Can My Child Get FES-UA? Florida's Unique Abilities Scholarship for Parents

Unique Abilities (FES-UA) at a Glance

Who it is for: Florida children ages 3 to 22 with a qualifying diagnosis or an IEP

The two rules: A documented diagnosis or an IEP, and education outside a full-time public school

Published average: About $10,000 per student. An average published by Step Up, not a promise

How families pay: Direct Pay through EMA, or pay first and request reimbursement

What Is FES-UA?

FES-UA is an education savings account program run by Step Up For Students. Scholarship funds are deposited into the student's account, and families use them for approved education costs, which can include tuition at an eligible private school, therapies, tutoring, specialized programs, and products bought through the EMA Marketplace.

Two separate rules decide whether this program can work for a family. Both have to line up, and the rest of this page takes them one at a time.

Rule One: A Documented Diagnosis or an IEP

Your child must have a qualifying diagnosis, documented by one of these professionals: a licensed physician (licensed in Florida or in another U.S. state or territory), a Florida-licensed psychologist, or a Florida-licensed Autonomous Advanced Practice Registered Nurse. An official district Individualized Education Program (IEP) written within the past three years can be used instead of a diagnosis document.

No IEP, 504 plan, or school evaluation is required when a documented diagnosis is provided. The program asks for one of two documents, a validated diagnosis or a recent district IEP. An evaluation or a 504 plan on its own is not one of those documents.

Step Up publishes the list of qualifying conditions for FES-UA. The list is:

• Anaphylaxis
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Cerebral Palsy
• Down Syndrome
• Emotional or Behavioral Disability
• Hearing Impairment, including deafness
• High-Risk Child
• Hospital or Homebound
• Dual Sensory Impaired
• Intellectual Disability (severe cognitive impairment)
• Language Impairment
• Muscular Dystrophy
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Other Health Impairment
• Phelan-McDermid Syndrome
• Prader-Willi Syndrome
• Rare Diseases (defined by NORD)
• Specific Learning Disability
• Speech Impairment
• Spina Bifida
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Visual Impairment, including blindness
• Williams Syndrome

ADHD can qualify for the Unique Abilities Scholarship (FES-UA) as an other health impairment, when the diagnosis is documented.

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability, one of the diagnoses the Unique Abilities Scholarship (FES-UA) covers.

Only Step Up can say how a specific diagnosis fits the program, and it confirms that when a family applies, so this site does not match diagnoses to the list.

Rule Two: Where Your Child Goes to School

To receive and use FES-UA funds, a student must be enrolled in an eligible private school, or in a home education program with a letter of intent filed with the local school district. For home education students, the letter of intent already on file is exactly the posture this program requires.

A child cannot receive or use these funds while enrolled full time in a public school, including a charter school, Florida Virtual School, or public school VPK. Before payments are sent, the Florida Department of Education checks enrollment, and public school enrollment stops new deposits. A public school student is already funded through the school district, and these funds are the funding set aside for children educated in other settings.

Two details are easy to miss. FES-UA can be used alongside VPK at an eligible private school, but it may not be used during VPK Specialized Instructional Services. And a scholarship student may still take individual public school classes or services when the family contracts with the school and the school reports the student as privately paying.

If your child is in public school today, your school district can evaluate your child and provide services such as therapies and extra learning support at no cost to your family. Many families start there while they decide whether a different school setting fits.

How and When to Apply

Families apply with Step Up For Students in EMA, Step Up's online system. New applicants create an EMA account first, then add their students and upload documents. Renewal families log in to the account they already have and apply again each year.

Applications are open until November 15, 2026. 33 days left.

Add Key Dates to Your Calendar

For the 2026-2027 school year, renewal applications ran February 1 to April 30, 2026, and new student applications run February 1 to November 15, 2026. A renewal sent after the renewal deadline is treated as a new application. Step Up tells renewal families its decision by May 31, 2026, and new applicants by December 15, 2026. Applications can close early if the program reaches capacity, so applying early in the window is wise.

Families moving to Florida on military orders have documentation paths and, for some programs, deadline exceptions. Step Up can explain what applies to your family at (877) 735-7837.

How Much Is FES-UA?

Step Up publishes an average of about $10,000 per student for this program. That figure is an average, not a promise, and no family should plan around a specific amount before Step Up sets it.

The actual amount is set each year by the Florida Legislature and depends on three things: the student's grade level, the county of residence, and the matrix level of services. Students who qualify through a diagnosis, without an IEP matrix, are funded at the average amount for matrix levels 251 to 253 in their district. Students at matrix levels 254 and 255, with more extensive documented needs, are funded at higher amounts.

What to Have Ready

• Proof that the child meets the age rules
• Proof of Florida residency
• The diagnosis documentation. Giving Step Up the professional's license number is optional and can help processing move faster

After Approval: Spending, Renewal, and Closure

Approved funds sit in the student's EMA account. Families can spend two ways. With direct billing, Step Up pays the school or provider: private school tuition through EMA, services such as tutoring or therapy through Find Providers on the EMA Marketplace, and products through MyScholarShop. Or a family can pay out of pocket and request reimbursement. Private school invoices need a parent's approval in EMA within 30 calendar days, or the invoice is deleted and the funds return to the student's account.

Unspent funds roll over to the next year while the student keeps meeting the program's requirements, so a balance is not lost at the end of the school year. New deposits stop if the student is found enrolled in a public school, graduates from high school, or turns 22 on or before September 1 of the coming year.

The account closes, and remaining funds return to the state, if two consecutive fiscal years (July 1 to June 30) pass with no spending activity. Families renew each year, and some students have an annual assessment or evaluation requirement, which the FES-UA family handbook explains.

Questions Parents Ask

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