Florida PEP Home Education Instructional Programs: What Qualifies in 2026-27

By The School Choice Index Editorial Team · Last verified: August 11, 2026 · Rules checked for the 2026-27 school year · Data version 1.0

The School Choice Index is an independent comparison and research resource for U.S. school choice programs.

Some providers pay a flat monthly fee for parent-selected introductions. Payment never affects coverage, content, or result order. This guide has no paid placements and does not verify any individual program.

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Florida PEP home education instructional programs are parent-chosen programs, courses, or classes that become part of a child's ongoing instruction. Florida law lets PEP funds pay their tuition and fees for full-time or part-time enrollment. But the law does not define one statewide test for what a program must look like.

That leaves three scholarship funding organizations — Step Up For Students, AAA Scholarship Foundation, and Sunshine State Kids Foundation — applying three different public rulebooks. Step Up publishes a three-part HEIP test. AAA publishes a different four-part test. Sunshine's public 2026-27 handbook does not contain a HEIP-specific test at all.

And one change matters right now: Step Up's July 23, 2026 change log removed the old published-fee-schedule requirement and the old physical-location requirement. AAA still requires a published fee schedule. Sunshine families need a written answer before paying because its public handbook does not say what makes a provider a HEIP.

That's why you've been getting different answers. You're not missing something.

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Check your program before you pay for it

Answer these six questions. Then jump to the section that matches your answer. Two minutes, no email, no account.

1. Who manages your PEP account?

• Step Up For Students — you log into EMA → use the Step Up column everywhere on this page
• AAA Scholarship Foundation — you log into SMP → use the AAA column
• Sunshine State Kids Foundation — you use its Odyssey portal → use the Sunshine column and get unclear cases in writing
• Not sure → check your award email or account portal; the rules genuinely differ

2. Who are you paying?

• A business or nonprofit organization → keep going, you may have a home education instructional program
• One individual person → check part-time tutoring or full-time private tutoring first (jump)
• A registered private school → different door (jump)
• A public or charter school → different door (jump)
• A curriculum or product company → that's usually curriculum or instructional materials (jump)

3. Is this your child's full-time program — their whole school?

• A full-time public school or traditional private school → stop. That is not the PEP track
• A full-time online program → careful; Step Up prohibits full-time online instruction, and AAA routes full-time online through approved VIP providers (jump)
• One full-time private tutor → check the separate full-time private tutoring category
• A full-time independent co-op, microschool, or learning program → do not assume yes or no; Florida law allows full-time HEIP enrollment, but the provider still has to fit your SFO's rules
• Part time → keep going

4. How is it taught?

• In person → cleanest case
• Live online → careful, live instruction has its own rule (jump)
• Recorded, self-paced → that's usually curriculum, not this category (jump)
• A mix → get the category in writing before you pay

5. Can the program give you a written description of its classes or activities?

• Yes → good, save it
• No → that's a red flag at every SFO

6. Where did you find out it takes PEP?

• The exact service appears in my own account portal under the right category → strongest evidence you can see before payment
• The program told me → verify it yourself, kindly but firmly
• A Facebook group or a directory listed it → that's not proof of anything (here's why)

Got your answer? Find your exact program type in the routing table below. It tells you which category to check first, for your organization, and what to save.

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Where things stand right now (2026-27)

Sources: Florida Statutes s. 1002.395; Step Up 2026-27 scholarship amounts; Step Up deadlines and payment schedule; AAA PEP page; Sunshine purchasing handbook. All checked August 11, 2026.

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Is this page for you?

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What are Florida PEP home education instructional programs?

A Florida PEP home education instructional program — often shortened to HEIP — is an expense category. It pays tuition and fees for a parent-chosen program, course, or class that is part of a PEP student's sequential instruction. It is not the family's legal home education status, and it is not a catch-all label for every co-op, tutor, private school, or online provider.

Here's the plain-English version.

You're in charge. PEP puts the parent in charge of the child's education. But you don't have to do all of it yourself. This category exists so you can bring in an outside program — the Tuesday science lab, the writing class, the two-day-a-week co-op, or even a fuller program that still fits PEP — and pay tuition or fees with scholarship money.

The program helps. You still steer.

Florida law backs this up in one line. Section 1002.395(6)(d)4.d. of the Florida Statutes says scholarship funds can cover tuition and fees associated with full-time or part-time enrollment in a home education instructional program. That is the legal basis for this category.

Three terms that sound the same and aren't

This is where most of the confusion starts. Florida uses three similar phrases for three different things.

A scholarship funding organization, or SFO, is the nonprofit that manages your child's account and reviews spending. Florida has three approved for 2026-27: Step Up For Students, AAA Scholarship Foundation, and Sunshine State Kids Foundation. The Florida Department of Education's current SFO roster lists all three, even though its PEP FAQ still says families apply to "one of the two approved SFOs." We flag that because you'll hit it, and it'll make you doubt yourself.

What "part of sequential instruction" means for you

The class needs a real place in your child's learning. The program should be able to say what it teaches. You should be able to explain how it fits your child's plan. Watching kids during school hours isn't instruction just because it happens at 10 a.m.

Step Up and AAA put program or class descriptions inside their HEIP tests. Sunshine does not publish a HEIP test, but its general handbook says it may ask for lesson plans, academic justification, or student-specific goals to show educational benefit.

If you can't answer "what is my child learning there?", a reviewer probably can't either.

The one honest catch

Let's get this out of the way, because it's the thing that trips people up and it's better to hear it now.

No one can promise you in advance that a specific purchase will be paid. And the word "full-time" is not the answer by itself. The legal type of program is what matters.

PEP cannot be used while a child is enrolled full time in a public school or in the traditional full-time private-school scholarship track. But Florida law separately allows full-time or part-time HEIP tuition and full-time private tutoring. Step Up separately prohibits full-time online instruction. AAA sends full-time online instruction through the approved Virtual Instruction Program route. Sunshine does not explain the full-time HEIP line in its public handbook.

So if what you want is one traditional private school, one campus, one tuition bill, and one clear payment path, the full-time private-school scholarship route is usually cleaner. We'd rather send you there than watch you fight the wrong category.

But here's the trade you're actually getting. One child can combine a co-op, a piano teacher, a college class, curriculum, a testing fee, and part-time private-school classes in the same year. If an eligible private school is part of the plan, Florida law gives the tuition and fees you owe that school first claim before the rest of the account can go to other authorized uses.

The flexibility is real. The order still matters. That's the whole point of the program.

You just have to classify each piece correctly. Which is exactly what the rest of this page does.

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What Step Up requires — and the two rules it just removed

Step Up For Students' current PEP Purchasing Guide, last modified August 4, 2026, lists three requirements for a home education instructional program: the parent selected it as part of parent-directed instruction, it provides courses or activities that enhance or enrich learning, and it is a business organization rather than an individual. Step Up's change log, last modified July 23, 2026, states that the published-tuition-and-fee requirement and the physical-location requirement were both removed for 2026-27.

We opened the purchasing guide, the change log, and both current provider documents. Here's exactly what changed.

Step Up's current test

1. You picked it as part of your child's parent-directed instruction.
2. It adds to or enriches your child's learning opportunities.
3. It's a business organization. Step Up says tuition and fees may not be payable to an individual — with one narrow exception for regional program directors or designated liaisons of national home education communities.

And it names what a HEIP is not. Step Up's parent guide says private schools, virtual schools, and public or charter schools are not home education instructional programs. Its provider documents also exclude full-time private tutoring programs because those have a separate category.

What Step Up removed on July 23, 2026

Step Up publishes a "Program Handbooks and Purchasing Guides Summary of Changes" page. Under the HEIP item, it lists exactly two removals:

Read that second one again. For 2026-27, Step Up no longer rejects a home education instructional program just because it lacks a physical building.

If you searched this topic six months ago and read that a home-based program could not qualify, that guidance is out of date. Online delivery still has separate rules, which we cover below.

The fee schedule stayed in the paperwork

Here's the part that will save you a phone call. The fee schedule came off the eligibility test. It did not come off the direct-billing paperwork.

To make services available for direct billing in EMA, Step Up's current Home Education Instructional Program External Guide says a program still must provide:

• A tuition and fee schedule
• A completed Home Education Participation Agreement
• Descriptions of its courses or activities

So a published fee schedule is no longer one of Step Up's three category criteria. A fee schedule is still a document the program has to upload to get set up for direct billing. Two different things, and mixing them up is why you'll find people online arguing about which version is real.

One more change matters if you paid early: Step Up says eligible HEIP fees can be paid and reimbursed in the previous school year once the HEIP is approved by Step Up. Translation — if you put down a summer deposit for fall classes, Step Up has a path for that, but only after the program is approved on its end.

Hold that thought. AAA handles it the opposite way, and Sunshine's public handbook does not answer it for HEIPs.

Next step: The rules above are Step Up's. See all three SFO rulebooks side by side →

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Step Up vs. AAA vs. Sunshine: three SFOs, two published HEIP tests

Step Up For Students, AAA Scholarship Foundation, and Sunshine State Kids Foundation are all approved SFOs for 2026-27. Step Up and AAA publish different HEIP tests. Sunshine publishes a 2026-27 purchasing handbook, but that handbook does not contain a section or criteria for home education instructional programs. Families must follow the rules of the organization holding the account — and Sunshine families should get the category and payment path in writing before paying.

This table is the reason this page exists. All three public rulebooks were read in full on August 11, 2026.

The three sentences that explain everything above

At Step Up, the program gets set up. At AAA, the family pays and asks for reimbursement. At Sunshine, the public handbook does not tell you the HEIP test or payment path.

Step Up runs a provider system. A program signs an agreement, uploads its class descriptions and fee schedule, and can become billable inside EMA. There is a real provider-setup process.

