Florida Unique Abilities Scholarship (FES-UA): The 2026-27 Guide for Families

Watching your child light up over something they made is one of the best parts of parenting, and when your kiddo learns differently, those moments can take real work to find. You've probably tried a long list of programs and approaches to get there, and most of them came out of your own pocket.

If you live in Florida and your child has an IEP or a qualifying diagnosis, the Unique Abilities Scholarship can take a big piece of that cost off your plate. Most families receive around $10,000 a year to spend on curriculum, therapy, tutoring, and other approved expenses. We're walking you through how the program works, who qualifies, how much you can expect, and how to put those funds toward a Guide Dots art kit (spoiler: you'll find us in MyScholarShop!).

Homeschooling a child without a qualifying diagnosis? Our Florida PEP scholarship guide covers the program built for your family.

What Does FES-UA Mean?

FES-UA stands for the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, which most families shorten to the Unique Abilities Scholarship or just UA. It's an education savings account, so the state deposits funds into an account you control and you spend them on approved expenses for your child.

Two organizations run the program, Step Up For Students and AAA Scholarship Foundation. Most families go through Step Up, where you'll manage everything in an online portal called Education Market Assistant (EMA).

If the program sounds familiar under another name, it replaced Florida's Gardiner and McKay scholarships. The Family Empowerment Scholarship name also covers FES-EO, a separate income-based private school scholarship, so double-check that you're applying for the Unique Abilities version.

Who Qualifies for the Unique Abilities Scholarship?

Your child qualifies if they:

• Live in Florida (some active-duty military families qualify too)
• Turn 3 by December 31 of the application year and are younger than 22 on September 1
• Have an official IEP written within the past three years, or a qualifying diagnosis from a licensed physician, psychologist, or advanced practice registered nurse

Qualifying diagnoses include autism spectrum disorder, specific learning disability, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, speech and language impairments, and more than a dozen others, all listed in Step Up's family handbook. If your child has ADHD or another condition that isn't named on the list, an IEP is your route in. You can request an evaluation from your school district at any time, and the district has 30 days to complete the IEP once you ask.

To use the funds, your child needs to be enrolled in an eligible private school or a home education program with a letter of intent on file with your school district. That means homeschool families qualify, as long as you've filed with the district.

How Much Is the Unique Abilities Scholarship?

Most families receive around $10,000 a year. If your child has an IEP, their funding depends on their matrix level, and students who need more support receive significantly more. Students with lighter support needs, along with those who qualify through a diagnosis, receive the base amount. Your county and your child's grade band then adjust the figure up or down.

You can find your county's figure in Step Up's 2026-27 funding chart. Only your school district can assign or change a matrix level, so if your child's needs have grown since their last evaluation, you can request a re-evaluation every three years, or sooner to correct an error.

How Does FES-UA Work?

Step Up runs the whole process through EMA.

1. Create an EMA account at stepupforstudents.org. One account covers all your children.
2. Apply for the "Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA)" scholarship and upload your proof of Florida residency along with your child's IEP or diagnosis documentation.
3. Wait for Step Up to confirm your child's eligibility by email.
4. Accept the scholarship in EMA before the acceptance deadline listed in Step Up's family handbook.
5. Enroll your child in an eligible private school, or file a letter of intent to homeschool with your school district.

Florida caps the number of scholarships each year, and Step Up reviews renewal applications before new ones, so applying early gives your child the best shot. Some students skip the cap entirely, including children of active-duty military members and law enforcement officers, adopted and foster children, and students who attended a Florida public school last year.

If you're pulling your child out of public school, you'll need proof of withdrawal, such as the state's Standard Withdrawal Form signed by your district. Step Up can't fund an account while the state still shows your child as enrolled full time in public school.

When Does the Money Arrive?

Step Up receives funds from the state each quarter and deposits them into student accounts within two weeks.

Do FES-UA Funds Roll Over?

Yes! Unspent funds carry over from one school year to the next as long as your child stays eligible. Florida law stops new deposits once an account balance would pass $50,000, and Step Up closes any account that goes two full fiscal years without spending and returns the balance to the state.

What Can You Spend FES-UA Funds On?

Here's the fun part. Approved expenses include:

• Curriculum and instructional materials
• Specialized services, including speech and occupational therapy
• Private school tuition and fees at eligible schools
• Part-time and full-time tutoring
• Online courses and virtual programs
• Specialized summer and after-school programs
• Contributions to a Florida 529 college savings plan

Inside EMA, MyScholarShop works like an online store for curriculum and instructional materials, while Find Providers connects you with approved tutors and therapists. You can also pay out of pocket for an eligible expense and request reimbursement, though Step Up can take up to 60 days to process a request.

FES-UA vs. PEP: Which Scholarship Fits Your Homeschool?

Florida gives homeschool families two scholarship options, and each child can only use one of them at a time.

If your child qualifies for FES-UA, it usually carries the larger award. Families without a qualifying diagnosis use PEP instead, and our Florida PEP guide walks through how that program works.

Art That Meets Your Child Where They Are

One mom wrote to us about her son, who has dysgraphia and fine motor delays and had never felt confident holding a pencil. He started his first Guide Dots project unwillingly and finished it so proud of himself that his whole family couldn't believe how well he did.

Guide Dots is an art class in a box, created by Ms. Cindra McCoy, an art teacher who ran her own studio before she invented the method. She teaches every lesson on video and breaks each drawing into small steps your child can pause and replay as often as they need. Each project builds on the last one, so their skills and confidence grow together. The Bright Board and the dots keep your child's proportions on track while they draw, so they're building REAL art skills and creating their very own work.

Guide Dots is designed to meet the needs of neurodiverse learners, including kids with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and anxiety. Once your child gets rolling, the lessons need little to no adult help, which means you get a stretch of Mama/Papa peace in the middle of your homeschool day.

Bring Art Home With Your Unique Abilities Scholarship

Your scholarship covers the therapy and curriculum your child needs, and it can cover the creative side of their education too. Guide Dots is listed in Step Up For Students' MyScholarShop, so your kit comes with nothing out of pocket.

1. Log into your EMA account.
2. Open the Marketplace and select MyScholarShop.
3. Search for "Guide Dots" and choose the starter kit that fits your child's experience level.
4. Check out using your scholarship balance.

Starter kits begin at $93, a small slice of a scholarship that runs around $10,000 for most families, and everything your child needs arrives in one box, including the Bright Board and artist-grade supplies. MyScholarShop opens up a few days after Step Up deposits funds into your account.

Find Guide Dots in MyScholarShop and pay with your FES-UA funds today.

Still waiting on your application? Try a free 30-minute art lesson with your child this week! Download the guides and press play to see how your child takes to it.