Understanding the Family Empowerment Scholarship: FES-EO & FES-UA Explained

Section 1002.394, F.S., establishes the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program “to provide children of families in this state which have limited financial resources with educational options to achieve success in their education” (s. 1002.394(1), F.S.).

That one statute creates two branches with different eligibility rules and different lists of authorized uses:

• FES-EO (Educational Options) — s. 1002.394(3)(a) and (4)(a), F.S.
• FES-UA (Students with Unique Abilities) — s. 1002.394(3)(b) and (4)(b), F.S.

The rules for one branch do not automatically apply to the other. Confirm which program your student is on in your SFO account before you read a handbook or a portal screen.

FES-EO is mainly private-school tuition and fees at a participating private school (s. 1002.394(4)(a)1., F.S.). It is not a home-education program and is not framed as homeschooling. Families looking for a home-based scholarship path should read the District Home Education vs. PEP guide; PEP is a different program.

The statute also lists other FES-EO uses in s. 1002.394(4)(a), F.S. — including instructional materials, curriculum, certain tutoring and postsecondary options, and testing fees. Confirm what your SFO allows for your student. This page does not reprint that full list.

The statute sets who may apply and a priority order for funding (s. 1002.394(3)(a), F.S.). In words: first priority goes to lower-income households and to students in foster care or out-of-home care; a higher-income band follows. We do not list the income thresholds or award amounts. Confirm current eligibility and priority with FLDOE and your SFO.

For private-school tuition, the parent approves each payment to the school (s. 1002.394(10), F.S.). How that approval appears in your portal is an SFO process; confirm it there. Application steps live on the how to apply for Florida scholarships guide.

FES-UA is a scholarship account administered by an SFO for students with a disability as defined in s. 1002.394(2)(e), F.S. It is not a “homeschool scholarship.” Parents may use it in more than one setting — including a participating private school or a district home-education program — but the program itself is the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, not a homeschool label.

The statute sets four conditions (s. 1002.394(3)(b), F.S.): Florida residency (or the military exception the statute describes), age 3 or 4 during the year of application or eligibility to enroll in kindergarten through grade 12, a disability as subsection (2)(e) defines it, and the documentation in s. 1002.394(3)(b)4., F.S. That documentation is an Individual Education Plan (IEP), or a diagnosis of a disability from a physician licensed under chapter 458 or 459, F.S., or a psychologist licensed under chapter 490, F.S. (or an equivalently licensed physician from another U.S. state, territory, Washington, D.C., or Puerto Rico). This hub does not interpret those categories. Confirm documentation with your SFO and FLDOE.

FES-UA funds may be used for a wide range of education-related uses listed in s. 1002.394(4)(b), F.S., including instructional materials, curriculum, private-school tuition, contracted tutoring, and specialized educational services. Confirm what your SFO allows for your student. This page does not reprint that list and does not name services beyond those educational categories.

Unspent FES-UA funds can remain available: reimbursements for program expenditures may continue until the account balance is expended or the account is closed (s. 1002.394(5)(b)2., F.S.). Submission windows and appeal rules are a different topic. See the FES-UA October 31 reimbursement deadline and Education Market Assistant (EMA) appeals guide. We do not list award amounts or account-balance ceilings. Confirm your balance in your SFO account.

Families apply to and manage FES-EO and FES-UA through an eligible nonprofit SFO (s. 1002.394(2)(f), F.S.), not through the local school district. In Florida those organizations are Step Up For Students and AAA Scholarship Foundation.

• Step Up For Students uses the Education Market Assistant (EMA) portal.
• AAA Scholarship Foundation uses the Scholarship Management Platform (SMP).

You choose one SFO. That portal is where you apply, see the scholarship account, and follow that organization’s process. Application timelines are set each year by the SFO. This hub does not publish application cutoff dates. Confirm the current cycle in your SFO account, and use the how to apply guide for the application overview.

How families spend funds — marketplace, provider directory, or reimbursement — lives on the scholarship spend rails guide. This page does not walk through those rails.

Keep these four paths distinct:

• FES-EO — mainly private-school tuition and fees (s. 1002.394, F.S.).
• FES-UA — a scholarship account administered by an SFO for students with a disability as s. 1002.394, F.S., defines it.
• PEP — a different scholarship under s. 1002.395, F.S. It is not a “homeschool scholarship.”
• District home education — a different path under s. 1002.41, F.S., filed with the county school district.

The side-by-side of district home education and PEP is on the District Home Education vs. PEP guide. This page does not re-explain those two paths.

Applying, spend-rail, deadline, and path-comparison details stay on those pages. This page links to them instead of repeating them:

• District Home Education vs. PEP — the distinction between those two paths (T01).
• Private “umbrella” schools vs. district home education — the private-school path under s. 1002.42 compared with district home education (N02).
• PEP Student Learning Plan — what the PEP plan is and where parents submit it (T09).
• How to apply for Florida scholarships — application steps for Florida K–12 scholarships (T02).
• Scholarship spend rails — how Florida scholarship families spend funds (T04).
• FES-UA October 31 reimbursement deadline and EMA appeals — what that deadline covers, rollover of the account balance, and EMA’s single-appeal rule (S01).