AAA tells families straight out that Florida designed PEP as a reimbursement program. You pay, then you submit the paid receipt through SMP. AAA reviews the expense under its published test.

Sunshine uses Odyssey for applications and fund management. Its public handbook talks about marketplace orders, reimbursements, deadlines, and broad PEP expense categories. But the phrase home education instructional program does not appear in it. There is no public HEIP test to apply from that document.

Once you see that, a lot of the confusion makes sense. Three parents compare notes, get three answers, and may all be describing their own SFO correctly.

Why Florida law leaves room for different answers

Florida law authorizes tuition and fees for full-time or part-time HEIP enrollment. It does not define the provider criteria inside that sentence.

The 2026 Legislature considered a bill that would have added a statewide HEIP definition and requirements. Senate Bill 318 reached House messages, then died on March 13, 2026. The education bill that did become chapter 2026-33 changed scholarship-account reimbursement and reversion language, but it did not create a statewide HEIP test.

That means the public tests still come from the SFO handbooks and provider processes, not from one complete state definition.

What "not stated" does not mean

We have to be careful here, and so should you.

AAA's handbook does not list Step Up's business-organization rule. Sunshine's public handbook does not list any HEIP rule. That is not permission to invent your own test. It means the public document does not answer that point.

If you're paying one person for live teaching, check the tutoring rules first no matter which organization you're with. If you're using Sunshine, ask the organization to name the exact category and required proof in writing.

AAA says each SFO is an independent nonprofit with its own policies and procedures. Read that as an invitation to verify, not to guess.

If your account moved this year, read this twice

Some Step Up PEP families moved to AAA for 2026-27. Three things change when that happens:

1. Your cash flow changes. AAA is reimbursement-based. Budget to pay the program first.
2. Your HEIP test changes. The published-fee-schedule requirement Step Up dropped is a requirement again at AAA.
3. Your funded balance does not transfer. AAA states that funded PEP accounts are not transferable between SFOs. As long as the student remains eligible, money already held at the old SFO may continue to be used for authorized expenses, while a later year's scholarship can be managed by a different SFO.

So yes, you may end up dealing with two balances in two places. But the old balance did not move. Keep the receipts, dates, and rulebook tied to the SFO that actually holds each dollar.

Next step: Ambiguous case? Don't argue about which document is newer while a deposit is due. Copy the written-confirmation email and send it today →

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Does my co-op, microschool, or learning center count?

A provider's label does not decide the category. The same word — "co-op," "microschool," "learning center," "academy" — can describe a home education instructional program, a tutoring service, a private school, an approved hybrid school, or an arrangement that no PEP category covers. What decides it is who operates it, what legal type it is, how instruction is delivered, whether it is full time, and which SFO holds your account.

Find your situation. The middle column is the category to check first — not a guarantee of payment.

Four levels of evidence — and none guarantees payment

When a program says "we're PEP approved," ask what that actually means:

1. The business exists. Fine. That does not classify the service.
2. The business appears in a portal or private list. Better. Still not enough.
3. The exact service appears under the right expense category for your SFO. Now we're talking.
4. You have the service description, dates, price, provider proof, account balance, and written category answer for this transaction. That's the strongest file you can build before paying.

Even level 4 is not a guarantee. A final review can still turn on timing, documentation, eligibility, or available balance. But most parents stop at level 2 and then get surprised. A provider offering five different things may only have some of them set up under the category you need.

What a clean provider answer looks like

A program that understands PEP should be able to tell you:

• Its exact legal name
• The exact service you are buying
• Which SFO it works with
• Which expense category it uses
• Whether payment is direct or reimbursement
• What appears on the invoice
• What happens to your deposit if the SFO rejects the expense

If the answer is only "we take PEP," you do not have the answer yet.

Next step: If your program landed in a different category, don't stop — the money may still be there, just through another door. See the Florida PEP eligible-provider guide →

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Can an online program be a Florida PEP home education instructional program?

Under Step Up For Students' 2026-27 rules, an online or home-based program is no longer disqualified just because it lacks a physical location. But three separate rules still apply: a virtual school is not a Step Up HEIP, live online instruction has its own routing rule, and Step Up says PEP funds may not pay for full-time online instruction. So an online-only program is a get-it-in-writing case rather than an automatic yes or no.

Let's take it apart, because this is one of the most-asked versions of the question.

What changed: Step Up removed the physical-location requirement. Full stop. That's a real change with a real date.

What didn't change: Step Up's guide still lists virtual schools among the things that are not HEIPs. It says self-paced, prerecorded online courses fit the Curriculum category. It also says live online instruction must use the approved online or virtual provider category, and other live instruction must meet part-time tutoring rules.

And the hard stop at Step Up: PEP scholarship funds may not be used for full-time online instruction.

The same question at AAA

AAA splits it differently. Its handbook allows a stand-alone online class, then says that class may not include live, interactive instruction. For full-time online instruction, AAA points families to a Florida Department of Education-approved Virtual Instruction Program provider.

AAA's HEIP test also says a program may not be a full-time or full-time-equivalent virtual school. That does not erase the statute's full-time HEIP language. It tells you that a full-time virtual school has a different door.

The same question at Sunshine

Sunshine's public handbook lists stand-alone online classes and FLVS private-pay use among broad PEP expenses. It does not publish a HEIP-specific section, and it does not explain when an online program is a HEIP, curriculum, tutoring, or an approved virtual provider.

That is a written-confirmation case. Do not borrow Step Up's answer and assume Sunshine uses it.

Two phrases people mix up that cost real money

A private virtual school and an FLDOE-approved Virtual Instruction Program provider are not the same thing. The state warns families about that distinction and keeps live lists of approved providers.

As of August 11, 2026, the live FLDOE page lists:

• 12 Virtual Instruction Program entries when Florida Virtual School is included
• 10 approved online course providers
• 5 approvals that expressly run only through the 2026-27 school year: Graduation Alliance, Mater Virtual Academy, Somerset Virtual Academy, Grade Results, and 2Sigma School

Use the live state list before you enroll. AAA's June 29 handbook already differs from the current FLDOE page on four newly approved providers. The handbook says Lux Mundi Learning, Unbound Academy, Second Mile Education, and UCP of Central Florida are approved through 2026-27. The live state page says their approvals begin with 2026-27. Use the live state page for current approval status.

Check the current FLDOE approved provider list →

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The email to send when you're not sure

Some cases genuinely can't be settled from a webpage. Online-only programs. Home-based programs. Informal co-ops. Full-time independent programs. Anything where the provider sells several kinds of services. Any Sunshine HEIP question until Sunshine publishes a specific test.

For those, stop reading and start typing. Here's wording you can copy — it asks the one question that gets a usable answer, and it creates a record.

Subject: Expense category confirmation — 2026-27 FTC-PEP account Hello, My child has a 2026-27 FTC-PEP scholarship account with your organization. I am planning to pay a Florida provider for the following: - Provider legal name: - Service: - Delivery: in person / live online / recorded - Schedule: hours per week, start date, and end date - Full time or part time: - Cost and deposit terms: Should this be submitted as Tuition & Fees for a Home Education Instructional Program, or under a different category? Please confirm in writing which category applies, what documentation you need, whether the provider must complete any setup first, and whether this is direct pay, marketplace purchase, or reimbursement. Thank you.

Then save the reply. Not a screenshot of a Facebook comment — the actual reply, with the date.

Three habits worth building while you're at it: save a dated copy of the current purchasing-guide page, name your files so you can find them (2026-08-11-provider-service-category.pdf works), and never pay a nonrefundable deposit on a case you haven't confirmed.

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If it's not a home education instructional program, what pays for it?

"Not a home education instructional program" rarely means "PEP can't pay for it." Florida PEP has separate categories for tutoring, part-time private school tuition, approved hybrid private schools, curriculum, approved online and virtual providers, dual enrollment, and contracted public school services. Each has its own requirements, its own approval path, and its own paperwork.

Every door below is a real, current PEP category. Find yours.

Part-time tutoring

For an individual teaching your child part time. Florida law allows several credential paths: a valid Florida educator's certificate, an adjunct teaching certificate, a bachelor's or graduate degree in the subject, demonstrated mastery of the subject area, or certification from a nationally or internationally recognized research-based training program approved by FLDOE.

Step Up's guide names examples of approved research-based training programs, including the Barton Reading & Spelling System, the Orton-Gillingham Approach, the Wilson Reading System, and the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education.

Bring the credential up front. It's the whole ballgame in this category.

Full-time private tutoring

A separate statutory category under s. 1002.43, not a home education instructional program. The tutor needs a current, valid Florida teaching certificate for the subject or grade level.

Full time means:

• 720 hours a year for grades K-3
• 900 hours a year for grades 4-12

A full-time tutor can serve up to five students at once. The limit can rise to 25 in a qualifying commercial building, library, museum, performing arts venue, theater, cinema, church facility, college or university facility, similar public institution, or certain former school or child-care facilities that meet the safety and land-use rules.

This is the clean answer to one of the draft's biggest traps: PEP can pay for a full-time private tutoring program. It has its own category, not the HEIP category.

Part-time private school tuition

Yes, PEP can pay a private school — as long as your child is not enrolled there full time under the traditional private-school track. The school has to be eligible and elect to participate.

You can look it up in the Florida Private Schools Directory. A school's directory status supports the private-school category. It does not turn the school into a HEIP.

PEP Hybrid private school

This is the formal version of "hybrid," and it has teeth. Step Up describes it as an FLDOE-approved hybrid private school program where PEP students attend in person at least two full school days per week, with the Student Learning Plan covering the rest of the instructional time.

You can filter for eligible PEP Hybrid schools in the state private-school directory. A program calling itself "hybrid" in an ad is not the same thing as being listed in this formal category.

For 2026-27, Step Up also added eligible Hybrid Private School tuition and fees for FES-UA students, with a Student Learning Plan covering the time outside the two in-person days. That is a different scholarship rule, but it explains why you may now see both PEP and FES-UA families using the same hybrid-school language.

