Florida PEP Approved Vendors: How to Find and Verify Them

By The School Choice Index Editorial Team Published: June 13, 2026 · Last verified: August 8, 2026

2026–27 Florida PEP vendor verification guide

Florida PEP approved vendors are not kept in one statewide list. The right source depends on your child's SFO and what you are buying.

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Correction — August 8, 2026: An earlier version of this page said therapy providers could qualify for PEP, and it used the old 2025–26 enrollment cap. Both were wrong. Our August 8 audit also found that the page understated the 2026–27 award range, missed one service-provider category, treated some Step Up rules as if they applied to every SFO, and stated a statewide ban on full-time online instruction that the current AAA handbook does not support. We fixed all of it, rebuilt the page around the official source that controls each purchase, and rechecked every number and deadline below. We're leaving this note up on purpose. You should know when a page you're trusting with your kid's money has changed.

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The short answer

There is no single public list of Florida PEP approved vendors. The right source depends on who manages your child's account, what you want to buy, and whether you want direct pay or reimbursement.

Florida's Department of Education lists three approved Scholarship Funding Organizations for 2026–27: Step Up For Students, AAA Scholarship Foundation, and Sunshine State Kids. But the state also tells families to contact each SFO to confirm which programs it administers. Step Up and AAA clearly publish PEP routes. Sunshine publishes a handbook that names PEP, while its public Odyssey application screen still shows only FES-EO and FES-UA. Treat Sunshine's PEP route as confirm in writing before you spend.

Schools, PEP Hybrid schools, and approved online or virtual providers need a separate state-status check. Your SFO still handles payment, but the SFO cannot turn an unqualified school or online provider into a qualified one.

So the real question isn't "where's the list?" It's "which official source controls the exact thing I'm about to buy?"

We'll answer that in the next 90 seconds. Several important sources are public: Step Up's product-vendor catalog, Florida's private-school directory, and Florida's approved online and virtual provider list. You can check those without a funded account. What you cannot see publicly is whether your child is funded, what appears in your child's marketplace, how much money is available, or whether a specific reimbursement will pass review.

Best for: Florida families with a funded PEP account who are ready to find or pay a vendor. Not for you if: you want ordinary full-time private school enrollment, you need therapy services, or you're still trying to submit a regular 2026–27 PEP application. The regular PEP window ran from February 1 through April 30, 2026. Foster-care, out-of-home-care, and qualifying active-duty military families can have different application rights, but funding is never guaranteed.

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Is there one official Florida PEP approved vendor list?

No. Florida does not publish one list that covers every PEP product seller, tutor, school, hybrid program, online provider, and reimbursable purchase. The correct source depends on the student's SFO, the expense category, and the payment route. As of August 8, 2026, Florida lists three approved SFOs for the 2026–27 school year, but it tells families to contact each organization to confirm the programs it administers.

We went looking for the master list. It doesn't exist.

What we found instead is a system where the word "approved" means seven different things depending on the situation. That's the whole problem. A parent hears "approved vendor" and pictures one clean list, like a store directory. Florida built something closer to a set of doors, and each door has a different person holding the key.

"Approved" means seven different things

This is the part that costs families money, so read it slowly. Each of these is real. None of them means the same thing as the others.

A vendor's website saying "we accept PEP!" is not on this list. That's marketing. It might be true. It's not proof.

Here's the honest downside

PEP does not hand you one simple statewide vendor list, and no one — not us, not a directory, not the seller — can promise that a purchase or reimbursement will be approved. The exact expense, student, SFO, documentation, balance, and deadline all matter. If what you want is a program where somebody gives you one fixed catalog and says "shop here, you're covered," PEP will drive you a little crazy, and a full-time private school scholarship may be the simpler path.

But here's why we'd still take PEP.

PEP is not limited to one store. Eligible purchases can often be made outside a marketplace and submitted for reimbursement under your SFO's rules. Step Up's 2026–27 guide goes even further: if you buy a product identical to one on its online platform for a lower price, the SFO is required by law to reimburse the lower-cost purchase.

Most families never learn this. They shop inside the store, pay store prices, and never find out they may have had the option to shop around. The messiness is the freedom. You just have to know which door you're walking through.

→ Find my PEP vendor route — match your SFO and purchase to the official source you need before you spend.

Find my PEP vendor route

Use the first row that fits you.

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Which organization manages your child's PEP account?

Florida lists three approved Scholarship Funding Organizations for 2026–27: Step Up For Students, AAA Scholarship Foundation, and Sunshine State Kids. A listing with one organization does not prove eligibility with another. Step Up and AAA clearly document PEP. Sunshine's public materials conflict, so Sunshine families need written confirmation of the current PEP route.

Before you look at a single vendor, figure out this one thing. Everything else branches from it.

Step Up For Students

Step Up uses the EMA portal. Inside EMA, families can manage the account, submit reimbursements, use MyScholarShop for products, and use Find Providers for services.

You'll know it's Step Up if you see: an EMA login, MyScholarShop, Find Providers, or emails from Step Up For Students.

AAA Scholarship Foundation

AAA is structured completely differently. AAA runs PEP as a reimbursement program through a portal it calls the SMP, or Scholarship Management Platform.

You'll know it's AAA if you see: an SMP login or emails from AAA Scholarship Foundation.

Sunshine State Kids

The State Board of Education approved Sunshine State Kids as an SFO for 2026–27 on February 20, 2026. Sunshine says it works with Odyssey. Its purchasing handbook names PEP, but the public Odyssey Florida selector still shows only FES-EO and FES-UA as of August 8, 2026.

