Scholarship Information

The Hope Scholarship

Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, a student enrolled in a Florida public school in kindergarten through grade 12 who has been subjected to an incident of battery; harassment; hazing; bullying; kidnapping; physical attack; robbery; sexual offenses, harassment, assault, or battery; threat or intimidation; or fighting at school, has the opportunity to enroll in an approved private school under the Hope Scholarship. Currently, Step Up for Students is the only Scholarship Funding Organization administering this scholarship program.

• Hope Scholarship Frequently Asked Questions

• Apply for the Hope Scholarship

The Family Empowerment Scholarship

The Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES) Program was created in 2019 for low-income and working-class families, and it is the first of its kind to extend support to middle-income families. The FES Program puts parents and families in the driver’s seat to determine the best educational environment for their children.

The Scholarship Funding Organizations (SFO) listed below are approved to administer the Family Empowerment Scholarship. Contact the SFO for instructions and deadlines for applying for a scholarship.

Step Up for Students
Phone: 877-735-7837
info@stepupforstudents.org

AAA Scholarship Foundation
Phone: 888-707-2465
info@aaascholarships.org

• Eligibility for the Family Empowerment Scholarship

• Apply for the Family Empowerment Scholarship

Florida Tax Credit Scholarship

To expand educational opportunities for children of families that have limited financial resources and to enable children in Florida to achieve greater levels of excellence in their education, the Florida Legislature created the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship in 2001. The law provides for state tax credits for contributions to nonprofit scholarship funding organizations (SFOs). The SFOs then award scholarships to eligible children of low-income families.

• Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program FAQs

• Apply for the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship

Gardiner Scholarship

The Gardiner Scholarship Program provides eligible students a scholarship that can be used for specialized services including tuition at an eligible private school. The program is directly administered by state-approved nonprofit scholarship-funding organizations.  This scholarship is for Florida students 3 years old through 12th grade or age 22, whichever comes first, with one of the following disabilities: Autism spectrum disorder, Muscular dystrophy, Cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, Phelan McDermid syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, Spina bifida, Williams syndrome, Intellectual disability (severe cognitive impairment), rare diseases as defined by the National Organization for Rare Disorders, anaphylaxis, deaf, visually impaired, dual sensory impaired, traumatic brain injured, hospital or homebound as defined by the rules of the State Board of Education and evidenced by reports from local school districts, or three, four or five-year-olds who are deemed high-risk due to developmental delays.

The Scholarship Funding Organizations listed below are approved to administer the Gardiner Scholarship Program. Contact the SFO for instructions and deadlines for applying for a scholarship.

Step Up for Students
Phone: 877-735-7837
info@stepupforstudents.org

AAA Scholarship Foundation
Phone: 888-707-2465
info@aaascholarships.org

McKay Scholarship

The McKay Scholarship Program allows parents to choose the best educational setting for their child. Originally created in 1999, the McKay Scholarship Program provides scholarships for eligible students with disabilities to attend a school of their choice.

• Eligibility for the McKay Scholarship

• Apply for a McKay Scholarship

• McKay Parent Responsibilities

Private schools must include on their website a statement that a parentally placed private school student with a disability does not have an individual right to receive some or all of the special education and related services that the student would receive if enrolled in a public school under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended.