Florida’s ESA program is an essential part of the Family Empowerment Scholarship program (FES) and Personalized Education Program (PEP) in the state. Through these scholarships, families can receive state funds to use for their child’s education. ESA funding can be used to cover expenses like tutoring, exam and certification costs, and private school tuition, which we’ll look at in detail here.
The ESA program has been very well-received in Florida, and if you’re a resident of the state with a child who’s eligible to attend a K-12 public school, there’s a high chance that you can apply for a scholarship.
This post covers:
- What the Florida ESA program is and how it works.
- The eligibility requirements for an ESA in Florida.
- What the funds from an ESA can be spent on, with a focus on the options for private school tuition for Florida students.
What is the Florida ESA Program?
In Florida, ESA stands for Education Savings Account. An ESA is an account that gives families access to state funds that can be put toward a child’s private school tuition or other expenses associated with their education.
The Florida ESA program is similar to initiatives in other states, including Texas Private School Vouchers and the Arizona ESA Program (in Arizona, ESA stands for Empowerment Scholarship Account, but it’s the same type of account).
The Florida ESA program allows families to access state education funds through the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO). In 2023, Florida expanded eligibility to make this scholarship universal — meaning all Florida families with children eligible for public K-12 education can now apply, regardless of household income.
In the 2024/25 school year, 221,000 students participated in the program, receiving ESA funds they could put toward their education.
If you want to apply for ESA funding in Florida, you’ll do it through one of the state’s scholarship programs:
- FES-EO (Educational Options): This is the primary program, available to all eligible Florida families. The average award here is ~$8,000.
- FES-UA (Unique Abilities): This program is for students with diagnosed learning differences or disabilities and as a result offers higher funding amounts.
- PEP (Personalized Education Program): The PEP program is for homeschooling families, making it easier for these families to pay for online learning programs, private tutoring, curriculum materials, educational field trips, extracurricular activities, and part-time or hybrid private school tuition.
Who Receives ESA Funding in Florida?
Beginning in 2023, all families who live permanently in Florida and have children who are eligible to attend K-12 public schools in the state can apply annually for the FES scholarship and ESA funds, regardless of household income.
While all families can apply, there is a priority system in place.
First priority is given to:
- Families whose household income is under 185% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). In the school year 2024/25, this was approximately $57,720 for a family of four.
- Students in foster care or out-of-home care.
Second priority is given to:
- Families whose household income is 185–400% of the FPL.
While these priorities exist, applications and funds are processed on a first-come, first-service basis within each priority. Because of this, it makes sense to apply early.
Application deadlines vary by school year. Typically, applications open in early February, with priority deadlines in late April for renewal students and mid-November for new students. Check with your scholarship funding organization (Step Up For Students or AAA Scholarship Foundation) for current deadlines.
How Much ESA Funding Can You Get in Florida?
According to Step Up for Students, one of the nonprofit bodies that manages Florida’s scholarship programs, a Florida ESA gives families an average of $8,000 per year to put toward the cost of their child’s education. The total amount varies according to the scholarship program the student is enrolled in, the county, and the student’s grade level.
For example, in Miami-Dade County, the 2025/26 scholarship amounts were
- $8,583 for grades K–3
- $7,878 for grades 4–8
- $7,831 for grades 9–12
The value of an ESA is also higher for students with unique abilities. For example, if a child has a diagnosed learning difference like autism or dyslexia, or a diagnosed disability, they can access an ESA through the FES-UA (Unique Abilities) rather than the FES-EO (Educational Opportunities) program.
The average scholarship amount for students with unique abilities is $10,000 — though, again, this varies by county. To return to the example of Miami-Dade, you could expect to receive:
- $10,697 for grades K-3
- $10,100 for grades 4-8
- $9,945 for grades 9-12
When you consider that the average private school tuition costs in Florida are $14,000 for elementary school and $14,651 for high school per year, you see that an ESA account can cover a very significant portion of a family’s education expenses.
What Can You Use ESA Funding for in Florida?
Families with an ESA account can choose how they spend the funds, as long as the money is put toward the student’s education needs.
This means ESA funding can be spent on:
- Tuition and fees for private schools in Florida
- Private tutoring costs
- Textbooks and other instructional materials
- Virtual learning or online school programs
- Community college
- Higher education expenses
For families with children who have special needs and receive the FES-UA scholarship, the money can also be put toward a child’s therapy expenses — for example, for autistic children who work with an applied behaviour analysis service or a speech-language pathologist — as long as the provider is licensed and approved.