You'll know it's Sunshine if you see: an Odyssey login or emails from Sunshine State Kids.

Because the public materials conflict, we'd treat every Sunshine PEP detail as "get it in writing" until the route is clear. We explain exactly what we verified further down.

Not sure which one you have?

Do this in order:

1. Search your email for "scholarship award," "PEP," "EMA," "SMP," or "Odyssey." The organization's name should be on the message.
2. Look at the name and web address on your account login page.
3. Call the SFO shown in your award or funding notice.

Do not hand your child's personal details to a third-party directory just to figure out who your SFO is. You don't need to.

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The five doors a Florida PEP purchase moves through

Direct pay and reimbursement are the actual payment methods. The other doors are verification routes: a marketplace listing, state program status, a provider credential, or preauthorization. Keeping those jobs separate tells you what must be checked before money moves.

This is the map. Print it if you want.

Look at door 3 for a second. Reimbursement does not create blanket approval for a seller. The SFO reviews the exact expense, the exact student, the documents, any required credential, and the available balance. That single fact solves most of the confusion in Florida PEP.

And look at door 4. Your SFO cannot simply declare that an unqualified school is a PEP Hybrid school or that an unapproved online provider is state-approved. The outside status check still matters.

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Which vendor list should I use for what I'm buying?

The correct source depends on both the SFO and the purchase category. Step Up products and direct-pay services route through EMA. AAA purchases route through reimbursement. Sunshine's PEP route needs written confirmation. Schools, hybrid programs, and online providers need separate official status checks. Therapy services do not route through PEP at all.

Find your row. That's your answer.

Public sources vs. things only you can see

This distinction saves a lot of frustration.

If someone tells you a vendor is "definitely approved for PEP" and they've never seen your account or the exact expense, they're guessing. Kindly, but guessing.

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How do Step Up families find approved vendors in EMA?

Step Up families use three routes: MyScholarShop for products and curriculum, Find Providers for direct-pay services, and reimbursement for eligible expenses paid out of pocket. A public vendor profile is not the same thing as an item appearing in your child's live marketplace.

The public catalog nobody points you to

Step Up publishes a searchable vendor catalog on its main website. No login. No account. No funded status required. The page has public alphabet counts.

We counted it on August 8, 2026 by adding those counts:

Total: 162 public product-vendor profiles. No Q, X, or Z count appeared.

Now, an important honesty note, because this number gets abused: that's 162 Step Up product-vendor profiles across all scholarship programs. It is not "162 Florida PEP approved vendors." It doesn't include tutors or service providers, and it doesn't include AAA or Sunshine. We could not verify a clean public PEP-only subtotal, so we are not publishing one.

But it does settle one useful point: product-vendor information is not fully locked behind a funded account. The public catalog is real. What stays private is the live inventory and eligibility view tied to your child.

→ Open Step Up's public vendor catalog — free, no account required.

MyScholarShop is for stuff

Products. Curriculum. Books. Materials. It lives inside EMA.

What to know:

• Your child needs enough available money.
• An order can still face a rule or frequency check.
• Some items have limits on how often they can be bought.
• MyScholarShop purchases must ship to the Florida mailing address on the scholarship account.
• The public catalog and your live MyScholarShop are not the same thing.

Find Providers is for people and services

Tutoring. Classes. Choice Navigator sessions. This one is login-only, and what you see is tied to your student and program.

That last part matters more than families expect. A provider can be set up for one scholarship and invisible under another. Same business. Different door.

Step Up's broad marketplace description mentions therapy because EMA serves several scholarships. That does not make therapy a PEP expense. The 2026–27 service chart marks specialized therapy categories for FES-UA, not PEP.

Reimbursement is the third route, and it's the flexible one

You pay. You submit an itemized receipt or invoice, proof of payment, and any other required documents. Step Up reviews it.

Step Up says a complete reimbursement request may take up to 60 days after all required documents are submitted. If a request goes on hold and Step Up asks for more information, the 60-day period can restart when the missing material arrives. Plan your cash flow around that, not around hope.

Why can't I see a vendor I know accepts PEP?

Any of these could be the reason:

• Your student is awarded or confirmed but not funded yet
• The provider has not turned on a PEP service offering
• The provider only participates in a different scholarship
• The provider serves a different grade, region, or format
• The service is reimbursement-only
• The listing is under review
• You're looking in MyScholarShop for something that lives in Find Providers

Don't guess which one it is. Only your account, the provider, or Step Up can tell you.

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How do AAA PEP families find and pay vendors?

AAA Scholarship Foundation runs Florida PEP as a reimbursement program. Families pay for an authorized educational good or service themselves, then submit a reimbursement request through AAA's Scholarship Management Platform. AAA does not publish a Step Up-style product marketplace or PEP service-provider directory, so a MyScholarShop listing is not proof that AAA will reimburse the purchase.

If AAA holds your account, we have good news and bad news, and honestly they're the same news.

There is no AAA PEP vendor list to find. You're not missing it. AAA tells families to check whether the exact expense is authorized, pay for it, and request reimbursement through SMP.

That means the question "is this vendor approved?" usually isn't your first question. Your question is:

"Is this exact expense authorized under AAA's current PEP purchasing handbook, and do I have every document the request needs?"

That's it. If the expense, provider rule, purchase timing, paperwork, balance, and student all line up, the seller does not need a Step Up listing.

