Become a Step Up Tutoring Provider in Florida

Tutoring is the service the most Step Up programs can pay for. Part-time tutoring is a payable service under all five scholarships: Unique Abilities (FES-UA), the Private School Scholarship (FTC and FES-EO), the Personalized Education Program (PEP), and New Worlds Scholarship Accounts. That breadth is why tutoring is the most searched provider category in this space, and why so many tutors, from solo teachers to tutoring centers, work through approval in EMA, Step Up's online system, so families can pay them with scholarship funds.

This page covers the part-time tutoring category: the credential routes Step Up recognizes (there are many), the hour caps that decide whether your work is part-time or full-time tutoring, how payment reaches you, and the mistakes that slow applications down. Step Up reviews every application and makes every approval decision.

At a Glance

Programs that can pay: FES-UA, FES-EO, FTC, PEP, and New Worlds (all five)

Credential headline: A teaching certificate, a degree in the subject, or another recognized proof of subject mastery

Account shape: Business and Personal accounts, or School and Personal accounts. Your Personal account must link to an approved Business account

How you get paid: Step Up pays you directly through EMA, or families pay you and get reimbursed. New Worlds pays by Direct Pay only

What Families Can Pay You For

Part-time tutoring means academic tutoring that is not a child's full-time instruction: help with schoolwork, reading, or math, subject by subject. Each scholarship pays for it under its own rules:

FES-UA covers part-time tutoring for a child with a qualifying diagnosis or an IEP, and it cannot be used during full-time public school enrollment.
PEP covers part-time tutoring for parent-directed education, with credential rules for tutors.
The Private School Scholarship (FTC and FES-EO) can pay for part-time tutoring with money left after the student's tuition and fees are paid, while the student attends an eligible private school full time in person.
New Worlds covers part-time tutoring in reading, literacy, or math only, and only for families who already hold an account balance. New Worlds is not open to new students for 2025-2026.

There is no minimum number of hours, and no maximum number of students at once, in this category. The limit that matters is per student, per year, covered below.

Part-Time or Full-Time? The Line That Decides Your Category

Part-time tutoring has an annual cap per student: 720 hours for grades K-3, or 900 hours for grades 4-12. Work past that cap belongs to the separate full-time tutoring category.

Full-time tutoring is a different application. It covers FES-UA and PEP students only (it is not an option under FTC or FES-EO), it requires a valid Florida teaching certificate for the subject or grade level, it serves at most 5 students at the same time (up to 25 in a qualifying facility), and it carries a 180-teaching-day year. If families rely on you as the child's schooling, read the full-time rules before you choose a category in the assessment.

What It Takes

Step Up accepts many forms of proof that you know your subject. Recognized routes include:

A valid Florida Educator's Certificate, or an adjunct teaching certificate from a Florida school district
A valid professional standard teaching certificate from another state
A valid Statement of Status (SOE) from Florida Educator Certification showing eligibility for a Professional Certificate
Certification from a nationally or internationally recognized, research-based training program (for example Orton-Gillingham, Wilson Reading, or Barton)
A National Board (NBPTS) or ABCTE certificate
A bachelor's or graduate degree in the subject area, shown by diploma or official transcript
An official FTCE score report with a passing score on a Florida subject area exam (within 10 years)

Two rules shape the application itself. Your Personal account must be linked to an approved Business account, and for New Worlds students the credential bar is stricter, and tutoring is limited to literacy, reading, or math.

Mistakes That Slow Tutoring Applications Down

A degree outside the subject. A degree in a different subject than the one you will tutor does not document mastery of your subject.
An expired educator certificate.
A Personal account that is not linked to a Business account.
Crossing the annual hour cap per student while enrolled as a part-time tutor.
A New Worlds mismatch: tutoring a subject outside reading, literacy, or math for a New Worlds student, or a credential that does not meet the stricter New Worlds requirements.

Questions Providers Ask

Which scholarships can pay me for tutoring?

All five. Part-time tutoring is payable under FES-UA, FES-EO, FTC, PEP, and New Worlds, each with its own rules. No other provider category reaches every program.

I am a retired teacher. Does my background count?

Teaching certificates are one of the recognized routes, including a valid professional standard teaching certificate from another state. A certificate has to be current; an expired certificate is one of the common reasons tutoring applications slow down.

Is there a limit on how much I can tutor one student?

Yes. Part-time tutoring caps at 720 hours per student per year for grades K-3 and 900 hours for grades 4-12. Past that, the work belongs to the full-time tutoring category, which has its own rules and requires a Florida teaching certificate.

How do families pay me?

Step Up can pay you directly through EMA, or the family pays you and requests reimbursement. New Worlds is the exception: it pays providers by Direct Pay only.

Can I tutor full time as a student's main schooling?

That is the separate full-time tutoring category. It covers FES-UA and PEP students, requires a valid Florida teaching certificate, limits you to 5 students at the same time (up to 25 in a qualifying facility), and runs on a 180-teaching-day year. It is not available under FTC or FES-EO.

See Your Tutoring Pathway

The free assessment asks five straightforward questions and shows you a personalized preview of your provider pathway: your credential route, the scholarship programs that fit, and your first steps. The assessment is free. Start with a free personalized assessment. Full personalized plan: $147 one-time.

Start Your Assessment

Step Up Provider Guide is operated by Pair of Deuces LLC and is not affiliated with Step Up For Students. Step Up reviews every provider application and makes all approval decisions.

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Or browse all of them on the provider categories index.

What Families Read About This Service

Parents research this service on the parent side of this site before they look for a provider:

Tutoring, for parents