For families who are homeschooling, ESA funds can be spent on “customized learning services” and materials to support their homeschool curriculum.
It’s also important to know that families with K-12 students in public education can also get access to an ESA account. However, they can’t use ESA funds to pay for the services the public school already offers — that would mean the state pays for their education twice, once by funding the school, and once through the ESA. Eligible public school students can use an ESA to cover additional expenses like tutoring and approved online learning platforms instead of school fees.
ESA-Approved Private Schools in Florida
ESA programs exist to widen school choice options. This means that many of the families who have an ESA use the funds to cover private school tuition and fees.
There are almost 2,000 ESA-approved private schools in Florida. In the next section of this post, we’ll explore some of the best options, starting with our school, Fusion Academy.
1. Fusion Academy
Fusion Academy campuses in Florida are ESA-approved private schools for grades 4–12, where students can choose between one-to-one classes with their teachers or small-group classes, which consist of 2–5 students in a class.
With this teaching model, we can personalize lessons toward the student’s pace, interests, and needs. This has benefits for all types of students, especially students seeking a rigorous academic curriculum and students with learning differences who need additional accommodations.
Students can attend Fusion full-time or part-time, and we also offer tutoring/mentoring programs and summer learning opportunities, which can be funded through the Florida ESA program.
We have five campuses in Florida:
You can request more information from your preferred campus above, or keep reading to learn about Fusion Academy’s personalized approach.
Individualized Academic Program
At Fusion, students can enroll at any point during the school year.
When discussing enrollment with a new family, we schedule an interview with the Head of School to get to know the student’s needs in detail. This means discussing what worked well in their previous school, what they’d like to do differently, what their goals are in education, and any learning differences or current learning gaps. This helps us figure out a personalized education plan together.
A student’s schedule at Fusion is very flexible. Our campuses in Florida are open from 7:30 AM–7:30 PM from Monday to Friday, which means students can schedule classes when they’re able to learn most effectively, or fit their classes around other commitments like athletics or acting.
A student’s curriculum can also be fully customized to help them meet their academic goals. Our teachers are able to select from various high-quality learning materials, and then adjust the pacing and order of each lesson to meet the student where they’re at.
This flexibility has major advantages for our students:
- Students who have struggled with a certain concept can repeat the material, ask questions, and utilize different learning methods until they’ve fully mastered the material.
- Students ready for an academic challenge can quickly complete core material and move on to more advanced topics when they’re ready.
- Students with learning differences, such as students with sensory processing disorder, can be accommodated. For example, at one of our campuses, a student began to thrive when she was able to wear noise-canceling headphones throughout the day to help her focus.
Fusion’s curriculum includes over 300 courses available at varying levels, including college preparatory courses, honors classes, and AP® classes.
We also offer a range of unique electives, including courses in Visual and Performing Arts, wellness, and career-oriented courses that cover topics like business, hospitality, marketing, and management.
Our high school students can also utilize Fusion’s dedicated post-secondary counselors as they decide their next steps.
Whether they’re headed to college, a gap year, employment, or a different path like the military, our counselors go above and beyond to help our students achieve their post-secondary goals.
In Fusion’s 2025 graduating class:
- 99% of applicants were accepted to a 4-year college
- 87.5% of Fusion students attended their first-choice college
- 41% received merit scholarships, with an average award of $58,303
To find out more, you can watch Fusion Academy Testimonials.
Student Life at Fusion
As well as offering supportive and engaging academic programs, Fusion campuses are places where students are part of a tight-knit community. We’ve found that many students come to Fusion because they didn’t find their place in their previous school — perhaps because of bullying, a learning difference that wasn’t fully supported, or school anxiety.
In contrast to traditional schools, Fusion’s campuses help students make meaningful connections with their peers. Our staff is also available to help make this happen, for example, by mentoring students to build their social confidence and by introducing like-minded students to one another and to clubs and events that engage their shared interests.
One core element of campus life at Fusion is the Homework Café.
The Quiet Homework Café is a dedicated shared space where students have scheduled time during the school day to complete their assignments. By finishing work on campus, students can leave schoolwork at school — no homework stress at home. If they need extra help, support is always close by, with a teacher available in the space to answer questions and provide guidance.
