FES-UA Scholarship in Florida: a complete guide for autism families

Florida funds one of the most generous scholarship programs for children with disabilities in the country. Most autism families I work with use it at some level. About 30% of them are using it at full potential. Most are leaving money on the table or spending it on things that aren’t moving the needle.

This is the full guide I wish I’d had when Jacob first qualified. It covers eligibility, application timing, what you can spend it on, and the patterns I see in how families use it well.

What FES-UA is, briefly

The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) is the current name for what used to be the Gardiner Scholarship. The state of Florida funds it. Step Up For Students administers it.

It provides funds (currently around $8,000 to $10,000 per child per year for most families, more for higher-need children) that can be used for:

• Private school tuition
• Tutoring and academic instruction
• Therapy not covered by insurance
• Curriculum and instructional materials
• Assistive technology
• Approved transportation
• College savings contributions

It is not means-tested. It is not based on IEP or 504 status. It is based on the child’s qualifying diagnosis from a Florida-licensed provider.

Who qualifies

The eligibility rules are:

1. Florida resident. Your child must live in Florida.
2. Age 3 to 12th grade. Pre-K eligibility exists for some children; high school graduation ends the program.
3. Qualifying diagnosis. The most common ones include autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, Williams syndrome, Phelan-McDermid syndrome, deaf-blind, anaphylaxis, traumatic brain injury, hospital-homebound (in some cases), and others.
4. Diagnosed by a Florida-licensed physician or psychologist. The diagnosis must come from a Florida-licensed provider. Out-of-state diagnoses sometimes need to be re-confirmed by a Florida provider.

Notably absent from the list: there is no income cap. No asset test. No requirement that the child have an IEP. The medical diagnosis is what triggers eligibility.

Two awards in one program

This is where parents get confused, because FES-UA technically encompasses two different award types:

1. FES-UA Personalized Education Program (PEP). Sometimes shortened to “FES-UA PEP” or just “the PEP version.” This is the homeschool/private school version. The child is not enrolled full-time in public school. Funds can be used broadly for tutoring, curriculum, therapy, private school tuition, technology, and approved educational services.

2. FES-UA Educational Voucher. Sometimes called the “voucher version.” This is for children attending a participating private school full-time. Funds are paid directly to the school as tuition. Limited flexibility for outside services.

Most autism families I work with use the PEP version because it allows the most flexibility. You can homeschool and use the scholarship for curriculum and tutoring, or you can be flexibly enrolled in a non-participating private school and use the funds for tutoring around it.

The application process is similar for both, but you should know which one you’re applying for.

The application timeline (real talk)

The scholarship application is administered through Step Up For Students at stepupforstudents.org. Here’s the realistic timeline:

Application opens: Typically in February for the following school year.

Peak season: April through July. Most applications submitted in this window are processed for the upcoming fall semester.

Processing time: 30 to 90 days during peak. Faster if you apply early in February or off-season.

Approval notification: By email through the Step Up portal. Don’t miss this email — you need to confirm acceptance.

Funds available: Once approved and the new school year begins (typically July 1 onward), you can start spending against the award.

If you apply in October hoping to use funds that school year, you might get approved but with limited time to spend. The funds don’t carry over indefinitely; there’s a cap on rollover.

Apply early. Period.

What documentation you need

You’ll need:

1. Proof of Florida residency. Driver’s license, utility bill in your name, lease showing Florida address.
2. Proof of your child’s identity. Birth certificate.
3. Diagnosis documentation. A letter from a Florida-licensed physician or psychologist confirming the qualifying diagnosis. Some families need to get a fresh letter dated within the application year.
4. For some families: previous educational records. Especially if there’s history of public school enrollment.

Gather these before starting the application. Half-finished applications because you’re missing the diagnosis letter is the most common reason for delay.

What you can spend it on (in plain language)

Step Up’s portal lists the approved categories. Here’s what the categories mean in practice:

Instructional materials and curriculum. Homeschool curriculum kits, workbooks, manipulatives, books, art supplies tied to a curriculum, online curriculum subscriptions.

Tutoring services. Academic tutoring from a Gardiner-approved provider. This includes Tutoring the Spectrum, and many other providers across the state.

Therapy services not covered by insurance. Additional ABA hours after insurance exhausts, supplemental speech, OT, PT, music therapy, equine therapy. Must be from approved providers.

Specialized services. Behavior consulting, social skills groups, executive function coaching.

Assistive technology. Tablets, communication apps, adaptive software, sensory tools that double as educational supports.

Transportation. Limited transportation to and from educational services or therapy.

College savings contributions. Limited contributions to a Florida prepaid college plan.

Private school tuition. If your child attends a participating private school.

A useful exercise: list out the categories on paper and write down what your child’s specific needs are under each one. That tells you where to allocate.

The mistakes I see most often

After working with many families using FES-UA, the patterns I see most often:

1. Not applying because they assume they won’t qualify. If your child has an autism diagnosis from a Florida provider, you qualify. Don’t disqualify yourself. Apply.

2. Spending on what’s marketed at parents of autistic children rather than what your specific child needs. The autism services market is full of products that look educational but don’t address what your child specifically struggles with. Start with your child’s needs, then find the service.

3. Hiring tutors or therapists who aren’t trained for autism. A reading tutor who’s never worked with autistic children may not get traction with your child. Pay for providers with autism-specific training.

4. Not coordinating spending with the IEP or ABA team. If your child has an IEP and is getting ABA, the FES-UA spending should fill gaps, not duplicate what’s already happening. Talk to the existing teams about what’s missing before allocating.

5. Letting the scholarship sit unused. The clock is real. Unused funds roll over only partially, and most families lose money by under-spending.

6. Spending all at once at the beginning of the year. Better to allocate quarterly. Reassess what’s working at each quarter and adjust.

A starting framework

If you’re new to FES-UA and unsure where to start, a reasonable allocation for an elementary-aged autistic child with academic gaps might look like:

• 40% to consistent weekly tutoring (about $3,200-$4,000 per year)
• 30% to supplemental therapy hours
• 15% to curriculum and instructional materials
• 15% reserved for needs that emerge during the year

If your child attends private school, the allocation shifts heavily toward tuition. If your child is in heavy ABA already, more of the FES-UA might go to academic tutoring to round out the picture.

There’s no universal right answer. It depends on what your child specifically needs and what’s currently happening in their life.

How tutoring slots into this

Tutoring the Spectrum is a Gardiner / FES-UA approved provider. Families on the scholarship pay through Step Up; nothing comes out of pocket. We do reading, writing, and math instruction using ABA-informed techniques. Most of our families come through Gardiner.

If you’re wondering whether tutoring is the right use of your FES-UA dollars, we can talk it through in a Coaching Session. The answer depends on your child’s specific academic profile, what other supports they’re getting, and what’s actually moving for them right now.

What to do this week

1. If you don’t have FES-UA yet, start the application at stepupforstudents.org.
2. If you have it, audit your current spending. Is it producing measurable progress for your child?
3. If you’re not sure how to allocate, book a Coaching Session and we’ll figure it out together.

This is real money the state has set aside for your child. Used well, it can transform a year. Used poorly, it disappears into receipts that don’t add up to anything. The difference is in the planning.