Step Up For Students: Empowering Futures Through Educational Opportunities

Step Up For Students is dedicated to empowering families, particularly those lacking information and financial resources, to access the most suitable learning options for their children. By providing scholarships and support, Step Up For Students strengthens the educational landscape, offering choices to students and considering themselves a partner to public schools to give all students the tools toward success.

The Core Values and Culture

Step Up For Students fosters a culture centered around specific values and Cognitive and Emotional Management (CEM) skills. The organization promotes collaboration, sharing of ideas, and relationship building through various programs. Connecting employees at all levels and across departments reinforces the core value that everyone is truly an asset. Employee feedback is highly valued, and the organization continuously strives for improvement.

As a Step Up For Students employee, individuals can anticipate:

Recognition and Engagement
Development and Performance opportunities
Competitive Compensation and Benefits
Work-Life Harmony and Time Away
Wellness Programs

The Mission: Customized Education for All

Step Up For Students empowers families to pursue and engage in the most appropriate learning options for their children. The organization's driving mission is to unite the community to provide scholarships that open doors to a stronger future, which they call customized education. With this support, Florida students can choose the right learning environment and connect with the resources they need to reach their full potential.

With Step Up For Students Scholarships, children gain access to private or public schools that would otherwise be out of their reach. Struggling readers and math students excel with extra support. Those with unique abilities access a wider range of academic programs and materials to meet their needs. These opportunities are made possible by people in the community who continually step up for Florida students. Through tax programs, individual donations, workplace giving, planned giving, and more, they enable students to thrive from pre-school through high school and beyond.

The Scholarship Programs: A Gateway to Educational Opportunities

Step Up For Students Scholarship Programs and extended services exist to empower families to pursue the most appropriate learning options for their children.

With Step Up For Students Scholarships, children gain access to private or public schools that would otherwise be out of their reach. Students who were bullied get a fresh start. Struggling readers excel with extra support.

Available Scholarships

Private School Scholarship (FTC/FES-EO): Available to active-duty members of the United States Armed Forces with permanent change of station orders to Florida before their move.
Unique Abilities Scholarship (FES-UA): Also available to active-duty military families moving to Florida and varies by grade, county, and severity of need. Active-duty military with change of station orders out-of-state may apply for, or renew their Unique Abilities Scholarships if they can prove maintenance of Florida residency.
Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA): Serves a significant number of students and absorbed the John M. McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program.
Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO): Eligibility expands to include dependents of law enforcement officers.
PEP Scholarship (FTC-PEP): Available to active-duty military families moving to Florida.
New Worlds Reading Scholarship Accounts Program: Expanded to include K-2nd grade public school students who struggle with reading and literacy.
Reading Scholarships Account program: Available for 3rd-5th grade students enrolled in public schools who are struggling readers.

Florida law prohibits applying for more than one FTC or FES scholarship at a time for an individual student.

Student Learning Plan (SLP)

Student Learning Plan (SLP) is a customized learning plan developed by parents or guardians and revised, at least annually, to guide instruction for their students and to address the services needed to fulfill their academic needs.

Additional Information

Funds received are predominantly used for scholarships.
Yes, if you are an active-duty member of the United States Armed Forces and have been given permanent change of station orders to move to Florida, you will be eligible for the Private School Scholarship (FTC/FES-EO), Unique Abilities Scholarship (FES-UA) and the PEP Scholarship before you make your move.
Yes, as long as Florida residency is legally maintained and can be documented using a Leave and Earnings Statement or the IRS Declaration of Domicile Form 2058.
The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) approves private schools to participate in serving PEP students.
If your student is attending a private preschool or private day care through the Florida Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) program, then you are eligible to apply for a New Worlds Scholarship Account if you meet the other requirements.

Success Stories: Transforming Lives Through Education

Step Up For Students has funded over 1 million scholarships to Florida students. These scholarships have enabled students to overcome obstacles and achieve their full potential.

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Yonas: From Ethiopia to No. 1 in his high school class to UF with the help of a private school scholarship. His mother believes that "Education is the key to getting anything that he wants. I realized that it can open many doors for him in the future."
Valentina: Progressed significantly with the help of the Gardiner Scholarship (now the Family Empowerment Scholarship).
Samantha: Improved reading grades and developed a love of books with the help of Florida’s Reading Scholarship.
Nick: Found a renewed enthusiasm for education through the Hope Scholarship, stating, "There's no words to describe it… It's awesome. He complains when he can't go to school."

These stories exemplify the transformative impact of Step Up For Students scholarships on the lives of individual students.

A History of Empowerment: The Step Up For Students Roadmap

Step Up For Students has a rich history of empowering Florida students through educational choice.

