The Step Up purchasing guides, explained

What the purchasing guides are

The purchasing guides are the official rulebooks for spending scholarship money. Step Up links to the official purchasing guides for each program, and they list what each scholarship can and cannot pay for.

There is a guide for the Unique Abilities Scholarship, one for PEP, and one for the Private School scholarships, the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) and the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO). The rules overlap, but they are not identical.

This page is an independent guide. I am an approved Step Up For Students provider, not Step Up, so use this page as a plain-language summary and the official guide as the final word.

What the guides say about tutoring

Tutoring is an eligible expense under several scholarships, but the rules depend on the program. Step Up lists FES-UA, PEP, FTC, FES-EO, and New Worlds Scholarship Accounts as programs that can pay for part-time tutoring with an eligible provider.

Part-time tutoring

Part-time tutoring means sessions alongside school or homeschool. The tutor must hold a qualifying credential, such as a valid Florida teaching certificate, and hours are capped at 720 hours a year for grades K-3 and 900 hours a year for grades 4-12.

Families typically pay a tutor through the Education Market Assistant (EMA), the account where scholarship funds live. An approved provider bills your account directly, so you do not pay out of pocket and wait for a refund.

Full-time private tutoring

Full-time private tutoring replaces school entirely, and the scholarships that pay for it are FES-UA and PEP only. A full-time program requires 720 instructional hours (K-3) or 900 (grades 4-12) with a certified Florida teacher, for FES-UA and PEP students.

The full-time guide lists the rest of the requirements, so read it in full before you choose this path. If you are curious, my full-time tutoring program page explains what it would involve.

Private School scholarships and tutoring

The FTC and FES-EO scholarships work differently. The Private School scholarships (FTC and FES-EO) pay private school tuition and fees first. Once tuition and fees are paid, any remaining funds may be used for other eligible expenses, including part-time tutoring and Choice Navigator services.

Full-time private tutoring is still limited to FES-UA and PEP. The private school scholarship guide explains the options for families who need tutoring.

What the guides say about curriculum

Curriculum can be an eligible purchase, but the guides set a clear bar for what counts. The guides say curriculum must be a complete course of study, and curriculum that is not publicly available needs pre-authorization.

In everyday terms, a complete course of study usually means a full program for a subject, not a single worksheet pack. If a program is not sold to the public, ask for pre-authorization before you buy, not after.

For PEP families, curriculum and tutoring often work together. You choose the curriculum and stay in charge of the plan, and a tutor can teach one subject inside it.

What the guides say about testing

Testing fees are generally eligible. Fees for standardized tests, including national or state norm-referenced tests and Advanced Placement exams, are eligible expenses. Tests that are not listed need pre-authorization.

If you homeschool on PEP, testing matters because of the yearly testing requirement. The PEP guide explains how it works.

The progress checks I use in tutoring are informal educational skill checks. They help us plan lessons, but they are not a standardized test and do not replace one.

What the guides say about online learning

The PEP guide draws a clear line on online school. PEP funds may not be used to pay for full-time online instruction.

The Private School guide has a similar rule. Students using an FTC or FES-EO scholarship must be educated full time at the physical location of an eligible private school, and these funds cannot pay for full-time online instruction.

These rules are about full-time online instruction. If you are weighing part-time online tutoring, check your guide and ask the provider how sessions are billed in EMA.

What the guides say about Choice Navigators

A Choice Navigator is an adviser your scholarship may pay for, separate from a tutor. A Choice Navigator meets the same credential rules as a part-time tutor and helps families with school options, curriculum, and career planning. A Choice Navigator may not oversee or control a student’s curriculum or academic program.

In the guides, Choice Navigator services are listed next to part-time tutoring. The simple way to tell them apart is that a tutor teaches your child skills, while a Choice Navigator advises your family on options.

Mix-ups the guides can clear up

Most spending questions come from a few common mix-ups. Reading the right section of your guide usually settles them in minutes.

• A credential is not the same as direct pay. A teaching certificate is one requirement, but Step Up pays a tutor directly only when the tutor is an approved provider who bills in EMA.
• Part-time tutoring is not full-time school. The online and full-time rules above apply to full-time programs, not to a few tutoring sessions a week.
• Leftover funds are not a separate tutoring award. With FTC and FES-EO, tutoring comes from what remains after tuition and fees, so the amount depends on your school’s costs.
• A Choice Navigator is not a tutor. If you want someone to teach your child, look for tutoring in the guide, not Choice Navigator services.

Where to find each official guide

Step Up links to every current guide from one page: the official purchasing guides. Each scholarship has its own guide, and the FES-UA guide is hosted by a university center rather than on Step Up’s own site.

• Unique Abilities Scholarship (FES-UA): the FES-UA purchasing guide, published by the Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities at UCF
• Personalized Education Program (PEP): PEP purchasing guide, 2026-27
• Private School scholarships (FTC and FES-EO): Private School purchasing guide, 2026-27
• Every program: the official family handbooks, which explain the rest of each program’s rules

Bookmark the guide for your scholarship and check the school year in its title. Older copies can turn up in a search, so make sure you have the current one.

How to check a purchase before you spend

The safest habit is to look up every new expense in your scholarship’s guide before you pay. It takes a few minutes and can save you from a denied reimbursement or a reservation you have to cancel.

How I fit in for homeschool families

I am an approved Step Up For Students provider, and FES-UA and PEP families can pay me directly through EMA. For homeschool families, I teach reading and writing alongside your plan while you stay in charge of curriculum.

I share progress notes you can use for your Student Learning Plan. My rate is the same whether you pay through Step Up or privately.

Read more about homeschool learning support, or book a free 15-minute fit call to talk through your child’s needs.