PEP or FES-UA? Which Florida scholarship fits your family

Families new to Florida homeschooling hit an acronym wall fast. PEP, FES-UA, FTC, FES-EO. They are not interchangeable, and picking the wrong one wastes an application cycle.

Here is the distinction that matters most.

PEP — the parent-directed program

Personalized Education Program. Built for students being educated in a parent-directed way rather than enrolled full-time in a private school.

• Funds arrive as an education savings account you direct
• Eligibility: a Florida resident eligible to enrol in K-12 public school in the state
• Priority goes first to households at or below 185% of the federal poverty level, and to students in foster or out-of-home care; then to households above 185% but not exceeding 400%
• Beyond those bands, students benefiting from parent-directed education are eligible regardless of household income
• Covers tutoring, curriculum, part-time enrolment, testing fees and more — see the full list

FES-UA — the unique abilities program

Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities. Built around a documented disability rather than around how you school.

The distinction is not "homeschool vs private school" — it is what qualifies you. FES-UA eligibility rests on the student's diagnosed needs. PEP eligibility rests on the education being parent-directed.

The questions that decide it

Does your child have a documented disability or IEP? If yes, FES-UA is likely the conversation to start, and it may open funding for therapies that PEP is not designed around.

Are you educating in a parent-directed way? That is the core of PEP.

Which providers do you already want? Work backwards from the tutor, co-op or therapist you actually intend to use, and ask which programs they accept. A scholarship you qualify for but cannot spend where you want is worth less than one you can.

Do not guess

Eligibility rules and award amounts for both programs are set by the state and administered by Step Up For Students, and they change. Confirm your situation with them directly rather than relying on a summary — including this one.

Finding providers who take each

Our Florida directory lets you filter by the scholarship programs a provider says they accept, so you can see which of them fit before you apply. We record what providers tell us — we never certify approval.

Last checked: August 2026.