1998: Tampa Venture Capitalist John Kirtley works with the Children’s Scholarship Fund to create the Children’s Scholarship Fund of Tampa Bay. The program provides privately funded scholarships to allow low-income students to attend the school of their choice. In three months, with little publicity, the program receives 12,500 applications for 750 scholarships, revealing a compelling need.
2001: Led by Speaker Tom Feeney and Senate President John McKay, the Florida legislature passes a bill to create the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, which is signed into law by Govenror Jeb Bush. The program gives corporations credit for redirecting their state tax obligations that helped low-income families send their children to private schools or public schools outside of their district.
2006: Lawmakers adopt a comprehensive set of financial and educational accountability measures, including the requirement that each student in the program take a standardized test recognized by the Department of Education and the scores be reported to a major Florida university and to the public--down to the school level. Three independent research organizations - the Collins Center for Public Policy, Florida TaxWatch and the state Office of Program Policy and Analysis - conclude that the program saves money for the public education system.
2010: The legislature passes a major expansion of the program with strong bipartisan support. The bill adds tax credit sources, bringing the total to five: corporate income, insurance premium, alcoholic beverage excise, direct pay sales, and oil and gas services.
2011
2014: The legislature passes the Personal Learning Scholarships Accounts (PLSA), an education savings account (ESA) program for children with certain special needs.
2015: Step Up For Students launches the PLSA program providing scholarships for 1,500 qualifying students.
2016: The PLSA program is renamed the Gardiner Scholarship honoring Senate President Andy Gardiner and his family for their advocacy of children with special needs in Florida.
2017: Step Up For Students reaches a historical milestone with more than 100,000 students served.
2018: Florida creates the Hope Scholarship, a first-of-its-kind school choice program providing scholarships to students who have experienced bullying in a public school. In its first year, 127 students from around the state participate in the program. Florida becomes the first state to offer an education savings account (ESA) for 3rd-5th grade students enrolled in public schools who are struggling readers. More than 5,630 students participate in the Reading Scholarships Account program in the first year. The development of these programs brings the total number of scholarship programs managed by Step Up For Students to four: the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, the Gardiner Scholarship, the Hope Scholarship and the Reading Scholarship Accounts program.
2019: The Gardiner Scholarship exceeds 10,000 students, making it the largest education savings account (ESA) program in the nation. The legislature creates the Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES) Program to expand income limits and extend support to more families.
2020: Step Up For Students funds its 1 millionth scholarship.
2021: The Family Empowerment Scholarship Program expands to create two pillars of focus: students with unique abilities and those seeking educational options and qualify based on income and other eligibility. The Gardiner Scholarship is renamed as Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) and the legislature adds six additional qualifying diagnoses to the program. Armed Forces as well as siblings of students on the FES-UA program.
2022: The eligibility for the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO) expands to include dependents of law enforcement officers. The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) program serves more than 25,000 students for the 2021-22 school year. The program expands once again, absorbing the previously state-managed John M. McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities Program for the 2022-23 school year. The newly renamed New Worlds Reading Scholarship Accounts Program is expanded to include K-2nd grade public school students who struggle with reading and literacy.
2023: Florida is now the second state to offer universal scholarship programs, expanding FTC and FES-EO to all students. It is also the first state to provide an education savings account for parent-led education options. For the first time in state history, over 250,000 students are enrolled in Florida's scholarship programs.
2024: For the first time, Florida's scholarship programs funded over 400,000 students. Military families can now apply for scholarships upon receiving orders to a Florida base.

This timeline demonstrates Step Up For Students' continuous growth and commitment to expanding educational opportunities for Florida students.

Partnering for Success: Schools, Providers, and Donors

Step Up For Students collaborates with schools and providers to empower Florida students with educational options. These partnerships ensure that every child has the opportunity to receive a high-quality, personalized education.

Donors play a vital role in supporting Step Up For Students' mission. There are many ways to invest in the future of Florida's educational landscape, including:

Earning dollar-for-dollar tax credits while funding K-12 students' future through the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program.
Making individual donations.
Participating in workplace giving programs.
Planned giving.

By supporting Step Up For Students, donors directly impact the lives of students and contribute to a stronger educational system.

Employee Experience and Benefits

Step Up For Students provides programs that engage employees, reward high performance, and support the organizational culture. Connecting employees at all levels and across departments promotes the core value that everyone is truly an asset.

The organization may pay for employees to obtain the skills, qualifications, and education needed to grow and excel in their careers. In addition to retirement savings plans and a market-driven, competitive salary program, Step Up For Students offers many rewards as part of its pay and compensation.

Programs focus on providing a safe and productive work environment where employees are offered flexible work arrangements and time away. Step Up For Students believes wellness encompasses the whole person, and their wellness programs target nine categories to support whole wellness.

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