then you go to look it up and run straight into a wall of acronyms — FES-EO, FES-UA, PEP — and give up.

Let's untangle it.

Step Up for Students is a state-authorized nonprofit that runs several scholarship programs. The money is funded through corporate tax-credit donations and state funding, not pulled out of the public school budget. For families teaching at home, the important thing to know is that these scholarships put funds into an account you direct toward approved educational expenses. You're not assigned to one school or one vendor. You choose.

Which program fits a homeschool family?

This is where most of the confusion lives, because the three programs that come up are aimed at different situations.

The Personalized Education Program (PEP) is the one most home-educating families should look at first. It's an education savings account for students learning at home rather than enrolling full-time in a public or private school. One thing worth knowing up front: enrolling in PEP is a little different from filing a home education notice with your district. They're two separate paths, and Step Up can tell you which one your family is actually on.

The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Unique Abilities (FES-UA) is for students with a qualifying disability or an active IEP. There's no income limit on this one.

The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Education Options (FES-EO) is geared more toward families enrolling in an eligible private school. Income used to be a hard cap; in recent years the program moved toward broad eligibility with income affecting priority rather than locking families out entirely.

I'm keeping this deliberately high-level, because the line between these programs and their eligibility rules genuinely change from year to year. Before you build a plan around any of them, run your family through the eligibility screener at stepupforstudents.org. It takes a few minutes and it's the only source that's actually current.

What can the scholarship pay for?

This is the part that makes homeschool parents sit up. Depending on the program and the year, approved expenses commonly include:

• Tuition and fees at approved private schools and homeschool programs
• Curriculum and instructional materials
• Tutoring from approved providers
• Standardized testing fees
• Certain therapies and educational services
• Technology used for learning

For families enrolled in a co-op program, that can mean tuition and fees are paid straight from your scholarship account. Some providers are set up for direct pay, which skips the reimbursement-and-wait dance entirely. Ivory & Sage is an approved Step Up for Students provider, so families can put their scholarship toward our programs. Worth asking any program you're weighing: are they an approved provider, and do they take direct pay?

How to apply, start to finish

The process isn't complicated. The timing is what trips people up.

1. Check eligibility. Use the screener at stepupforstudents.org. Have your household info and your child's date of birth handy.
2. Apply when the window opens. Applications open annually, usually in early spring for the following school year, and demand is high. Apply early. You'll need documents like proof of Florida residency, your child's birth certificate, and income verification for the income-based programs.
3. Get your award. Once you're approved, you'll see your scholarship amount and get access to your account in the Step Up portal.
4. Choose providers. Decide how to spend the funds. Enroll your child in the programs you've picked and direct funds to approved providers.
5. Manage the account. Submit expenses or direct payments through the portal during the year, and keep your receipts and enrollment confirmations. Step Up can ask for documentation during a review.

A few honest answers to common questions

Can I use it for more than one child? Yes. Each eligible child gets their own scholarship and their own account.

I'm already homeschooling — can I still apply? Yes. Plenty of families start at home and find Step Up later. You apply for the next school year regardless of how long you've been at it.

Does taking the money mean the state controls what I teach? No. The scholarship funds approved expenses; it doesn't dictate curriculum. You still meet Florida's educational requirements on your own terms. For what those requirements actually are, see our guide to Florida homeschool law.

Is this the same as a voucher? Not really. A voucher typically pays a school directly. These scholarships go into a family-directed account funded largely through private donations, which gives you more say in how the money is used.

Using it here on the Nature Coast

If you're in Brooksville, Spring Hill, Dade City, Zephyrhills, or anywhere along the Nature Coast, the homeschool community here has grown fast, and so have the options for spending scholarship funds locally.

At Ivory & Sage Homeschool in Brooksville, we run hands-on history, nature study, traditional skills, and enrichment for ages 1 through 17, with semester and yearly plans — and because we're an approved Step Up provider, your scholarship can go straight toward tuition. If you're figuring out how Step Up could work for your family, we're happy to talk through enrollment.

See our enrollment options

For current eligibility and approved expenses, go straight to Step Up for Students. For Florida's home education requirements, the Florida Department of Education and the Florida Parent Educators Association are the most reliable sources.