What AAA families need to line up before buying

• The expense category, checked against AAA's current 2026–27 purchasing handbook
• Confirmation that the student is funded
• A purchase made in the allowed school-year window
• An itemized receipt or paid invoice
• Proof of payment
• The student's name on the documentation when required
• Provider credentials if the category requires them

The AAA cash-flow problem, said plainly

AAA says PEP accounts are funded in four equal quarterly amounts on this schedule, subject to change:

• September 1
• November 1
• February 1
• April 1

Put that next to reimbursement-only and you get a real squeeze: you front 100% of the cost, and the money to cover it may not be in the account yet. For a family buying a $700 curriculum bundle in August, that's not a small thing.

We're not going to soften that. If fronting the cost would hurt your household, don't buy yet. Confirm the category first, check the funded balance, then spend.

AAA also states that PEP funds do not transfer between SFOs. They come from private FTC contributions, not one state account that follows your child from organization to organization. If your child stays eligible and receives a later scholarship from another SFO, AAA says the old AAA balance may still be used for authorized expenses, but the money itself does not move into the new SFO's system.

→ Read AAA's current PEP page and purchasing handbook before you buy — this is the rulebook for an AAA account.

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How do Sunshine State Kids PEP families find vendors?

Sunshine State Kids was approved as a Florida Scholarship Funding Organization for 2026–27 and publishes a handbook that names PEP. But Florida tells families to contact each SFO to determine which programs it administers, and Sunshine's public Odyssey application selector showed FES-EO and FES-UA — not PEP — when we checked on August 8, 2026. Get the PEP route in writing before you spend.

Sunshine is new. That's not a knock — it's just a fact, and it changes how carefully you should proceed.

Program-stated vs. verified

That is too much conflict to wave away.

A public sign-up page is not the same as a funded family's account. It would be irresponsible to tell you Sunshine does not offer PEP based only on the selector. It would be just as irresponsible to tell you the route is ready based only on a handbook that contains the wrong statute, the wrong funding description, and a tutor rule that conflicts with Florida law.

What you should do: call or message Sunshine before you spend a dollar. Ask these questions:

1. Is Sunshine actively administering PEP for my child in 2026–27?
2. Is my account direct pay, reimbursement, or both?
3. Which dated handbook controls my account?
4. What is my reimbursement deadline?
5. What credential must a PEP tutor or Choice Navigator hold?

Get the answer in writing. Save it.

→ Contact Sunshine State Kids — confirm the current PEP route before your first purchase, not after.

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What if Step Up is moving your PEP scholarship to AAA?

Step Up's 2026 transfer process applied only to students in PEP Pending Review status. Students already showing Scholarship Choice Confirmed PEP were not eligible for transfer consideration. Families who opted in and were transferred move from Step Up's marketplace system to AAA's reimbursement process. As of August 8, AAA says those families are being onboarded after their data is uploaded to SMP.

If you got that message, you probably felt your stomach drop. Let's just deal with it calmly.

What actually changes about spending: you lose the Step Up store and service marketplace for that account.

That's the honest summary. Step Up gives families MyScholarShop and Find Providers, where money can move without the parent fronting the full cost. AAA tells PEP families to pay first and submit for reimbursement. Same program. Very different cash-flow reality.

What doesn't change: the child's basic PEP status under Florida law, the authorized-use categories in section 1002.395, and the annual PEP duties — a Student Learning Plan, the required annual assessment, and a sworn compliance statement. But your purchasing handbook, portal, paperwork, and SFO-specific prohibitions can change.

Three details worth knowing now

• Only students in Pending Review were eligible for transfer consideration. Step Up says students in Scholarship Choice Confirmed PEP were not.
• AAA says families who opted in will receive an onboarding email after the data is uploaded into SMP.
• If a student is funded through AAA and later applies with Step Up for 2027–28, Step Up says the student will be treated as a new applicant, not a renewal student. Step Up also says a student who receives no 2026–27 PEP funding or declines the scholarship will be new, not renewal, for 2027–28.

If your account moved, your rulebook changed too. Read AAA's handbook from the top. Do not assume anything you learned in EMA still applies.

→ Check Step Up's PEP transfer FAQ and then follow the onboarding message from AAA.

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Direct pay vs. reimbursement vs. preauthorization

Direct pay moves scholarship funds through an SFO's system so the family usually does not pay out of pocket. Reimbursement requires the family to pay first and submit documents afterward. Preauthorization is a written decision about a specific planned expense; it is not a payment method and it does not guarantee that money is available.

Three different things. Families mix them up constantly.

The reimbursement rule that's worth real money

We flagged this at the top and we're going to say it again, because it's the single most valuable line in Step Up's purchasing guide:

If a parent buys a product identical to one offered on an SFO's online platform for a lower price, the SFO is required by law to reimburse the purchase.

Read that again. A Step Up family is not automatically stuck paying the marketplace price.

Say the store lists a science curriculum at $189 and you find the exact same set for $134 somewhere else. If the purchase and documentation meet the rule, that's $55 left for the next thing.

Do this if you use it:

• Screenshot the marketplace listing and price before you buy
• Screenshot the outside listing showing the exact same product
• Keep the itemized receipt and proof of payment together
• Make sure the purchase is for the same product, not a similar bundle or older edition

Cash payments to private sellers are not reimbursable under Step Up's guide, so no Facebook Marketplace handoff with a wad of twenties.

The three Step Up dates that end your school year

For Step Up 2026–27 PEP funds:

The preauthorization deadline comes first so there is time to get an answer, make the purchase, and submit the reimbursement request.

If your SFO is AAA or Sunshine, do not borrow Step Up's dates. Check the guide that controls your account.

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Can I use a vendor that isn't in MyScholarShop or EMA?

Often, yes. A marketplace listing is not the only route. Step Up allows reimbursement for eligible out-of-pocket purchases, AAA is reimbursement-based, and Florida law requires the SFO to review authorized uses. But an unlisted seller does not erase category, credential, documentation, timing, balance, or preauthorization rules.

This is the mental switch that fixes everything.

Stop asking: "Is this vendor approved?"

Start asking: "Is this exact item or service, for this child, under this scholarship, through this payment path, an eligible expense?"

Because a single seller can offer all of these at once:

• Items that are clearly eligible
• Items that are clearly prohibited
• Items eligible under a different scholarship but not PEP
• Items that need preauthorization first
• Services that need a credential
• Items the student already bought inside a frequency limit

The seller doesn't change. The answer does.

When a reimbursement request is set up to meet the rules

• The expense fits an authorized PEP category
• The purchase happened inside the allowed window
• The receipt or invoice is itemized, not "educational materials — $340"
• You have proof that you paid
• The provider meets any credential rule for that category
• You got preauthorization if it was required
• The child is funded and has enough money available
• The request follows the SFO's own prohibited-item list

When to stop and check first

• The seller says "PEP approved!" but cannot name your SFO or payment route
• You cannot tell which category the expense falls into
• The provider will not give you an itemized invoice
• A denial would actually hurt your family financially
• It is therapy
• It is a computer or tablet
• It is full-time online instruction
• You are using Sunshine and do not have a written PEP route

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Which service providers can PEP actually pay? The 22-category breakdown

Step Up's current service-category chart has 22 marketplace categories. PEP is marked eligible in 13 and not marked eligible in 9. The nine excluded categories include full-time private school, annual home-education evaluation, and the therapy or disability-service categories routed to FES-UA or New Worlds.

We built this table by going through Step Up's current service chart row by row and recording the PEP column. As far as we can tell, nobody has published this cut in one clean PEP-only table before.

The 13 categories marked for PEP

The 9 categories not marked for PEP

The old draft counted 21 because it left out eligible private school — full-time. That is the missing ninth no.

Two things this table tells you that most pages miss

One: PEP has a named hybrid-school route. In Step Up's current chart, "PEP Hybrid Eligible Private School" is marked in the PEP column. That does not mean every school calling itself hybrid qualifies. The school still needs current state status, and the student has to meet the in-person rule.

Two: you can buy some public-school services à la carte. Florida law allows contracted public-school or district services, including classes, and the AAA handbook gives examples such as courses and certain school programming. The district does not have to participate. But choosing PEP does not automatically slam every public-school door shut.

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Does Florida PEP pay for therapy providers?

No. Under the 2026–27 service charts and purchasing guides we reviewed, specialized therapies — including speech, occupational, physical, and applied behavior analysis services — are FES-UA expense categories, not PEP categories. A therapy provider appearing in a shared marketplace or third-party directory does not make the therapy payable with PEP funds.

We need to be blunt here, because this is where families lose the most money and the most time.

PEP will not pay for your child's specialized therapy. Not speech therapy. Not occupational therapy. Not physical therapy. Not ABA. Not specialized counseling billed as a therapy service.

Why so many parents believe otherwise

Because shared marketplaces and directories group several scholarships together.

You can log into a system that serves PEP and FES-UA, see a therapy provider, and reasonably assume that seeing the provider means PEP can pay. It doesn't. The service category still has to be marked for your scholarship.

Some therapy businesses also offer tutoring. If they do, the tutoring may be payable through PEP as tutoring, with the right credential, invoice, and SFO route. The therapy is still not.

If therapy is what your child actually needs

Then PEP is the wrong funding lane for that service, and we'd rather tell you that now than let you find out through a denial in November.

FES-UA is Florida's scholarship for students with qualifying disabilities. Its authorized uses include specialized services that PEP does not cover, and award amounts can differ based on the student's matrix or disability category.

→ See the Florida FES-UA therapy guide — start with the diagnosis and provider rules before you book care.

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What Florida PEP will not buy — and why your SFO matters

Some PEP no's are clear across the current guides: digital devices and specialized therapy are not eligible. But many of the eye-catching Step Up permissions are not statewide rules. Step Up allows certain items that AAA expressly prohibits, including Florida theme park admission and some household, outdoor, and physical-education equipment. Your SFO's guide wins.

This is where the old draft could have cost somebody real money. It treated Step Up's list like Florida's list.

It isn't.

The same purchase can get a different answer

That is not a small paperwork difference. It can be the difference between a paid claim and a hard denial.

No computers. None.

Step Up gives the detailed list below. AAA separately prohibits digital devices and digital peripheral devices, with examples including desktop computers, laptops, tablets, keyboards, monitors, scanners, and printers.

Under Step Up, the prohibited list includes:

• Desktop computers
• Laptops and Chromebooks
• Tablets
• E-readers
• Cell phones and smart watches
• Computer monitors
• Printers, including 3D printers
• Keyboards, mice, trackpads, and similar computer controls
• Headsets and speakers
• Scanners and external drives
• Virtual or augmented reality headsets

Step Up also prohibits Wi-Fi routers, modems, and extenders unless the modem or router is rented from the internet company and billed with the monthly service.

A parent doing school at the kitchen table is not allowed to buy the laptop the school happens on. We didn't write the rule. But you need to know it before you spend $600.