Curriculum and instructional materials

Florida law defines curriculum as a complete course of study for a content area or grade level, including required supplemental materials and associated online instruction. Recorded, self-paced online courses live here at Step Up.

One warning worth its own line: PEP cannot buy digital devices. Step Up's 2026-27 materials state that FTC-PEP students cannot use funds for computers, laptops, tablets, or related peripherals by reimbursement or through the marketplace. Sunshine's public handbook also lists computers, laptops, and tablets as unavailable to PEP. Do not try to move a prohibited device into another category because a class requires it.

Approved online or virtual provider

This is the door for approved online courses and Virtual Instruction Program providers. Use the live FLDOE provider page, not a private virtual-school label and not an old list copied into a handbook.

At Step Up, live online instruction belongs here. At AAA, full-time online instruction belongs with an approved VIP provider. Sunshine's public handbook does not publish a HEIP-versus-online routing rule, so ask before paying.

Contracted public school services

Your PEP child can buy single classes or programs from a public or charter school on a private-pay basis. Florida law says a student receiving contracted services is not considered enrolled in public school for PEP eligibility purposes.

But the district must treat the child as a private-pay, part-time participant. If the district reports your child for full-time state funding, PEP eligibility is at risk. Districts also do not have to offer the service. Participation is optional for them.

Dual enrollment and postsecondary

Available to PEP students. Current Step Up guidance confirms that eligible dual-enrollment expenses may be paid when they count toward high-school completion and a certificate or degree. Early-admission dual enrollment does not by itself end scholarship eligibility.

The postsecondary institution still has to fit the statutory list, and a charge must be an eligible tuition, fee, or related expense. "College class" is not enough detail for a reimbursement request.

If your child's program is full time

Then stop using the number of days as your only test. The legal type of program matters more than the schedule.

If what you really want is one traditional school all week with tuition covered first, start with the Florida school-choice overview →. If what you want is a parent-directed mix, keep using the category test on this page.

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Is there a list of approved Florida PEP home education instructional programs?

No complete public statewide HEIP list was located from the Florida Department of Education, Step Up For Students, AAA Scholarship Foundation, or Sunshine State Kids Foundation as of August 11, 2026. Step Up sets up individual programs and services inside EMA. AAA reviews reimbursement requests. Sunshine's public handbook does not publish a HEIP list or a HEIP-specific approval process.

We looked. Then we read the statute to understand why we couldn't find one.

Current s. 1002.395 requires each SFO to publish a purchasing handbook and gives FLDOE several program-reporting and publication duties. It does not direct FLDOE or the SFOs to maintain a statewide public HEIP directory. We found no such directory from the state or any of the three SFOs.

What that means for you, in order of how much it should reassure you:

1. The exact service in your own portal is the best visible evidence. At Step Up, make sure it appears under the right category. At Sunshine, a marketplace listing still does not replace a HEIP category answer.
2. Step Up's signed HEIP participation agreement is useful evidence. Ask the program whether it has completed the current setup.
3. A written answer from your SFO is useful evidence. Use the email above.
4. A private directory listing is not approval. Of anything.

That last one includes us. A listing on any private website — a Facebook group, a paid provider directory, or The School Choice Index — is not approval. We're not going to publish a list of "approved HEIPs" on this page, because a wrong or stale entry could cost a family real money.

If anyone builds a serious directory, each row should carry:

• Exact provider legal name
• Exact service, not only the business name
• SFO
• Expense category
• Evidence link or dated screenshot
• Date verified
• Recheck date
• Direct-pay or reimbursement path
• Plain statement that none of it guarantees payment

One thing to watch while you search: some Florida homeschool directories use "PEP" to mean Providence Extension Program, a completely different thing from the state's Personalized Education Program. Same three letters. Very different consequences.

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Do I have to quit my district home education program?

Yes. A funded PEP student registers with a scholarship funding organization, not with the school district's home education program. Florida law makes a student ineligible for a Florida Tax Credit scholarship while participating in a home education program under s. 1002.41, and FLDOE tells families receiving PEP funds to file a written notice ending the district home education program. PEP families instead submit a Student Learning Plan and annual test results to their SFO.

This one is a hard rule, not a preference. Section 1002.395(4)(e) says a student is not eligible for the scholarship while participating in a home education program as defined in s. 1002.01(1).

The organizations have built process around it. Step Up publishes a termination-letter template. AAA says that if your student is enrolled in a district home education program, you must disenroll before AAA will review the Student Learning Plan. Sunshine's handbook also describes PEP students as registered with an SFO rather than under s. 1002.41.

Here's what each track asks of you:

What you don't lose

This is the good news, and it's the part parents worry about most.

FLDOE states that PEP students get the same flexibility and opportunities as home education students. That includes:

• Interscholastic extracurricular activities
• The Bright Futures Scholarship Program
• Dual enrollment
• Admission to Florida College System institutions and state universities

So switching tracks does not cost your child sports, Bright Futures, or college access. It changes who you report to and what you file.

