How to apply for a Florida K-12 scholarship

You apply for a Florida K-12 scholarship through a scholarship funding organization (SFO), not through the state or your child's school. For 2026-27, three SFOs administer the scholarships, each with its own website: Step Up For Students, AAA Scholarship Foundation and Sunshine State Kids Foundation¹. New applications for the Private School Scholarship (FES-EO and FTC) and FES-UA are open at Step Up For Students and AAA Scholarship Foundation through November 15, 2026²³; PEP is closed to new students⁴. Apply with one SFO only.

Step 1: Pick the program

• Your child will attend a private school full time: the Private School Scholarship (FES-EO and FTC).
• Your child has a disability, with an IEP or a diagnosis: FES-UA, which also pays for therapies and tutoring.
• Your child is not enrolled full time in a school: PEP, which is closed to new 2026-27 students.
• Your child attends a public school other than the assigned one: the Transportation Stipend, which is not accepting 2026-27 applications⁵.

Not sure? See who qualifies for each program.

Step 2: Choose one SFO

All three SFOs run FES-EO and FES-UA. The state sets eligibility and award amounts⁶, so those are the same whichever you choose. They differ in their websites, payment systems and how they pay schools and providers. The law does not let you apply for FES and FTC for the same child at the same time⁷, and Step Up For Students allows only one active application per student⁸. Apply with one SFO.

To compare the SFOs side by side, see how the scholarship funding organizations compare.

Step 3: Gather your documents

• Proof of age for a new kindergartner, and for FES-UA children ages 3 to 5, on Step Up For Students' checklist¹³.
• Social Security number for FES-EO and FES-UA at Step Up For Students; without one, a private-school student is considered for FTC only¹⁴.
• For FES-UA: your child's IEP or a signed diagnosis form.
• Income documents, only if you want priority: Step Up For Students asks every household member 18 or older for recent pay stubs and proof of other income. You can opt out and be processed without priority¹⁵.
• Renewing private-school students at AAA Scholarship Foundation: proof of enrollment on school letterhead showing the school name, the student’s full name, grade and enrollment date¹⁶.

Step Up For Students posts a 2026-27 application checklist and a Spanish version. Neither AAA Scholarship Foundation nor Sunshine State Kids Foundation charges families an application fee¹⁷¹⁸.

Step 4: Apply before the deadline

By law, SFOs must accept new FES applications through at least November 15, 2026²². Military families, children in foster or out-of-home care, and public-school students with a Hope notification form can apply to Step Up For Students until April 15, 2027²³. Every date is on the deadlines page.

Step 5: Accept the award

An award is not final until you accept it. New families confirm by December 15, 2026²⁴ under the law. Step Up For Students' deadline is December 15, 2026²⁵; once you accept, your status shows “Scholarship Choice Confirmed,” which means approved but not yet funded²⁶. AAA Scholarship Foundation asks you to accept a new FTC or FES-EO award within four weeks of the award date²⁷ and a new FES-UA award by December 15, 2026²⁸.

What happens after you apply

1. Review. The SFO checks your documents and decides which program funds your child. AAA Scholarship Foundation says review can take 10 to 12 weeks²⁹ at its busiest times. We did not find a published review time from Step Up For Students or Sunshine State Kids Foundation.
2. Commit to a school (private-school students). At Step Up For Students, the school enrolls your child in EMA and you confirm; your child must be eligible, accepted and enrolled by January 15, 2027³⁰ to get any 2026-27 funding. At AAA Scholarship Foundation, you and the school complete a School Commitment Form, with the next deadline on January 4, 2027³¹.
3. Leave public school, with proof. A student can't be enrolled full time in a public school and hold the scholarship³². Step Up For Students needs proof of withdrawal for new students first funded in the third quarter by December 9, 2026³³.
4. Funding. The state releases FES money quarterly, and the next release is due by November 1, 2026³⁴. Step Up For Students posts funds to accounts within 14 days³⁵ of receiving them. See payment dates.

Guides to each platform: EMA, SMP and Odyssey.

Renewing for next year

Students must renew every year. For 2026-27, renewals ran February 1, 2026 to April 30, 2026³⁶, with confirmation by May 31, 2026³⁷. By law the renewal window runs on the same dates each year; Step Up For Students has not yet published its 2027-28 dates³⁸. Step Up For Students treats a late renewal as a new application and counts a student as renewing only if the student was funded in the fourth quarter for the same scholarship and meets every renewal deadline¹⁹. If you plan to change SFOs, ask both SFOs how your renewal will be handled before you apply; see the switching FAQ.

Help in Spanish and Haitian Creole

• Step Up For Students publishes its 2026-27 family handbooks in Spanish³⁹ and Spanish how-to videos for applying and renewing⁴⁰. Its Spanish and Creole web pages are machine translations, and it says the English version governs if they differ⁴¹.
• AAA Scholarship Foundation's site uses a Google Translate widget; we found no current human-translated Spanish or Creole documents⁴².
• Sunshine State Kids Foundation's site is available in English, Hebrew, Russian and Spanish⁴³.
• No current Haitian Creole scholarship handbook exists from any SFO⁴⁴. Ask your SFO for interpretation help.

Step Up For Students' family line is (877) 735-7837, Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET⁴⁵. AAA Scholarship Foundation's is 888-707-2465⁴⁶, with callbacks. Sunshine State Kids Foundation lists info@sskf.org⁴⁷. Contact pages: Step Up For Students, AAA Scholarship Foundation, Sunshine State Kids Foundation.

Related

• All Florida K-12 scholarship programs
• FAQ: deadlines · FAQ: using EMA, SMP and Odyssey · FAQ: account problems
• Income priority limits
• Scholarship funding organizations