Step Up says yes to some genuinely surprising things

Under Step Up's current guide, these can qualify when the category and documentation fit:

• A television up to 55 inches
• Your in-home internet service at the Florida address on the account
• Kayaks, canoes, paddleboards, skateboards, and two- or three-wheel bicycles as P.E. equipment
• A sewing machine, ceramics kiln, stand mixer, or power tools for a matching elective
• Student gym memberships, sports lessons, team fees, and certain equipment
• One reimbursement request for one listed Florida theme park ticket or annual pass per student per school year, up to $299 before tax

That theme park rule is narrow. It covers the student's basic admission only. It does not cover parking, food, souvenirs, photos, premium access, or special-event tickets. The request has to stand on its own. A payment-plan request cannot claim money the family has not paid yet.

AAA is different. Its current handbook expressly prohibits theme park admission, family gym memberships, household and kitchen items, outdoor equipment, and vehicles. A Step Up parent saying “mine was covered” does not prove an AAA claim will pass.

Other hard no's

The current guides also block or sharply restrict purchases such as:

• Food and meals
• Gas, mileage, and ordinary transportation costs
• Overnight lodging
• Live animals and their food or housing
• Pools
• Cash or private-sale purchases
• Items that create a refund, rebate, or cash benefit for the family
• Items that pose a safety threat or promote violence or criminal behavior

And the limit that follows your child

Step Up places a once-every-two-years limit on certain equipment, including televisions, projectors, exercise equipment, bicycles, watercraft, playsets, and elective equipment. The guide says the clock follows the student across scholarship programs. Switching scholarships does not reset it, and buying two at once does not beat it.

Bottom line: before you copy a spending idea from a Facebook group, ask one more question: “Which SFO paid it?”

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How do I verify a PEP tutor or Choice Navigator?

A PEP tutor needs a qualifying credential. Part-time tutors and Choice Navigators have several possible paths. A full-time private tutor must hold a current, valid Florida teaching certificate and meet the hour and student-count rules. A marketplace listing and a credential are two separate checks.

Appearing in a directory is not enough here. Credentials are the approval.

Part-time tutoring — any one qualifying path can work

Florida law allows part-time tutoring or Choice Navigator services from a person who has one of these qualifications:

• A valid Florida educator's certificate
• An adjunct teaching certificate
• A bachelor's or graduate degree in the subject being taught
• Proof of subject-area mastery under Florida's educator-certification rules
• Certification from a nationally or internationally recognized research-based training program approved by the Florida Department of Education

Step Up's current provider materials also recognize specific proof paths such as a valid professional teaching certificate from another state, National Board or ABCTE certification, and a qualifying recent FTCE subject-area score. Its named research-based programs include Barton Reading & Spelling, Orton-Gillingham, Wilson Reading System, and MACTE Montessori training.

Do not reduce this to “the tutor charges less than $50 an hour, so no credential is needed.” Florida's PEP statute requires a qualifying credential for part-time tutoring and Choice Navigator services. A public handbook sentence that says otherwise does not erase the statute.

A Choice Navigator has the same basic credential lane as a part-time tutor. The person can help you choose curriculum, programs, enrollment options, and next steps. A Choice Navigator may not take control of your child's curriculum or academic program.

Full-time tutoring is a completely different animal

This one has real teeth:

• The tutor must hold a current, valid Florida teaching certificate for the subject or grade level
• Full-time means 720 hours a year for grades K–3
• Full-time means 900 hours a year for grades 4–12
• A full-time tutor may serve no more than 5 students at one time in the ordinary setup
• The limit can rise to 25 students in a qualifying facility, such as a commercial building with a certificate of occupancy, library, museum, theater, church, college facility, certain public facilities, or a recent school or licensed child-care building that meets the safety and land-use rules
• The tutor must certify compliance and file the tax and provider documents required by the SFO
• Tuition and fee schedules must be public

That 5-versus-25 rule is a fast way to test whether someone actually knows the program. Ask a “full-time tutor” how many students are in the group and where instruction happens. If the answer is foggy, keep checking.

Direct pay vs. reimbursement for tutors

A tutor can be qualified but not set up for direct pay. Those are two different questions.

For Step Up, look in Find Providers first. If the tutor is not there, reimbursement may still be possible when the category, credential, invoice, and documentation all fit. AAA families follow AAA's reimbursement process. Sunshine families need the written PEP route before they book.

Your tutoring invoice should show:

• Your child's full name
• The tutor's legal or business name
• The subject or service
• The dates or service period
• The rate and total
• Proof that you paid
• Any credential document your SFO requires

→ Check Step Up's current PEP tutor and Choice Navigator rules — check the credential before the first paid lesson, not after the first denial.

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Which private schools, hybrid schools, and microschools can PEP pay?

PEP can pay for part-time classes at an eligible private school, tuition and fees at a current PEP Hybrid eligible private school, and qualifying home education instructional programs. PEP cannot pay ordinary full-time tuition at a traditional private school. A school calling itself a “microschool” does not tell you which payment category it fits.

This is where the word “microschool” causes more trouble than any other word in Florida school choice.

“Microschool” is marketing. It is not a payment category. A microschool might be a PEP Hybrid private school, a home education instructional program, a tutoring program, a part-time private school, or something with no PEP route at all. You have to find out which one before you enroll.

How to check PEP Hybrid status in about 30 seconds

Go to the Florida Private School Directory. Pick your county. Then select PEP Hybrid Schools under scholarship participation.

The directory carries an important state disclaimer: Florida does not license, approve, or accredit ordinary private schools just because they appear in the database. For this check, you are using the PEP Hybrid Schools participation filter, not treating a plain directory listing as a state seal of quality.

If the school does not appear under the current PEP Hybrid filter, do not pay it as a PEP Hybrid school until the school and your SFO can show current status. A website using the word “hybrid” is not enough.

