Family Empowerment with Unique Abilities Application Process
STEP 1: Family Empowerment Scholarship with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) eligibility criteria for Private/Home School through an education savings account
- Choose a Scholarship Funding Organization (SFO)
- Submit proof of Florida residency
- Submit proof of child's disability/medical diagnosis
- Submit proof of child's age
STEP 2: FES-UA Application process for Private/Home School through an education savings account (ESA)
This branch of the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program is designed to offer families of students with disabilities, as young as 3 years of age, access to additional education options. Families may choose to enroll their student in another public school, or they may take the opportunity to receive a personal education savings account (ESA) for their student. With an ESA, parents receive a deposit of public funds into government-authorized savings accounts with restricted, but multiple, uses. An ESA can be used to fund not only items such as private school tuition and fees, but also online learning programs, private tutoring, community college costs, higher education expenses and other approved customized learning services and materials. Families apply and annually renew for participation in FES UA through one of the approved SFOs, which are responsible for determining eligibility, awarding and distributing funding to eligible student accounts, and approving eligible expenditures.
Filing an application does not guarantee approval of a Family Empowerment Scholarship with Unique Abilities. Parents wishing to file an application for a Family Empowerment Scholarship with Unique Abilities must review the following guidelines, then go to the Florida Department of Education website and file their application at Florida Empowerment Scholarship Program.
There are no paper applications: all applications must be filed online at the SFO website
STEP 1: FES-UA Eligibility Criteria for Public School Option requires a current IEP
STEP 2: FES-UA process to Request for the Public School Option
To request a Public FES-UA Option: Please go to the FES-UA for Public School page and click on the Public FES-UA Request Form tab to request a public FES-UA option. Please note the following information before clicking on the Public School Request Form (addition information concerning Public FES-UA requirements are available on the FES-UA for Public School page):
All Public Scholarship requests for the first semester of the 2022-2023 school year must be filed by June 26, 2022. For second semester of the 2022-2023 school year, requests must be filed by November 27, 2022 to ensure that the student's current residential address is appropriately documented in the OCPS Student Management System (Skyward). The current school address on file with OCPS MUST match the public request. There are no paper applications. All requests must be filed on the OCPS FES-UA website.
ALERT!
Filing an application does NOT indicate approval of a Family Empowerment Scholarship with Unique Abilities.
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] or call 407-317-3275