The Social Homework Café is a welcoming space where students can connect throughout the day — whether it’s meeting friends for lunch, socializing between classes, or gathering for clubs and special events. For example, at our Pembroke Pines campus, the Social Homework Café hosts:
- Cooking club
- Jam sessions
- Social and emotional learning workshops
- College and career prep meetings
- Debate club
At Fusion, socialization and learning don’t just happen on campus. Field trips and volunteering are also a key part of student life. We organize regular excursions that align with our students’ interests — for example, to the Frost Museum in Miami, to local animal shelters, or on hiking expeditions. It’s also vital to us that our students have a sense of being part of their wider local community. To bring this core value to life, our students at Pembroke Pines have:
- Organized a panel about the dangers of overachievement culture for adolescents
- Created a Thanksgiving basket for a local women’s shelter
- Adopted a family and provided gifts for the holiday season
At every one of Fusion’s five Florida campuses, we offer a well-rounded education, a flexible approach that accommodates our students’ needs, and an engaging community that students feel excited and proud to be part of.
If Fusion Academy sounds like the right school for your family, learn more here.
2. The Bolles School, Jacksonville
The Bolles School is a college preparatory school for pre-K through grade 12. This is a large private day school with four campuses in Jacksonville and a small contingent of boarders.
Students need to take a mix of English, math, and science courses to graduate from Bolles’ upper school. Many students also go on to take one of 30 on-campus AP courses to build college credit while attending high school.
Bolles is also known for its wide range of facilities, especially in terms of sports and the arts. The school has produced 67 Olympians, and as many as 70% of the middle and upper school students participate in subjects like music, art, and drama.
3. Edison Private School, Port Richey and Hialeah
The Edison Private School has two campuses in Florida: West Coast in Port Richey and Hialeah. This school is focused on academic growth and the independent learning skills a student needs to become successful in college and beyond. This philosophy begins in a Pre-K class and carries through to the upper school, which prepares students for higher education.
Teachers at the Edison Private School participate in regular professional development, are trained to teach the use of technology in the classroom, and have the skills and credentials to teach bilingually (English and Spanish). The school also runs a summer camp, an active social program, and celebrations of cultural holidays from around the world.
4. The Roig Academy, Miami
The Roig Academy is a small school in Miami for grades K-8. They work with an average student/teacher ratio of 7:1, which allows a high degree of personalization and differentiation in their instruction. The school is also able to offer programs for students with learning differences, particularly dyslexia, with the Orton-Gillingham method of reading instruction integrated throughout their curriculum.
The Roig is an IB World School, which means it follows the primary years program for the International Baccalaureate. When students choose to pursue the IB at the end of high school, they go through a holistic and enquiry-based school program that encourages them to think critically and consider both local and international contexts.
5. South Florida Montessori Academy, Tamarac
Based in Tamarac, the South Florida Montessori Academy (SFMA) is a Montessori school for students from 18 months to 12 years. The school has bilingual programs, including Spanish immersion, and both Spanish and English are spoken each day in all classrooms.
As a Montessori school, students are taught in mixed-age groups in toddler (18 months–3 years), primary (3–6), and elementary (6–12) programs. Each classroom is curated with Montessori play materials that stimulate a child’s creativity, self-sufficiency, and sense of responsibility. The school also offers regular activity beyond the classroom, with excursions, hikes and nature walks.
SFMA is accredited by the Florida Department of Education and the Association Montessori Internationale.
6. Saint Edward’s School, Vero Beach
Saint Edward’s School is an Episcopal private school set in a large coastal campus in Vero Beach. This means the school is able to offer a unique learning environment. The outdoors are an integral part of the school experience, and this includes exploring the ocean ecosystem from kayaks and paddleboards in the lagoon.
This school offers a rigorous academic program — 60% of the faculty hold advanced degrees — as well as exceptional coaching and sports facilities, including gymnasiums, an aquatic centre, and a dock. Their goal is to foster a lifelong love of learning and deep personal confidence in their students, guided by a school tradition based on academic inquiry, service, and leadership.
Start Using Florida ESA Funds Today
When you’re ready to apply for an FES or PEP and access ESA funding, the first step is to contact one of the scholarship funding organizations that administers the program. These are:
The AAA Scholarship Foundation-FL, LLC
P.O. Box 15719
Tampa, FL 33684
- Phone: 888-707-2465
- Email: info@aaascholarships.org
Step Up for Students
P.O. Box 54367
Jacksonville, FL 32245-4367
- Phone: 877-735-7837
- Email: info@stepupforstudents.org
To learn how we can support your child’s education, schedule a visit to a Fusion Academy campus to experience our unique learning environment in person.