The two-day rule, and why it exists

Step Up's current PEP guide says a PEP Hybrid student must attend the school's physical location for at least two full school days each week, and the Student Learning Plan must cover the rest of the instructional time.

So a “hybrid” that meets once a week does not clear that route. And a fully online program is not a PEP Hybrid school. That is a different door entirely.

What a real parent says about why this matters

“It's for kids whose needs don't fit inside the one-size-fits-all system.” — Erica Wheeler, PEP parent, quoted in a Step Up For Students family story

Erica's daughter attended a microschool twice a week and learned at home the rest of the time. Lisa Bastola, a Florida mom who had homeschooled for 14 years, told WFTV that PEP helped her family add classes her 15-year-old needed. That year included woodworking, golf, and 3D printing alongside math and history.

Those are family experiences, not proof that a specific school, class, or expense is eligible for your child. Verify the current category and route before you sign a contract.

→ Look up PEP Hybrid schools in your county — choose the county, then use the PEP Hybrid Schools filter.

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Which online and virtual providers are approved for Florida PEP?

Florida's current page lists 12 approved Virtual Instruction Program providers and 10 approved online course providers — 22 entries as of August 8, 2026. But the payment rule is not one-size-fits-all: Step Up says PEP funds may not pay for full-time online instruction, while AAA's current handbook allows full-time online instruction through a qualifying FLDOE-approved Virtual Instruction Program provider. Sunshine families need written confirmation.

This section trips up more families than almost any other, so let's slow down.

There are three online doors, and they're not interchangeable

The state also warns that a private virtual school and a Virtual Instruction Program provider are not the same thing. The same company name appearing in one place does not prove every online program it sells qualifies.

The state's approved list, checked August 8, 2026

Virtual Instruction Program providers (12):

1. Accel Schools East
2. Connections Education of Florida, LLC
3. Florida Virtual School
4. Graduation Alliance
5. Imagine Learning
6. K12 Florida
7. K12 Preparatory Academy
8. Mater Virtual Academy
9. OptimaEd, Inc.
10. Second Mile Education
11. Somerset Virtual Academy
12. UCP of Central Florida

Approved online course providers (10):

1. Accelerate Education
2. Edmentum/Apex Learning
3. eDynamic Learning ULC
4. Founders Education LLC
5. Grade Results, Inc.
6. Harris Digital Learning
7. Lux Mundi Learning
8. National Highway Safety Administration
9. Unbound Academy
10. 2Sigma School, Inc.

Check three things on the state's page before you enroll: the provider type, the grade range, and the school year the approval runs through. Several entries expire after 2026–27. A name on the list is not enough when your child falls outside the approved grades or the approval year has ended.

Florida Virtual School has its own wrinkle

PEP students who use FLVS must use the private-pay route named by their SFO. If the student is enrolled and funded as a public-school student, the child may lose PEP eligibility and funding.

Same school. Two different enrollment routes. Pick the wrong one and the scholarship can disappear.

→ Check Florida's live approved-provider list — use the state page, then confirm the exact enrollment and payment route with your SFO.

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When does a Florida PEP purchase need preauthorization?

Preauthorization is written review before a purchase. Under Step Up's current guide, it is required for unlisted items or services, certain early replacements, and some out-of-state activities. Step Up accepts 2026–27 preauthorization requests through May 28, 2027. Approval does not prove that the provider qualifies or that enough money is available.

Think of preauthorization as asking permission in writing instead of hoping.

When to use it

For Step Up, stop and check when:

• The item or service is not listed as eligible in the current guide
• You want to replace covered equipment before its purchase-frequency limit ends
• A non-school field trip or activity will happen outside Florida
• The guide tells you the category needs preauthorization
• You cannot tell which category fits
• A denial would genuinely hurt your family

AAA and Sunshine do not automatically share Step Up's May 28 date or request process. Use the handbook and deadline tied to your own account.

What to put in the request

Be specific. Vague requests get delayed or become impossible to match to the final claim.

• Your student's name
• The exact item or service — brand, model, program, or course name
• How it supports the Student Learning Plan or educational need
• The seller or provider
• The approximate price
• The purchase date or service period
• Any supporting page, syllabus, description, or credential

What preauthorization does not do

It does not confirm that your account has enough money. It does not approve a different model, provider, price, or service period. It does not make an unqualified provider qualified. And it does not guarantee reimbursement.

Step Up says approvals are decided case by case and last only for the school year in which they were granted. Between review time and shopping time, waiting until late May is a bad bet.

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What should I check before I pay a PEP vendor?

Before paying, verify seven things: the SFO, the student, the category, the vendor or provider status, the payment path, the paperwork, and the deadline. A listing alone does not establish that a purchase will be paid.

Here's the whole thing on one card. This is what we'd want taped inside a cabinet door.

The 7-point check

Screenshot the rule, listing, price, and provider status you checked. Put the date in the filename. Save one folder per child and school year. It takes less than a minute and can save a month of back-and-forth.

Before you click pay, say this out loud: “I know which SFO controls this, which category it fits, and what document I will upload.”

If you cannot finish that sentence, stop.

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Why do PEP purchases and reimbursements get denied?

The clearest preventable denial risks in the current rules are a wrong category, weak documentation, a missing credential or preauthorization, an account problem, or a missed deadline. Step Up says a complete reimbursement may take up to 60 days to review, and a request placed on hold can take longer after more documents are submitted.

We looked at where the rules create the most obvious failure points. They cluster into four buckets.

