Who qualifies for a Florida K-12 scholarship (2026-27)

Every Florida K-12 scholarship program for 2026-27 starts from the same two tests: the family lives in Florida (or a parent has military orders here), and the child is eligible to enroll in a Florida public school. No state program uses income as a cutoff; for FES-EO, FTC and PEP, income only decides who is funded first. FES-UA adds a disability requirement and starts at age 3, and PEP is closed to new students for 2026-27. Step Up For Students, AAA Scholarship Foundation and Sunshine State Kids Foundation check eligibility when you apply.

Eligibility by program

Statuses were checked on the dates shown in the sources below. For the federal credit, Florida's first list of scholarship granting organizations is due February 15, 2027¹⁴ and has not been filed yet¹⁵, and the IRS has not yet published the income limits in dollars¹⁶.

Rules every state program shares

• Residency: a Florida resident, or the dependent of an active-duty service member with permanent change of station orders to Florida¹⁷. For FTC, a military family with Florida as its home of record also qualifies at renewal¹⁸.
• Eligible, not enrolled: the test is being eligible to enroll in a Florida public school. Your child does not have to have attended one first.
• One at a time: a student can’t apply for FES and FTC at the same time¹⁹ and can hold only one state scholarship at a time; the one exception is a leftover New Worlds account plus the Transportation Stipend²⁰.
• Age limits: a scholarship ends at high-school graduation or age 21 (22 for FES-UA)²¹, whichever comes first.
• Kindergarten: at Step Up For Students, a kindergartner must be 5 on or before September 1¹ for FES-EO and FTC. FES-UA can start earlier, at age 3.

Income decides priority, not eligibility

There is no income limit for any state program²². For FES-EO, FTC and PEP, income sets the order new applicants are funded in:

1. Renewing students.
2. Households at or below 185%²³ of the federal poverty level, and children in foster or out-of-home care.
3. Households above that and up to 400%²⁴ of the poverty level.
4. Everyone else, including families who choose not to send income documents²⁵.

For a family of four, the two income lines are $61,050 and $132,000²⁶ under the 2026 federal poverty guidelines Step Up For Students uses. The full table by household size is on the income priority limits page. If you want priority, Step Up For Students asks every household member aged 18 or older for pay stubs covering the 30 consecutive days closest to the application, plus proof of other income²⁷.

FES-UA and the Transportation Stipend have no income tiers at all⁴⁸.

You may read that priority stops at 300% of the poverty level²⁸. That is out of date: it was FES-EO's eligibility limit when the program was created in 2019, and a 2023 law removed income limits²⁹. The 300%¹² test that applies today belongs to the federal tax credit, and it measures area median income, not the poverty level.

Extra rules by program

• FES-EO and FTC: full-time attendance at an eligible private school. Step Up For Students considers a student without a Social Security number for FTC only; see the Private School Scholarship page for how the law and SFO practice compare.
• FES-UA: a qualifying disability shown by an IEP or by a diagnosis from a qualified professional. The FES-UA page lists the conditions and who can sign.
• PEP: the student is not enrolled full time in a school (part-time private school is allowed), and the family files a student learning plan⁵. PEP is closed to new 2026-27 students at Step Up For Students and AAA Scholarship Foundation⁶³⁰; Sunshine State Kids Foundation does not offer it³¹.

Special situations

• Military families with orders to Florida are eligible, and at Step Up For Students they may apply late, until April 15, 2027³².
• Children in foster or out-of-home care share the top priority group and have the same late deadline at Step Up For Students³³.
• Bullying or violence at a public school: the district must tell you that you may apply for FES-EO or FTC (the Hope Program). At Step Up For Students, a Hope notification form also opens the late deadline for the Private School Scholarship, but not for PEP⁹³³.
• Former Hope Scholarship holders from 2023-24 remain eligible for FES-EO and FTC²².

Who decides

You apply to one scholarship funding organization (SFO). The SFO reviews your documents, decides whether your child is eligible and which program applies, and confirms eligibility again before each payment³⁴. FDOE also checks scholarship lists against public-school enrollment twice a year³⁵. Our guide to applying covers the steps.

Related

• All Florida K-12 scholarship programs
• Income priority limits by household size
• FAQ: eligibility · FAQ: deadlines
• Family Empowerment Scholarship: FES-EO and FES-UA
• Compare the scholarship funding organizations