What a Student Learning Plan actually is

Don't let the name scare you. A Student Learning Plan, or SLP, is a plan you write at least once a year to guide your child's instruction and identify the goods and services they need.

Step Up has an SLP tool inside EMA. AAA reviews an online SLP before funding. Sunshine's public handbook says PEP students submit an annual SLP to the SFO.

At Step Up, the SLP guides planning and does not determine or limit what you can buy. At any SFO, the purchase still has to fit an authorized expense category. The plan is a map, not a blank check.

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How much money will actually be there?

Florida PEP awards are not one statewide number. For 2026-27, the published amounts range from $7,463 to $12,217 per student per year, set by the student's county of residence and grade band. There are 201 different amounts — 67 counties times three grade bands — and in every county the amount goes down as the child gets older.

We pulled the full 2026-27 award table and checked all 201 cells. Here's what's in there that nobody talks about.

The floor and the ceiling. The lowest amount is $7,463 — Volusia County, grades 9-12. The highest is $12,217 — Monroe County, grades K-3. That's a $4,754 spread between two Florida families in the same program, same year.

The money shrinks as your child grows. Look at any county row and the pattern holds without exception: K-3 pays the most, grades 4-8 less, and grades 9-12 the least. In Broward, K-3 gets $8,494 and grades 9-12 get $7,701 — $793 less for the year your child may need a chemistry lab. Most parents assume high school costs more and the award follows. It doesn't.

Where you live matters more than you'd think. A few examples from the 2026-27 table:

A Monroe County kindergartner and a Volusia County kindergartner are in the same program with a $3,979 gap between them.

The official table says the district is the student's county of residence as listed on the 2026-27 scholarship application. Use that county, not the provider's county and not the school district where a class meets.

And the awkward one: your award is not your available balance. Funds arrive quarterly. AAA lists September 1, November 1, February 1, and April 1. Step Up lists August 1 for renewal first-quarter funds and September 1 for new or late-renewal first-quarter funds, then November 1, February 1, and April 1. Processing takes time after the SFO receives the money.

Your usable balance at any moment is the amount funded so far, minus what you spent, minus what is pending, minus what is already committed. A $9,000 annual award does not mean $9,000 is ready in August.

Next step: Before you sign a payment plan, look up the official 2026-27 award for your county and grade band → and work from that number, not an average you read somewhere.

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How the program actually gets paid

Payment method depends on the SFO. Step Up supports providers set up for direct billing through EMA, product purchases through MyScholarShop, and reimbursement. AAA describes Florida PEP as a reimbursement program, so the family pays first and submits through SMP. Sunshine uses Odyssey and its handbook discusses marketplace orders and reimbursements, but it does not publish a HEIP-specific payment path.

At Step Up

Three routes:

• Find Providers in EMA, for services from providers set up for direct billing. This is where a Step Up HEIP service can appear.
• MyScholarShop, for products and curriculum.
• Reimbursement, when you pay out of pocket for an eligible expense.

Plus a fourth thing that isn't a payment route but matters: pre-authorization. Items or services not listed as eligible in the purchasing guide need pre-authorization before you buy. Step Up's 2026-27 pre-authorization requests close May 28, 2027.

And read this twice: Step Up says an approved pre-authorization is not confirmation that the provider is eligible or that funding is available. Pre-authorization can answer whether an item or service is allowable. It does not promise the provider setup, the balance, or the final payment.

At AAA

One public PEP route: you pay, you submit, AAA reviews.

AAA says a reimbursement request needs a paid receipt from the provider listing the items or services, the date purchased or delivered, and the name of the student who benefited.

If a request is denied, AAA publishes an appeal path. The parent can email PEP@aaascholarships.org, explain the educational need in more detail, and add the curriculum or instructional material that supports the request. AAA's handbook says it generally provides a final decision within 10 business days.

AAA's public 2026-27 PEP page and purchasing handbook do not state the final date for submitting 2026-27 reimbursement requests. Do not borrow Step Up's July 31 deadline. Check SMP or ask AAA for the date tied to your account.

At Sunshine

Sunshine's website sends families to Odyssey for applications and fund management. Its handbook refers to marketplace orders and out-of-pocket reimbursements. It sets a July 31 reimbursement deadline after the school year and a May 29 pre-authorization deadline.

What it does not publish is the part you need for this page: whether a HEIP must be onboarded, whether a HEIP can appear in the marketplace, or whether the family must pay first. Ask Sunshine to confirm all three before you pay a provider.

The dates side by side

One little-known price right worth using

Florida law gives families a price-match right for products. If you buy a product identical to one offered on an SFO's online platform for a lower price, the organization must reimburse the lower-cost purchase.

You don't have to overpay for an identical product through a marketplace. That's not a loophole; it's in s. 1002.395(6)(u).

This is a product rule. Do not stretch it into a promise that two classes, memberships, or service packages are "identical."

