Florida scholarship window for new families closes Nov. 15

Florida families who want state scholarship help for the current school year are running out of time. Step Up For Students, the Jacksonville-based nonprofit that says it will serve more than 500,000 Florida students this year, says new applications for its Private School Scholarship and its Unique Abilities Scholarship will be accepted through Nov. 15, 2026.

The deadline matters most to families who moved to Florida after the spring, who switched schools midyear or who simply missed the earlier rounds. It also catches returning families off guard. Step Up says a student who missed the April 30 renewal deadline is treated as a new applicant, so Nov. 15 is their last regular chance as well.

Which scholarships are affected

The Nov. 15 cutoff applies to two programs:

• The Private School Scholarship, which in Step Up’s online system covers the Florida Tax Credit and Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FTC/FES-EO) and is generally used toward private school tuition and fees.
• The Unique Abilities Scholarship (FES-UA), for students with disabilities.

The Personalized Education Program (PEP), the scholarship option Step Up offers for home-educated students, is not part of this window. Step Up lists April 30 as the only 2026-27 application deadline for PEP.

For a fuller look at how the programs work and who gets priority, see our Family Empowerment Scholarship explainer.

The Unique Abilities window could close sooner

Families applying for FES-UA should not wait for the final day. Step Up warns that Unique Abilities applications “may close early if the program reaches capacity.” It lists some groups that may qualify for an exception to that cap, including dependents of active-duty military members and law enforcement officers, adopted children and children in foster care.

FES-UA applicants need an Individualized Education Program (IEP) issued by a school district within the past three years, or a diagnosis from an eligible licensed professional, along with the student’s Social Security number and two different proofs of Florida residency, according to the application page.

What comes after you apply

Applying is not the last step. Step Up says new students must accept or decline their scholarship by Dec. 15, and that accepting signals intent to use the award but does not guarantee funding. Private School Scholarship students also need a completed school enrollment in Step Up’s EMA platform, submitted by the school and approved by the parent, by Dec. 15 to be considered for third-quarter money.

Income documents are optional for the Private School Scholarship. Step Up says income is used only to set priority, not eligibility, and families who opt out are counted as above 400% of the federal poverty level for prioritization.

Some students can apply outside the normal window. Step Up says dependents of active-duty service members and children in foster or out-of-home care may apply at any time, and students who experienced bullying in a public school have a separate path through the state’s Hope notification process.

For families already enrolled

Current scholarship families have their own dates to watch. Step Up’s schedule shows second-quarter state funds arriving from the Florida Department of Education by Nov. 1, with student accounts funded up to two weeks after that. Each quarter, families must also complete a Public School Attestation confirming their student is not enrolled full time in a public school.

A note on the state data breach

Families may also be wondering about the data breach the Florida Department of Education disclosed Oct. 29. The department says it believes the incident was limited to the Florida Student Financial Aid website, FloridaStudentFinancialAidSG.org, and may have affected about 4.9 million people. That site is not the EMA platform Step Up families use to apply. The department recommends that anyone who has applied for state financial aid monitor their credit reports and accounts, and it has set up databreach@fldoe.org for questions.

Families with questions about a specific application can reach Step Up at 1-877-735-7837.