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Educational Services of Miami
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May 17, 2026

Step Up for Students 101: what Florida parents need to know in 2026

Plain-English overview of the six Florida scholarships ESM accepts, who qualifies, and how to apply.

Step Up for Students 101 (2026)

Florida runs one of the most generous scholarship systems in the U.S. for K–12 families. Step Up for Students (and AAA) administer most of these programs. If you're homeschooling or considering it, there's a very good chance you qualify for at least one.

The six programs we accept

PEP — Personalized Education Program

An ESA-based scholarship for K–12 students who are not enrolled full-time in public or private school. Funds can go to tutoring, curriculum, therapies, and approved educational expenses. Income tiers apply but were significantly expanded in 2023.

FES-EO — Family Empowerment Scholarship (Educational Options)

Income-eligible scholarship for private school tuition or homeschool support.

FES-UA — Family Empowerment Scholarship (Unique Abilities)

ESA for students age 3 through grade 12 (or age 22, whichever comes first) with a qualifying diagnosis. The average award is ~$10,000/year and covers therapies, curriculum, and tutoring with approved providers.

FTC — Florida Tax Credit

Income-based scholarship for private school or homeschool.

New Worlds Reading Scholarship

$500/year ESA for K–5 students who struggle with reading or math. Quick to apply, narrow but useful.

AAA Scholarship Foundation

Administers FES funds. Works similarly to Step Up.

How it works with us

We're a direct-pay provider for all six. That means:

  1. You log into your scholarship portal.
  2. You search for Educational Services of Miami.
  3. You reserve the hours or funds for the service you want.
  4. We approve on our provider portal and start the service.
  5. The money flows from the scholarship to us — you never pay out of pocket.

Common questions

Do I need to homeschool to use these? No — only PEP requires that you not be in full-time public/private school. The others (FES, FTC) can be used at private schools.

How long does approval take? Most scholarships approve within 2–4 weeks. We can usually start providing service while approval is pending — talk to us.

What if I don't qualify? We work with families paying privately too. Book a free consultation and we'll walk through options.

Florida's scholarship system is real money. If you qualify, use it. If you're not sure, ask.