Family Empowerment Scholarship | How It Works

Family Empowerment Scholarship; The Family Empowerment Scholarship is a scholarship program that was established to provide low-income families with financial help in the form of assistance in meeting the costs associated with the education of their children. The scholarship can be put toward paying for things like tuition and fees, as well as the cost of books and other items linked to education. In most cases, eligibility is determined by a person’s level of financial need. The prerequisites for admission and the procedure to submit an application for the scholarship could be different from one program to the next.

Students in grades K through 12 have the opportunity to attend a participating private school under this arm of the scholarship program, which bases eligibility on family income. Families submit an application through one of the recognized scholarship funding organizations (SFO), which is in charge of allocating funds to private schools. In addition, FES EO gives eligible families of students the chance to get a $750 grant to cover transportation costs to a public school other than the one to which the student was assigned.

With the help of the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program, parents of children with impairments as young as 3 years old will have access to additional educational opportunities. Families have two options: they either enroll their child in another public school or take advantage of the chance to receive a personal education savings account (ESA) for their child. With an ESA, parents are given a deposit of government money into multipurpose savings accounts with restrictions.

Not only may an ESA be used to pay for things like private school tuition and fees, but it can also be used to pay for things like online learning courses, private tutoring, community college costs, higher education prices, and other authorized customized learning products and services. Through one of the authorized SFOs, which are in charge of establishing eligibility, granting and distributing cash to qualified student accounts, and approving eligible expenditures, families submit applications and yearly renewals for participation in FES UA.

A Unique Education for a Unique Child

Children that have special needs might have to adhere to some unusual educational requirements. And we believe that kids should have the opportunity to flourish and learn in an environment that is designed to maximize their chances of success. The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) assists families in personalizing their children’s educational experiences by directing financial resources to the areas in where they are required the most.

The funds are adaptable and may be put toward a number of projects as well as charges that have been approved by the government. Some examples of these are private schools, therapists, specialists, curricula, and college savings accounts.

Students Eligibility for Family Empowerment Scholarship

Students are initially eligible for Family Empowerment Scholarships if they meet the following criteria:

• They are directly certified to receive food assistance, TANF benefits, or are eligible for the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations;
• They come from families whose income does not exceed 375 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), which in 2022–2023 is $104,063 for a family of four;
• They are in foster care;
• They are the dependent child of a Priority is given to students and kids in foster care or out-of-home care whose household income is less than 185 percent of the federal poverty level ($51,338 for a family of four in 2022-23).
• Regardless of the family’s financial situation, a student who has received a Family Empowerment Scholarship continues to be qualified until they graduate from high school or turn 21. For the length of their K–12 schooling, siblings of participating kids are also eligible for the program.
• 46,500 students could participate in the program during the 2020–21 academic year. Each year, it is permitted to increase by 1% of the state’s total public school enrolment (currently about 28,500 students per year.)

How to Apply for Family Empowerment Scholarship

If you are interested in applying for any of the two sub-programs that make up the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program, you will need to get in touch with one of the two organizations that provide financing for scholarships and manage the administration of these programs:

A.A.A. Scholarship Foundation- FL, LLC
P.O. Box 15719, Tampa, FL 33684
Phone/Fax: 888-707-2465
info@aaascholarships.org

Step Up For Students
P.O. Box 54367
Jacksonville, FL 32245-4367
877-735-7837
info@stepupforstudents.org

School Requirements

1. Obtain permission from the state.
2. Students who want to take the state assessment should be allowed to do it with their school district.
3. Please provide the Department of Education with fee schedules at least thirty days in advance of the first quarterly payment.
4. Annual sworn compliance reports pertaining to all state and local health and safety regulations must be submitted to the state.
5. Ensure that you are in compliance with the nondiscrimination rules outlined in 42 U.S.C. 2000d.
6. All school officials, including teachers and other staff, who come into contact with scholarship recipients are subject to federal background checks.
7. A bachelor’s degree, three years of teaching experience, or particular competence is required of teachers in the United States.
8. In order to cover the cost of the scholarship payments for one quarter, schools that have been operating for fewer than three years are required to secure either a surety bond or a letter of credit.
9. Notify the Florida Department of Education if a student receiving a scholarship decides to withdraw from their academic program.
10. Annual updates on the student’s performance should be provided to the parents.