What Miami families can buy with a Florida scholarship
Florida's scholarships are not just tuition. Unique Abilities and PEP accounts — and leftover Private School Scholarship funds — pay for tutoring, therapies, curriculum, internet, music, sports, field trips, testing and college credit. Every category below shows the rule for each program, what is prohibited, and how Miami-Dade families actually use it. Awards: $8,745 K-3 · $8,140 4-8 · $7,942 9-12.
Academic support
Tutoring
Part-time tutoring is one of the most-used categories in Miami-Dade scholarship accounts — and the one with the strictest credential rules.
Rules →Academic supportReading intervention & dyslexia programs
Structured-literacy programs (Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, Barton, Lindamood-Bell style) are purchasable as tutoring, curriculum or specialized services depending on who delivers them.
Rules →Academic supportTesting, evaluations & assessments
Norm-referenced tests, AP exams, industry certifications, career assessments and initial or re-evaluation assessments.
Rules →Therapies (FES-UA)
Speech-language therapy
Speech-language pathology is one of the five specialized services named in Florida statute for Unique Abilities students.
Rules →Therapies (FES-UA)Occupational & physical therapy
OT and PT are specialized services under FES-UA when delivered by Florida-licensed therapists or a Florida hospital.
Rules →Therapies (FES-UA)ABA therapy (autism)
Applied Behavior Analysis is explicitly named in Florida's FES-UA statute and is the largest single therapy spend in the program.
Rules →Therapies (FES-UA)Sensory materials & assistive technology
Sensory swings, balance balls, fidgets, hearing aids, prescription glasses and other assistive devices.
Rules →Learning materials
Curriculum & curriculum materials
Full curricula, individual courses and self-paced online programs are eligible across all three programs, with one rule to watch: publicly available vs. custom.
Rules →Learning materialsOnline courses & virtual school
Florida distinguishes between self-paced courses (curriculum), live instruction from an FLDOE-approved online provider, and full-time virtual school.
Rules →Learning materialsAt-home classroom furnishings & school supplies
Desks, chairs, bookshelves, whiteboards, televisions up to 55 inches, calculators, backpacks and everyday supplies.
Rules →Technology
Laptops, tablets & digital devices
This is the category that changed most for 2026-27: devices are now prohibited on PEP, while FES-UA still allows them.
Rules →TechnologyHome internet
Florida is one of only a few states where scholarship funds pay the family's home internet bill.
Rules →TechnologyEducational software & subscriptions
Learning apps, graphics/photo editing software, streaming educational content and subscription kits.
Rules →Electives & enrichment
Music lessons & instruments
Private music lessons, instruments, rentals, repairs and tuning are all eligible electives.
Rules →Electives & enrichmentArt, drama, foreign-language & other electives
Cooking, drama, foreign language, photography/videography, sewing, woodworking and art lessons — plus their supplies and equipment.
Rules →Electives & enrichmentCoding, STEM & robotics
Programming classes, digital-production supplies, lab fees, drones and STEM kits are eligible under electives, lab fees or educational subscription kits.
Rules →Electives & enrichmentSports lessons, P.E. & equipment
Florida treats physical education generously: lessons, team fees, gym memberships for the student, sport-specific footwear and home exercise equipment.
Rules →Experiences
Field trips, museums & Florida theme parks
Student admission to museums, zoos, aquariums, state and national parks, ticketed performances — and once a year, a Florida theme park.
Rules →ExperiencesSummer & after-school programs
Specialized summer and after-school education programs are eligible; general camps need documentation.
Rules →High school & career
Dual enrollment & college credit
Tuition and fees at eligible Florida postsecondary institutions, dual enrollment and approved pre-apprenticeship programs.
Rules →High school & careerIndustry certifications & career training
Certification exam fees, pre-apprenticeship tuition and career-interest assessments are all authorized.
Rules →At a private school
Not covered
Transportation
Florida's scholarships do not pay for getting to school — a frequent question from Homestead and south Dade families.
Rules →Not coveredFood, lodging & child care
Lunch programs, aftercare and camp lodging are the most common rejected reimbursements.
Rules →How purchases actually happen
MyScholarShop
Step Up's catalog. Anything in it is pre-approved; orders ship to the Florida address on the application. If you find the identical item cheaper elsewhere, the SFO must reimburse the lower price.
Find Providers / direct pay
Tutors, therapists and enrichment providers approved in EMA are paid directly from the account — no cash outlay.
Reimbursement
Pay, keep the itemized receipt showing a Florida ship-to address, and submit. Cash payments to private sellers are never reimbursed. Pre-authorization requests for 2026-27 close May 28, 2027.
Want a spending plan for your child's account?
An advisor maps your award to the categories that apply and the Miami providers who take direct pay.