Why a deposit is the riskiest money you'll spend

Deposits are where families get hurt. Seven ways it goes wrong:

1. The provider's deposit is nonrefundable and the expense category turns out to be wrong.
2. Your account is awarded but not funded yet.
3. Your current balance will not cover the cost.
4. The invoice does not name the student or describe the service.
5. The service crosses two school years and the provider does not split the dates and charges.
6. You're at AAA, and the expense happened before the school year in which the PEP account was established.
7. You're at Sunshine, and you assumed a payment path that its public HEIP rules never stated.

That AAA timing rule is worth a second look next to Step Up's rule allowing pre-year payment for a Step Up-approved HEIP. Same category name, same summer, opposite public answers. Your SFO determines whether that deposit was smart or expensive.

If you already got denied

A denial can come from several different problems. Sort yours before you fight it:

• Wrong category — ask whether it can be submitted under the correct one
• Missing documentation — usually the easiest fix
• Timing — wrong school year, before the account year, or after a deadline
• Provider not set up — the program may have paperwork to do
• Weak educational explanation — connect the service to the student's plan and learning goal
• Insufficient balance — approval does not create money that is not in the account
• Prohibited expense — an appeal cannot turn a barred item into an eligible one

Next step: Most preventable denials come down to proof you could have gathered before paying. Use the pre-payment proof checklist →

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What to save before you pay

Documentation should establish who provided the service, what the student received, when it happened, what it cost, how it fits the student's instruction, and which expense category applies. Build the file before the charge, not after the denial.

The bare minimum for any SFO:

• Provider's legal name and contact information
• Written description of the program, course, class, or activity
• Dates or service period
• Delivery method — in person, live online, recorded, or mixed
• Your child's name on the invoice or receipt
• Itemized price or fee schedule
• Deposit and cancellation terms
• Proof of payment if you are requesting reimbursement
• A copy of the rule or written category answer you relied on

Add for a possible HEIP:

• Step Up: evidence the exact service is set up in EMA, or written confirmation; current participation agreement if the program will share it
• AAA: publicly reviewable program descriptions and published tuition and fees
• Sunshine: a written answer naming the category, documents, and payment path because the public handbook has no HEIP test
• Proof of the provider's legal entity when the SFO's rule makes that relevant
• A dated screenshot or PDF of the service description and price

Add for online or home-based instruction:

• Whether instruction is live or self-paced
• Hours per week and whether the provider calls it full time
• Whether a teacher interacts with your child
• Platform and course name
• Current FLDOE approval status if the provider relies on an online-course or VIP category
• The exact SFO answer if the provider claims the HEIP category

Your receipt is doing more work than you think

A reviewer who's never met your family reads that line of text and decides. Give them something they can classify.

Weak: "Program payment — $1,500"

Strong: "Fall 2026 middle school science laboratory program for [student name], 14 in-person sessions, August-December 2026 — $1,500 paid in full."

Same money. Much easier to review.

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If you run the program: how to get paid

A program seeking Step Up direct payment as a HEIP must submit three items: a tuition and fee schedule, a completed Home Education Participation Agreement, and descriptions of its courses or activities. The agreement is signed by the program owner and any additional person who oversees the program for FES-UA or PEP students, then uploaded in EMA with the Service Offering submission in PDF format.

We read both current Step Up provider documents. Here's the whole job.

The three documents for direct billing in EMA

1. Tuition and fee schedule
2. Completed and signed Home Education Participation Agreement
3. Descriptions of courses or activities

Who signs: the program owner. If another person oversees administration for FES-UA or PEP students, that person signs too.

Format: PDF, uploaded into EMA with the Service Offering submission.

What the agreement commits you to: parent selection, learning enrichment, submitted program descriptions, and business-organization status. It also warns that failure to follow Step Up policies may cost the program payment or participating-program eligibility.

AAA and Sunshine do not publish equivalent HEIP onboarding instructions in the public materials we reviewed. A provider should not assume the Step Up packet makes it eligible at either one. Ask each SFO what it requires.

Five mistakes programs make

1. Registering as a private school when you aren't one. Different rules, different consequences for families.
2. Trying to be paid as an individual at Step Up. The business-organization rule blocks it, with one narrow national-community exception. A solo teacher should check tutoring.
3. Treating any full-time schedule as automatically barred. Full-time private tutoring is a separate category, and the statute allows full-time HEIP enrollment. The legal structure matters.
4. Using vague class descriptions. "Enrichment activities" is not a description. Name the subject, age range, schedule, delivery method, and what students do.
5. Hiding the prices. Step Up still needs a fee schedule for direct billing, AAA requires a published schedule, and Sunshine may ask for an itemized claim. Publish the prices and the refund policy.

Something families deserve to know, and you can turn into an advantage

Florida requires participating private schools to screen employees and contracted personnel who have direct student contact. We found no HEIP-specific staff background-screening rule in the three public 2026-27 purchasing handbooks or in Step Up's current HEIP participation agreement.

