Florida PEP Scholarship Explained: A Homeschool & Tutoring Guide

For many years, Florida homeschooling families were responsible for covering the cost of their children's education, including curriculum, co-op fees, online courses, and tutoring. One exception was students with qualifying disabilities, who have had access to the Gardiner Scholarship, now known as FES-UA, since 2014. That changed in March 2023, when House Bill 1 was signed into law, expanding education savings account eligibility to nearly all Florida K–12 students. The legislation also introduced a program specifically designed for families who choose to educate their children at home: the Personalized Education Program (PEP) scholarship.

If you've been exploring the PEP scholarship, you've probably come across two very different perspectives. Some describe it as a game-changer for homeschooling families, providing thousands of dollars in annual funding for educational expenses that would otherwise come out of pocket. Others raise concerns about the requirements attached to accepting the scholarship and whether they introduce additional state oversight into homeschooling. There is some truth to both perspectives, but the questions most families want answered are often more practical: How much funding is available? What expenses can PEP funds cover? And what responsibilities come with accepting the scholarship?

In this guide, we'll explain how Florida's PEP scholarship works for the 2026–27 school year, explore how it differs from traditional home education, and show how families can use their scholarship funds to help pay for educational services, including personalized tutoring.

Florida PEP Scholarship at a Glance

What Is the PEP Scholarship?

The PEP scholarship is an education savings account, not a tuition voucher. Rather than the state paying a school on your behalf, an amount is set aside for your student, and you direct it toward a list of approved educational expenses.

Two structural details shape almost everything else about how the program works:

• A PEP student is not a home education student under Florida law. Traditional homeschoolers register with their school district under section 1002.41 and receive no state funding. PEP students are enrolled in a separate, scholarship-funded program instead. You choose one or the other, not both.
• You don’t receive the money as cash. Funds sit in a scholarship account managed by Step Up For Students. You spend them by purchasing from approved providers through the marketplace, or by submitting eligible expenses for reimbursement where the rules allow it.

Please note, if you’re already used to the district home education process, PEP is a different relationship with a different organization, and it comes with its own paperwork.

PEP vs. Homeschool in Florida: What Changes

The biggest decision isn’t how to spend PEP funds. It’s whether to leave traditional home education for PEP at all.

Neither column is the right answer for every family. A family that values Florida’s light-touch homeschool rules may reasonably decide the money isn’t worth the added reporting. A family stretching a budget across curriculum, co-op classes, and a math tutor may find PEP transforms what’s possible.

Who Is Eligible for the Florida PEP Scholarship?

Eligibility for the PEP scholarship is broad. Generally, students qualify if they are Florida residents eligible to enroll in kindergarten through grade 12 in a Florida public school and are not enrolled full-time in a public or private school.

There is no income limit, and students do not need to have attended public school previously. Whether you’re new to homeschooling or have been educating your children at home for years, your family can apply.

The Catch: PEP Has a Limited Number of Spots

Unlike Florida’s other scholarship programs, PEP has a statutory cap on the number of students who can participate each year. The cap began at 20,000 students in the 2023–24 school year and has increased annually since then. The enrollment cap for the 2026–27 school year is 140,000 students.

If applications exceed the number of available spots, funding priority is given to students in the following groups:

• Highest priority: Students from households earning at or below 185% of the federal poverty level, as well as students in foster care or out-of-home care.
• Second priority: Students from households earning at or below 400% of the federal poverty level.
• Remaining eligible applicants: All other qualifying students.

That 400% threshold may be higher than you think. For a family of four, it worked out to roughly $128,000 a year under the 2025 federal poverty guidelines, and the figure rises when the guidelines are updated. We recommend checking the current guidelines before assuming your family earns too much to qualify for priority consideration.

What if you’re a returning PEP family? Returning students can renew their scholarships each year, and in recent years renewals have been processed ahead of new applications. Confirm the current renewal timeline with Step Up For Students.

If you’re applying for the first time, timing matters. Start preparing early and submit your application as soon as the application window opens to give your family the best opportunity to secure a spot.

How Much Is the PEP Scholarship?

The PEP award is calculated from Florida’s public school funding formula, so it varies by your student’s grade level and your county. Recent awards have landed roughly in the $7,000 to $8,000+ range per student.

