The Family Empowerment Scholarship was established in 2019 to provide scholarships to students from low-income families. This page will guide you on which documents you need and how to apply for the scholarship. House Bill 7045, passed in 2021, expanded the program to include two streams of eligibility: the income-based Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES EO) and the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Disabilities (FES UA).
Family Empowerment Scholarship 2022/2023
This branch of the scholarship is based on family income and allows K-12 students to attend a participating private school. Families apply through one of the approved scholarship funding organizations (SFO), which determines and distributes funding to private schools. FES EO also provides eligible students’ families with the option of receiving a $750 scholarship to provide transportation to a public school other than the one to which the student was assigned.
Family Empowerment Scholarship Eligibility and requirment
This scholarship is for Florida students 3 years old through 12th grade or age 22, whichever comes first, with one of the following diagnoses:
- Anaphylaxis
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Being a high-risk child
- Cerebral Palsy
- Down syndrome
- Emotional or a behavioral disability
- Hearing impairment, including deafness
- Hospital or homebound
- Identification as dual sensory impaired
- Intellectual disability
- Language impairment
- Muscular dystrophy
- Orthopedic impairment
- Other health impairment
- Phelan-McDermid syndrome
- Prader-Willi syndrome
- Rare diseases
- Specific learning disability
- Speech impairment
- Spina bifida
- Traumatic brain injury
- Visual impairment, including blindness
- Williams syndrome
Age requirment
- Students must be at least 3 or 4 on or before Sept 1.
- Students entering kindergarten must be 5 on or before Sept 1.
- Students entering first grade must be 6 on or before Sept 1.
Documents needed
- Proof of childs age: Birth Certificate, if it unavailable, a passport or, in some cases, the foster care placement documentation can be provided for review
- Proof of disability
- Proof of residency: Driver’s license must include the following for either the primary or secondary parent or Utility bill must include the following for either the primary or secondary parent.
- Sworn compliance statement: Found within the online application.
Siblings of participating FES UA students are eligible for a scholarship to attend a private school through the Family Empowerment Scholarship program’s Educational Options branch, regardless of their family’s income level. During the transition period, information on siblings should be submitted to your chosen SFO.
Read also Moshal Scholarship 2023 for Undergraduate Students
School requirements
- should be approved by the state
- Allow administration of testing with the district for students requesting state assessment
- Provide fee schedules to the department of education at least 30 days before the first quarterly payment
- Submit to the state annual sworn compliance reports regarding all local and state health and safety codes
- Comply with federal nondiscrimination requirements of 42 U.S.C. § 2000d
- Teachers and other school personnel who work with scholarship recipients must undergo federal background checks
- Teachers must have a bachelor’s degree, three years of teaching experience, or special expertise
- Schools in operation for fewer than three years must obtain a surety bond or letter of credit to cover the value of the scholarship payments for one quarter
- Notify the Florida Department of Education when a scholarship student withdraws from the school
- Give students report to parents annually
Scholarship Funding
The Scholarships are funded at 100% of Florida’s unweighted full-time equivalent amount ($7,403 in 2020-21), less Exceptional Services Education expenses or the tuition and fees of a private school, whichever is less. Payments are made quarterly from the state’s general revenue fund to parents who enroll their children in participating private schools.
How to apply for the family empowerment scholarship program
For those having an interest in either branch of the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program, kindly contact one of the two scholarship funding organizations that handle these programs:
A.A.A. Scholarship Foundation- FL, LLC
P.O. Box 15719, Tampa, FL 33684
Phone/Fax: 888-707-2465
info@aaascholarships.org
Step Up For Students
P.O. Box 54367
Jacksonville, FL 32245-4367
877-735-7837
info@stepupforstudents.org
FAQs
- How much is the family empowerment scholarship? ANS: full-time equivalent amount is $7,403 in 2020-21.
- What is the family empowerment scholarship? ANS: s established in 2019 to provide scholarships to students from low-income families.
- How to apply for family empowerment scholarship? ANS: It’s provided at the top of faqs
- When do i get paid for family empowerment scholarship? ANS: With free education
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