Can Step Up Scholarships Pay for Private School Tuition?
Tuition and fees at an eligible private school your child attends full time.
The Short Answer
Tuition is what the private school scholarships exist to pay: funds go to the eligible private school your child attends full time, in quarterly payments that a parent approves in EMA. Any Florida family can apply for the private school scholarships, whatever its income; household income affects only the order scholarships are awarded when funding is limited.
A child who qualifies for FES-UA can also have full-time private school tuition paid from FES-UA by direct billing in EMA. Neither scholarship can be used while your child is enrolled full time in a public school.
What counts as a qualifying diagnosis?
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.
The diagnosis must be documented by a licensed physician (Florida or another U.S. state or territory), a Florida-licensed psychologist, or a Florida-licensed Autonomous Advanced Practice Registered Nurse. A district IEP written within the past three years can be used instead of a diagnosis document. An evaluation or a 504 plan on its own is not one of those documents.
Step Up confirms how a specific diagnosis fits the program when you apply.
Which Programs Can Pay, and the Rules
Paying: Funds are paid to the school in quarterly payments, and a parent approves each payment in EMA. Money left after tuition and fees can also be spent through Direct Pay, reimbursement, or MyScholarShop.
The rule that decides it: Pays tuition and fees at the eligible private school your child attends full time. It cannot be used while your child is enrolled full time in a public school.
For a child who qualifies for FES-UA, full-time private school tuition can also be paid by direct billing in EMA.
Paying: Direct Pay in EMA, or pay the provider and request reimbursement.
The rule that decides it: Needs a qualifying diagnosis or an IEP, and it cannot be used while your child is enrolled full time in a public school.
The service also has to appear in the provider's approved EMA service catalog, and Step Up confirms coverage for your child's program. When in doubt, ask Step Up before the service begins, at (877) 735-7837.
Who Provides It, and How to Find One
Who provides it: The eligible private school your child attends. The provider must be approved in Step Up's system for the service to be payable.
Approved providers are listed in Step Up's official directory inside EMA. Log in to your EMA account, choose Marketplace, then Find Providers to search approved providers and services near you. Step Up's steps for finding a provider in EMA.
Questions Parents Ask
Who provides Private School Tuition and Fees?
The eligible private school your child attends. Providers must be approved in Step Up's system. Approved providers are listed in Step Up's official directory inside EMA. Log in to your EMA account, choose Marketplace, then Find Providers to search approved providers and services near you.
What rules decide whether scholarship funds can pay for Private School Tuition and Fees?
Private School Scholarship: Pays tuition and fees at the eligible private school your child attends full time. It cannot be used while your child is enrolled full time in a public school. Unique Abilities (FES-UA): Needs a qualifying diagnosis or an IEP, and it cannot be used while your child is enrolled full time in a public school.
More Services Parents Ask About
Or search all services on the services guide.
Not Sure Which Programs Fit Your Family?
Answer a few questions about where your child goes to school and what your child needs, and see which Step Up programs may fit. It takes about two minutes, and nothing you answer is saved or sent anywhere.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Applications are made with Step Up For Students, not with this site.
Step Up Customer Engagement Center: (877) 735-7837, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST.
This tool gives general information only. It is not an application, and it cannot tell you whether your child is eligible. Step Up For Students makes all eligibility and funding decisions.