That’s a meaningful budget, and it changes what a homeschool can look like. Compared with Texas’s $2,000 homeschool award under TEFA, Florida’s PEP is one of the most generous home-based education accounts in the country.

Two timing details matter as much as the amount:

• Funds arrive in installments, not all at once. Accounts are typically funded in quarterly payments across the school year, so plan large purchases around when money actually lands in your account.
• Unused funds may carry forward. Balances have generally rolled over while a student stays in the program and renews each year, but an account can close if the student leaves PEP. Confirm the current rollover rules before you plan a multi-year budget.

If your child has a disability, compare PEP with Florida’s Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA). It’s a separate program, often with a larger award and a broader list of approved therapies and services.

PEP Requirements: The Student Learning Plan and Annual Testing

PEP gives families funding in exchange for two core commitments:

1. A student learning plan. Each year, the parent writes a plan describing what the student will learn and how, and submits it to the scholarship organization. It doesn’t need to be elaborate, but it should be real: subjects, materials, and any outside instruction you plan to use. A tutor who starts from a written baseline and sets goals makes this easier to fill in.
2. An annual assessment. PEP students take a nationally norm-referenced test or Florida’s statewide assessment each year, and results are reported to the scholarship organization. This replaces the five evaluation choices registered homeschoolers have, so the portfolio review by a certified teacher isn’t an option here.

Families also sign a scholarship agreement and keep records showing that funds were spent on approved expenses. None of this is unusual for a funded program, but it’s a real change for families used to Florida’s minimal home education oversight.

What Does the PEP Scholarship Cover?

Approved expense categories include curriculum and instructional materials, online courses, part-time tuition and fees at eligible schools, tutoring, testing fees, educational technology within program limits, and certain services and therapies. Step Up For Students publishes the current purchasing guide, and categories and limits can change from year to year.

Can I use the PEP scholarship for tutoring?

Yes. Tutoring is an approved PEP expense, and it’s one of the most common ways families use the account. Florida law sets qualifications for tutors paid with scholarship funds: a Florida educator certificate, an adjunct teaching certificate, a bachelor’s or graduate degree in the subject being taught, or demonstrated mastery of the subject area. So the question isn’t only whether tutoring is allowed, but whether the specific provider qualifies.

With a $7,000+ budget, a family has room to do tutoring well rather than thinly. That could mean consistent weekly support in one subject all year, twice-weekly sessions for a student closing a real gap, or a math tutor and a writing tutor side by side. If you’re deciding where to start, in our experience the subjects families most often hand off are math beginning around pre-algebra and writing at the middle school level, the two places where the instructional skill required changes fastest.

The Tradeoffs to Consider Before You Apply

No program is without its limitations. Before applying, it’s worth understanding the potential tradeoffs as clearly as the benefits.

• You give up some of Florida’s homeschool freedom. Registered home education in Florida asks very little of families. PEP adds a learning plan, standardized testing, an approved-provider list, and spending records. For some families that’s an easy trade for thousands of dollars a year. For others, it isn’t, and that’s a valid choice.
• Standardized testing is required. If your homeschool philosophy leans away from standardized tests, or your child struggles with them, the annual assessment is a real consideration, not a formality.
• Special education rights can change. For a child with an IEP, leaving public school generally means giving up the individual entitlement to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) from the district. If your child receives services that matter to their education, talk with someone who understands special education law, and compare PEP with FES-UA.
• Seats are limited. Because PEP is capped, don’t withdraw from a current arrangement or commit to a paid program until your award is confirmed.
• Funding depends on the Legislature. Program rules and funding levels can be changed in future sessions. If you build a long-term plan around PEP, keep a backup plan in place.

