MicroschoolGuide

Funding & ESAs · July 24, 2026 · Microschool Guide Editorial

Florida PEP and Microschools: A Family Walkthrough

Florida runs one of the largest school-choice systems in the country, administered mostly through Step Up For Students. For microschool families the key program is the Personalized Education Program (PEP) flavor of the Family Empowerment Scholarship, which funds education outside full-time private school enrollment. Here is the walkthrough.

The two paths that matter

PEP suits the classic microschool arrangement where families remain the legal educators: the student is a registered PEP student, the family gets an education savings account, and spending runs through the program on curriculum, instruction, tutoring, and more.

FES-EO (private school path) suits microschools structured as private schools: the scholarship pays tuition at an eligible school.

Which one fits depends on how the microschool is legally structured, so ask the founder directly: "Are your students PEP homeschoolers or enrolled private school students?" A good founder answers in one sentence (the legal difference explained).

How PEP works for a family

  1. Apply through Step Up For Students during the application window. Slots have caps; apply early.
  2. Once awarded, funds appear in your account and spending runs through MyScholarShop for catalog items or through reimbursement and provider payment flows for services.
  3. File the required annual learning documentation; PEP has evaluation requirements that plain homeschooling in Florida does not.
  4. Keep receipts and read the purchasing guide before big purchases. Award amounts vary by county and grade; check the current year's numbers at stepupforstudents.org.

For founders

Register with Step Up as a provider so families can pay you through the system, and expect documentation plus review time. Curriculum your school recommends may already be in MyScholarShop; check the directory for ESA-experienced publishers like Real Science 4 Kids and point families to eligible items rather than reimbursement headaches.

Honest notes

Florida's system is big, which means both maturity (real support lines, established processes) and queue times during peak season. Rules and amounts shift year to year. Our Florida page carries current sources and the date we last verified them.

This is general information, not legal advice. Verify with the program before acting.