1. Wrong category

• Therapy submitted under PEP
• Ordinary full-time private school tuition treated as a PEP expense
• A publicly funded online enrollment treated as private pay
• A recreational purchase submitted as instruction without a valid category
• A Step Up-only permission assumed to be an AAA permission
• A seller's “PEP approved” claim treated as proof for every item it sells

2. A weak invoice

This is the most fixable problem.

A weak invoice says: “Educational services — $450.” Or “Books.” Or “Amazon order.” Or “Monthly package.”

A strong invoice says: the student's name, provider or seller, exact item or service, subject or educational purpose, dates, rate, total, and proof of payment.

If the seller will not itemize, that is a warning sign about the seller, not a tiny paperwork problem.

3. Account or provider problems

• Awarded but not funded
• Not enough available balance
• A public-school crosscheck or account hold
• Wrong child or scholarship year selected
• A provider credential is missing or expired
• The student hit a purchase-frequency limit
• The provider is set up for another scholarship but not yours

Step Up says parents or guardians of Scholarship Choice Confirmed students must complete a public-school enrollment attestation before each quarter. For a PEP student, missing it can stop the next deposit until the requirement is fixed.

4. Timing

For Step Up's 2026–27 funds:

• Purchases must fall between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027
• Preauthorization requests are accepted through May 28, 2027
• Reimbursement requests are due by July 31, 2027

Step Up says a complete reimbursement request may take up to 60 days to review. If the request goes on hold for missing documents, do not plan your household budget as if the money will arrive next week.

AAA and Sunshine deadlines can differ. A Step Up screenshot does not extend another SFO's deadline.

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How much is the 2026–27 Florida PEP award?

The 2026–27 PEP award varies by the student's county of residence and grade band. The published statewide table runs from $7,463 for a Volusia County student in grades 9–12 to $12,217 for a Monroe County student in grades K–3. Florida law blocks a new deposit if the account already has a balance above $24,000.

You need to know your real number before you plan spending. The old draft understated the top by $2,041 because it treated Collier's $10,176 amount as the statewide maximum. Monroe is higher.

Sample 2026–27 amounts

Notice the pattern: younger students get more within each district. And the student's district is the county of residence shown on the 2026–27 scholarship application, not the county where a vendor happens to be.

Money can roll over — up to a point

Unused PEP funds can remain in the account while the student stays eligible and the account stays open. But Florida law says an SFO may not transfer another deposit into an account with a balance above $24,000.

That is a deposit ceiling, not permission to spend outside the rules. And current law can close an inactive account after two consecutive fiscal years, with the remaining money reverting as the statute directs.

The 2026–27 enrollment cap

Florida's PEP cap is 140,000 funded students for 2026–27. The statute began at 20,000 in 2023–24 and allows 40,000 more each following school year. That cap provision is repealed on July 1, 2027, so 2026–27 is the final capped year under the current law.

The Florida Department of Education's public PEP FAQ still shows the old 2025–26 number of 100,000 and says the cap disappears in future years. The statute is the controlling source for the 2026–27 math.

→ Open the official 2026–27 award table — use the district and grade band tied to your child.

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How we built and verified this guide

We compared the current Florida statute, Florida Department of Education records, and the published 2026–27 materials of Step Up, AAA, and Sunshine. Counts were made from official pages on August 8, 2026. Vendor marketing and independent directory listings were not treated as proof of PEP eligibility.

The School Choice Index is an independent comparison and research resource for U.S. school choice programs. We do not take money from schools or vendors to change the facts on this page.

Where we got our facts, in order of authority

1. Current Florida statute and enacted 2026 laws
2. Florida Department of Education and State Board of Education records
3. Each SFO's current purchasing guide or handbook
4. Each SFO's official account and deadline pages
5. Official provider and school-status sources
6. Attributable family stories for experience only, never for eligibility
7. Independent directories and parent groups for discovery or friction only, never as the rulebook

What the 2026 legislative session changed — and what it did not

We checked the current session rather than assuming every proposed bill became law.

• SB 318 did not become law. It died in Messages, so its proposed scholarship changes are not current rules.
• SB 182 became law. Its scholarship-account changes include when inactive or otherwise closed accounts revert, but it did not replace the vendor-routing framework used in this guide.
• We found no final court ruling that changes the 2026–27 PEP vendor, expense, or payment rules used here. A 2026 suit against Step Up contains allegations about payments; a filed complaint is not a ruling and is not a purchasing guide. We removed it from the decision path.

What we actually verified

• Three SFOs on Florida's 2026–27 approved list
• Step Up's EMA, MyScholarShop, Find Providers, reimbursement, and preauthorization routes
• 162 public Step Up product-vendor profiles across all scholarships, counted from the page's alphabet totals
• 22 Step Up service categories: 13 marked for PEP and 9 not marked for PEP
• AAA's reimbursement process and four quarterly funding dates
• Sunshine's February 20, 2026 SFO approval, Odyssey relationship, PEP handbook claims, and the conflict with its public Odyssey selector
• The Step Up-to-AAA Pending Review transfer terms that were still published on August 8, 2026
• The statutory lower-price reimbursement rule for an identical marketplace product
• Step Up's May 28, 2027 preauthorization deadline, June 30 purchase cutoff, July 31 reimbursement deadline, and up-to-60-day review statement
• The SFO-specific spending differences, including Step Up's $299 Florida theme park rule and AAA's theme park ban
• Tutor credentials, 720/900-hour full-time rules, and 5-versus-25 student limits
• The PEP Hybrid two-day rule and the state's PEP Hybrid directory filter
• 22 state online-provider entries: 12 VIP providers and 10 online course providers
• The $7,463 to $12,217 2026–27 award range
• The $24,000 account-balance deposit ceiling
• The 140,000-student 2026–27 cap and July 1, 2027 repeal date

