Can Step Up Scholarships Pay for VPK or School Readiness?
Tuition and fees at approved VPK and School Readiness providers for young children.
The Short Answer
FES-UA covers tuition and fees at approved VPK and School Readiness providers, which is how many families first use the scholarship with a 3- or 4-year-old who has a qualifying diagnosis.
The setting matters: FES-UA can be combined with VPK at an eligible private provider, but public school VPK counts as public school enrollment, and FES-UA cannot be used during public school enrollment. Your child needs a qualifying diagnosis, which for FES-UA can be documented from age 3.
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
FES-UA can be used together with VPK at an eligible private provider. Public school VPK counts as public school enrollment, which blocks FES-UA, so the setting matters.
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: An approved VPK or School Readiness provider. 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 VPK and School Readiness?
An approved VPK or School Readiness provider. 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 VPK and School Readiness?
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.