Orange County Public Schools Application Process for the Public School Option for the Family Empowerment Scholarship with Unique Abilities
Students using the McKay Scholarship public school option will be able to continue doing so under the FES-UA public school option.
The deadline for requesting Public FES-UA for the first and second semester of the 2023-24 school year is now closed.
Please note, there is no scholarship funding for the district FES-UA public school option, only an option to attend a different public school than the zoned school. If your child is currently receiving the FES UA scholarship funds from the State of Florida, your child should not be enrolled in any public or charter school.
Transfer requests for the first semester of the 2024-2025 school year will open March 4, 2024 and will close May 31, 2024 (midnight).
Transfer requests for the second semester of the 2024-2025 school year will open September 10, 2024 and will close October 31, 2024 (midnight).
***OCPS DOES NOT PROVIDE A LIST OF PUBLIC FES-UA SCHOOLS***
The OCPS transfer policy outlines the guidelines for public FES-UA Scholarship options. The document can be found here. OCPS determines which specific public schools will be designated as FES-UA eligible public schools in July and December. Students who qualify for a Public FES-UA Scholarship for the first semester are offered a school late July and for the second semester are offered a school in late December. The offer will be sent via email to you by the last week of July 2024 and for the second semester the last week of December 2024.
Transportation is only provided for Public FES-UA Scholarship students who are enrolled in the transportation offered OCPS Public FES-UA school.
Public FES-UA only offers a different public school option for the student. There is no additional funding nor are additional services provided to the public school for a student who is there on a public FES-UA transfer option.
There are no sibling transfers with the public FES-UA Scholarship program. However, siblings of students currently on the public FES/McKay public option can receive a transfer to a school that is available on the Controlled Open Enrollment Transfer list. If the school is not on the list, there is not a transfer available to that school. Please note that transportation is not provided for this transfer. You can read more about student enrollment's transfer options on the Student Enrollment Transfers website.
Prior to the approval of a public FES-UA Scholarship, the student's data will be reviewed.
Parents choosing the public school option of the FES-UA Scholarships Program are responsible for acknowledging and following the details below regarding public school FES-UA Scholarships. See the chart below indicating deadlines for requests and enrollment for each semester:
| Grading Period |
Request Deadline |
Enrollment Deadline |
| First Semester |
5/31/2024 (midnight) |
8/19/2024 |
| Second Semester |
10/31/2024 (midnight) |
1/13/2025 |
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Parents must complete the Public FES-UA Request form and a current IEP to request a public school option.
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OCPS does not provide a list of public FES-UA schools because the schools may change.
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Students are enrolled pursuant to the OCPS School Choice Plan and the receiving school's ability to appropriately implement the student's individual Education Plan (School Board Policy, JCA - Assignment of Students to School). Parent requests for specific schools will be considered, however school offers will be based on ESE program availability, transportation routes, student residence, school grade, etc.
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ESE students who require intensive and/or specially designed services may not be approved for a public FES-UA transfer due to the need for a specific setting as determined by the IEP Team.
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Letters
indicating final approval of a public FES-UA Scholarship will be emailed
to families prior to the enrollment deadline above.
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After
receiving the letter, parents may choose to have their child remain at
their current school, enroll in the offered public FES-UA school, or elect to apply for the private/homeschool FES-UA option.
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Parents who accept the offered public
FES-UA school must withdraw their child from their current school and
take the following documents to the offered FES-UA school for enrollment
ASAP (must enroll by the deadline on the chart).
- Withdrawal form signed and dated from previous school
- OCPS FES-UA approval/offer letter
- Proof of residence and other required registration/enrollment documents
*** The District FES-UA public option transfer is no longer valid once there is a break of service from the offered Public FES-UA school. The student would need to apply for a new transfer to return to a school for which a transfer was previously granted.
*** Any change of residential address must be reported to the current school of enrollment and email to [email protected]. Changes in residency will be reviewed and may affect the student's FES-UA school assignment. After the review, the student must withdraw from the FES-UA public school option by the end of the semester if seats are not available at the requested school.
***Public FES-UA Scholarship students who in grade 5 and 8 must have a new public request submitted for transition to the middle school or high school if parent wants a public FES-UA for those grade levels***
***Public
FES-UA Scholarship students who are dismissed from ESE must withdraw from the FES-UA public school by the end of the nine weeks, then must return to the zoned
public school as they are no longer eligible for the FES-UA Scholarship***
***Parents must apply for the
FES-UA Scholarship through one of the scholarship funding organizations that are listed below for any student who wants to go to a private school/home school option***
Florida School Choice Program Parent Hotline: 1-800-447-1636 or email [email protected]
For more information, email the OCPS District FES-UA Office at [email protected].
A.A.A. Scholarship Foundation-FL, LLC
P.O. Box 15719
Tampa , FL 33684
Phone/Fax: 888-707-2465
[email protected]
Step Up For Students
P.O. Box 54367
Jacksonville, FL 32245-4367
877-735-7837
[email protected]