What we did not verify, and won't claim we did

• We did not log into a funded family's account. We did not place an order in EMA, submit a claim in SMP, or spend through Odyssey. Your account can differ by child, program, grade, region, funding status, and date.
• We could not verify a public PEP-only subtotal inside Step Up's 162-profile product catalog. We publish the all-program total and nothing more.
• Sunshine's public PEP route is still unclear. Its handbook names PEP, while its public Odyssey selector did not show PEP on August 8, 2026. We report the conflict instead of guessing.
• A state directory listing is not a quality rating, accreditation, or promise that a school is right for your child.
• No source can guarantee that your future reimbursement will be approved.

How this page is independent

The School Choice Index may charge schools a flat monthly fee for parent-selected introductions elsewhere on the site. Payment never affects coverage, verification, article content, rankings, badges, or result order. No school or vendor paid to appear — or disappear — from this guide.

If any rule changes, we will date the change and say what moved.

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Frequently asked questions about Florida PEP approved vendors

Is there a printable Florida PEP approved vendor list? No single printable list covers every SFO and category. Step Up publishes a public product-vendor catalog, Florida publishes school and online-provider status sources, and service availability can depend on the family's private account. AAA does not use a Step Up-style PEP vendor list.

Is MyScholarShop the Florida PEP vendor list? No. MyScholarShop is Step Up's product marketplace. Services use Find Providers, many outside purchases use reimbursement, and AAA families do not use MyScholarShop.

Is Find Providers the same as MyScholarShop? No. MyScholarShop is for products. Find Providers is for services, such as tutoring and classes. Looking in the wrong one is a common reason a family thinks a provider has vanished.

Does AAA use MyScholarShop? No. AAA directs PEP families through its own SMP and reimbursement process. A Step Up profile does not prove AAA will reimburse an expense.

Does Sunshine State Kids currently offer PEP? Florida lists Sunshine as an approved SFO, and Sunshine's public handbook names PEP. But its public Odyssey Florida selector still did not show PEP on August 8, 2026. Get written confirmation tied to your account before you spend.

Can I buy from Amazon or a regular store? Often, through reimbursement, when the exact item is eligible and the receipt meets your SFO's rules. The retailer is not blanket-approved. Cash and private-sale purchases are not reimbursable under the current guides we reviewed.

Can PEP pay a tutor who is not in Find Providers? Often, through reimbursement, if the tutor holds a qualifying credential and gives you the documents your SFO requires. Confirm the credential and reimbursement route before the first paid session.

Can PEP pay for a microschool? It depends on the microschool's real category. It may be a PEP Hybrid private school, a part-time private school, a home education instructional program, or a tutoring setup. “Microschool” alone answers nothing about payment.

Can PEP pay for an online school? It can pay qualifying online courses or approved virtual-provider tuition. Full-time rules differ by SFO: Step Up says no full-time online instruction; AAA allows it only through a qualifying FLDOE-approved VIP route. FLVS must be private pay, not publicly funded.

Can PEP pay for therapy? No. Specialized speech, occupational, physical, ABA, and therapy services are FES-UA categories, not PEP categories.

Can PEP buy a laptop or tablet? No. Step Up and AAA both prohibit the common digital devices, including laptops, desktops, tablets, Chromebooks, monitors, and printers.

Can Step Up PEP buy a theme park ticket? Step Up's 2026–27 guide allows one reimbursement request for one listed Florida theme park ticket or annual pass per student, up to $299 before tax, with strict limits. AAA prohibits theme park admission. Do not turn Step Up's permission into a statewide rule.

Does preauthorization guarantee I'll get paid? No. Step Up states that approval is not confirmation of provider eligibility or available funding. The item, provider, documents, balance, and deadline still have to fit.

Why can't I see a vendor in EMA that another parent can see? It can be funding status, a different scholarship, an inactive service offering, grade or region, a marketplace-versus-reimbursement difference, or a hold. Only your account or SFO can tell you the actual reason.

Does being listed on The School Choice Index mean a vendor or school is approved? No. We are an independent guide. Only the controlling SFO and official state status sources determine what may be paid. A school cannot buy a ranking, verification result, badge, or place in the order.

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Your next step

If you remember one thing from this page, make it this: find out which organization holds your child's account, then match the exact purchase to the right category and payment route. Everything else follows from those two moves.

You've got real money and a real kid and a school year that already started. That's enough pressure without a scavenger hunt for a list that was never in one place.

→ Use the PEP vendor route table — choose your SFO and purchase before you open your wallet.

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The School Choice Index is an independent comparison and research resource for U.S. school choice programs. This page explains public program rules and verification steps. It is not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not guarantee that any application, purchase, provider, school, payment, or reimbursement will be approved. Confirm the current rule with the Scholarship Funding Organization that controls your child's account before you spend.

Primary sources: Florida Statutes §1002.395 · Florida's approved Scholarship Funding Organizations · Step Up 2026–27 PEP Purchasing Guide · Step Up PEP Family Handbook · Step Up public product-vendor catalog · Step Up service-category chart · AAA Florida PEP page · AAA 2026–27 purchasing handbook · Sunshine State Kids · Sunshine purchasing handbook · Florida Private School Directory · Florida approved online and virtual providers · Official 2026–27 award table · Florida Chapter 2026-33 / SB 182

Last verified: August 8, 2026