How to Choose a Tutor With PEP Funds

Tutoring is an approved expense, but that only helps you if the provider is approved. Once you’ve confirmed a provider qualifies, the same practical considerations that apply to any funded program are worth keeping in mind:

• Confirm approval before services begin. Check that the provider is listed in Step Up’s marketplace before sessions start. Paying out of pocket and hoping for reimbursement can put those dollars at risk.
• Look for certified, experienced teachers. A teacher who has worked with hundreds of students knows where common misunderstandings tend to happen and how to address them. Being good at a subject is one thing; knowing how to teach it is another.
• Choose a provider that documents progress. Look for attendance records, concepts covered, and written progress updates. That documentation feeds your student learning plan and shows exactly how your PEP funds are being used.
• Find scheduling that fits your homeschool. Homeschool days don’t end at 3 p.m. A provider limited to after-school hours isn’t built for you.
• Plan for the annual assessment. Since PEP requires a test each year, a tutor who can start from assessment data and prepare students for the test format is a practical advantage.

How TurtlEd Supports Florida PEP Families

TurtlEd is an approved provider with Step Up For Students, so eligible Florida families can use PEP scholarship funds to pay for our tutoring directly through the marketplace. We provide live, online K–12 tutoring in Math and English Language Arts, with both one-on-one and small-group options. We focus intentionally on these two subjects because they’re where families most often want deeper, specialized instruction, and where a gap compounds fastest when it isn’t addressed.

Here’s how that fits the way PEP is designed to work:

• Personalized learning plans. Instruction starts with where your student is today. If you have results from last year’s PEP assessment, i-Ready, or MAP, we start there. If not, we run a diagnostic in the first session to set a clear, written baseline, which slots directly into your student learning plan.
• The same certified teacher each week. Students work with a licensed educator with real classroom experience, and whenever possible, the same teacher all year. That teacher builds on previous lessons instead of starting over every session.
• Weekly written progress reports. Every week you receive a report covering attendance, concepts taught, and progress made. It’s useful documentation for your PEP records, and it gives you a clear picture of what your student is actually working on.
• Support for English learners and Spanish-speaking families. Our teachers have experience distinguishing a language gap from a skills gap. We have bilingual teachers who can explain concepts in Spanish when that helps, and parent consultations and progress reports in Spanish, if needed.
• Scheduling that works with your homeschool day. Online sessions mean no commute and no drop-off, so tutoring fits around co-op days, field trips, and everything else that makes homeschooling work.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the PEP scholarship in Florida? The Personalized Education Program (PEP) is a Florida education savings account for K–12 students learning in a parent-directed, home-based program. It was created by HB 1 in 2023 and is administered primarily by Step Up For Students.

How much is the PEP scholarship? It’s based on Florida’s public school funding formula and varies by grade and county. Recent awards have been roughly $7,000 to $8,000+ per student. Confirm the current-year figure with Step Up For Students.

What does the PEP scholarship cover? Curriculum and instructional materials, online courses, tutoring, part-time tuition, testing fees, and other approved educational expenses. Purchases must go through approved providers or eligible reimbursement.

Is PEP the same as homeschooling in Florida? No. PEP students are not registered home education students under section 1002.41. They’re in a separate, funded program with a student learning plan and annual testing instead of the district notice of intent and portfolio evaluation.

How do I apply for the PEP scholarship? Apply through Step Up For Students during its application window, which typically opens early in the calendar year for the following school year. Because PEP is capped, apply as early as you can and don’t make commitments until your award is confirmed.

When do PEP scholarship funds become available? Accounts are generally funded in installments across the school year rather than in one lump sum. Plan larger purchases around those payment dates.

Can I use PEP for tutoring? Yes, as long as the tutor meets Florida’s qualifications and is approved through the scholarship organization. Confirm approval before sessions begin.

What’s the difference between PEP and FES-EO? The traditional FTC scholarship and FES-EO primarily fund tuition at participating private schools. PEP, which is also part of the FTC program, funds a home-based, parent-directed program instead. Students with disabilities should also compare FES-UA.

If you’re looking to take the next step, book a free consultation and we’ll talk through your student’s needs, your goals, and whether TurtlEd is the right fit for your family.

This article is provided for general educational purposes and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. The Florida PEP scholarship is administered by state-approved scholarship funding organizations under Florida law, and eligibility rules, award amounts, enrollment caps, approved expenses, provider requirements, and deadlines are subject to change and to legislative action. Confirm current program details directly with Step Up For Students before leaving a home education program, enrolling with a provider, or making any payment. Families with a student receiving special education services should seek qualified guidance before making a placement decision.