Step Up for Students, Explained: What FES-EO, FES-UA, and PEP Actually Pay For

Every Florida parent has heard of Step Up for Students. Far fewer could tell you what the letters stand for, which scholarship they qualify for, or — the part that matters most — what the money is actually allowed to buy. That confusion is expensive. Families sit on funded accounts they don't know how to spend, or assume the scholarship is only for private school tuition and never apply at all. It isn't. Under all three of the main programs, part-time tutoring is an approved expense, spelled out in Step Up's own purchasing guides.

The three programs

The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options — FES-EO — is usually bundled with the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship and is for students attending an eligible private school. It is open to any Florida student eligible for K-12 public school, regardless of household income. The award averages roughly eight thousand dollars a year and goes first toward tuition and fees. Funds remaining after tuition can be directed to other approved expenses, including part-time tutoring.

The Unique Abilities Scholarship — FES-UA — is for students with a qualifying diagnosis, or with an IEP or 504 plan. It is the most flexible and most generous of the three, working as an education savings account that covers private school tuition, therapies, curriculum, technology, and tutoring. Awards average around ten thousand dollars and rise substantially for students whose documented needs place them at a higher matrix level. There is no income requirement.

The Personalized Education Program — PEP — is for K-12 students not enrolled full-time in a public or private school, which in practice means homeschool and parent-directed families. It is an education savings account of roughly eight thousand dollars, and it is deliberately flexible: curriculum, materials, online courses, part-time tutoring, and testing fees.

One important note for 2026-27: PEP is at capacity for new students. Applications closed on April 30, 2026, and Step Up cannot award PEP to additional new students at this time. Renewing PEP students are funded normally. New families interested in PEP should plan for the 2027-28 cycle. The Private School Scholarship and the Unique Abilities Scholarship both still have available capacity, with new applications accepted through November 15, 2026.

What your family would actually receive

The averages you see quoted are statewide. The real number depends on your county and your child's grade band, and it is set each year by the Florida Legislature. For 2026-27, a DeSoto County family receives $8,924 for a student in grades K through 3, $8,319 for grades 4 through 8, and $8,120 for grades 9 through 12. A Charlotte County family receives $8,807, $8,223, and $8,032 across the same bands. FES-UA awards are calculated separately and are typically higher.

The part most families miss

Tutoring is covered. This is the single most under-used provision in the entire program. Step Up's purchasing guides list tuition and fees for part-time tutoring as an approved expense under FES-EO, under FES-UA, and under PEP — not as a grey area, not as a special exception, but as a named category.

• The tutor must be credentialed — Step Up approves providers at the provider level.
• Virtual lessons are fine — but the service must be delivered in Florida.
• Fee schedules must be published — if a tutor will not show you one, that is a flag.
• You can pay directly or by reimbursement — approved providers can be paid straight from your EMA account, with no money out of pocket.

What this means in practice is that a family whose child is struggling in algebra, or needs SAT preparation, or wants to build real fluency in a second language, can direct scholarship funds toward one-on-one lessons with an approved provider — without writing a personal check.

Four things that trip families up

• Only one scholarship at a time — a student cannot hold FES-EO and FES-UA simultaneously. If your child has a qualifying diagnosis, FES-UA is usually the stronger choice.
• Renewal is not automatic — each year you must re-submit two current residency documents in the same guardian's name.
• Approval is not acceptance — families lose awards every year by being approved and never clicking accept.
• Funding follows a calendar — enroll by July 15 and funds arrive by September 1; by September 15, funds arrive by November 1; by December 15, by February 1.

Where to start

If you have never applied, go to stepupforstudents.org, create an EMA profile, and apply for the scholarship that fits your situation. Both FES-EO and FES-UA are still accepting new students for 2026-27.

If you are already funded and staring at a balance you have not touched, the fastest way to convert it into progress for your child is targeted, one-on-one instruction from an approved provider. It is a named category. It is what the money is for. KingCretot Experience is an approved Step Up provider, serving families across DeSoto and Charlotte counties and throughout Florida.