That does not prove no other law, licensing rule, insurance term, facility rule, or local requirement applies to a particular provider. It means the public HEIP documents we reviewed do not give parents the same clear screening protection that s. 1002.421 gives scholarship private-school families.

So families should ask. And programs that already screen staff, carry insurance, train for emergencies, and publish pickup and supervision rules should say so clearly. Right now that's a real trust advantage. Parents notice.

Next step for program owners: Use the three-document list above for Step Up. For AAA or Sunshine, ask the SFO for its provider or reimbursement instructions before telling a family that you "take PEP."

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Why the official answers feel inconsistent

The confusion is not just coming from Facebook groups. The current official materials themselves do not line up cleanly: Florida law authorizes HEIP tuition without defining a statewide provider test, Step Up changed two criteria in July, AAA kept a different test, Sunshine published no HEIP section, and FLDOE's PEP FAQ still carries old numbers and old organization counts.

Here is the document trail we found on August 11, 2026:

The confusion is the story, not the exception.

That does not mean every answer is arbitrary. It means you must use the current law, the current rulebook for the SFO holding the money, the exact expense category, and a dated written answer where the public documents stop.

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What we actually verified

The School Choice Index compared Florida statutes, 2026 enacted laws and failed legislation, FLDOE guidance and provider lists, Step Up's current 2026-27 purchasing guide and change log, Step Up's two live provider documents, AAA's current 2026-27 purchasing handbook and PEP page, Sunshine's current purchasing handbook and account site, and the published 2026-27 award table. We verified the rules, the dates, and the differences between organizations. We did not verify individual providers or anything inside a family's logged-in account.

Who: The School Choice Index Editorial Team. The School Choice Index is an independent comparison and research resource for U.S. school choice programs.

How: We opened each primary source directly and read the relevant section in full. For the award analysis, we checked all 201 county-and-grade cells. For the online-provider count, we used the live FLDOE list rather than a list copied into an SFO handbook.

Why: Because a parent should not lose a deposit over an old PDF, a copied rule, or a category name that sounds right but isn't.

Last verified: August 11, 2026.

Documents we opened on August 11, 2026

What we did not verify

We want you to know the edges of this page.

• We did not check every provider or service inside EMA, SMP, or Odyssey. Those are behind family logins.
• We did not confirm that any named co-op, microschool, tutor, or learning center is currently payable.
• We found no complete public statewide HEIP list.
• We did not obtain a written statement from Sunshine explaining its HEIP criteria or payment path.
• We did not obtain a public 2026-27 final reimbursement deadline from AAA.
• We did not verify what any hypothetical purchase would receive in a final claim review.
• We did not find a current court ruling that changes the HEIP category or the 2026-27 rules described here.

One correction to old Step Up guidance

Some cached renders of Step Up's provider PDFs still show the old published-price and physical-location test, including the old line that a program could not be online. The current HTML purchasing guide and the text currently served at those provider-document URLs omit both old criteria. Step Up's July 23 change log expressly says the published-price and physical-location requirements were removed.

That does not make every online program a HEIP. What still limits online use is different: the virtual-school exclusion, live-instruction routing, and the full-time online prohibition. Save dated copies of the HTML guide, the change log, and the provider document you relied on.

We'd rather be precise than dramatic.

Found something wrong?

Tell us and we'll fix it with a dated note. Send the official source link, a screenshot, the date you saw it, which SFO held the account, and the school year. We publish corrections rather than quietly editing.

Update history

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Florida PEP home education instructional program FAQs

The safest answer to almost every question here is the same: name the exact service, use the current rules of the SFO holding the account, and get the unclear part in writing before you pay. A broad word like “co-op,” “microschool,” or “online school” cannot settle the category by itself.

Is a homeschool co-op automatically a home education instructional program? No. The label does not decide it. Check who operates it, what it teaches, whether it is a business, whether the program is full time, how instruction is delivered, and which SFO holds the money.

Can a home-based program qualify now? At Step Up, a home address no longer disqualifies a program by itself. Step Up removed the physical-location requirement on July 23, 2026. AAA does not state a physical-location rule in its HEIP test. Sunshine publishes no HEIP test, so a Sunshine family should get a written answer before paying.

Can an online-only program qualify? Sometimes, but “online” is not one category. Recorded courses, live tutoring, virtual-school services, and full-time online instruction follow different rules. Use the online section before deciding.

Can a HEIP be full time? Florida law authorizes tuition and fees for full-time or part-time HEIP enrollment. That does not make every full-time microschool eligible. Step Up excludes full-time private tutoring programs and bans PEP payment for full-time online instruction. AAA excludes full-time or full-time-equivalent programs at several kinds of schools. A full-time case needs exact classification before enrollment.

Does showing up in EMA mean every class that provider sells is covered? No. Check the exact service, the category attached to it, the dates, the documentation, and the available balance.

Does AAA use EMA? No. AAA uses its Scholarship Management Platform, or SMP. EMA is Step Up's portal.

What portal does Sunshine use? Sunshine uses Odyssey for applications and account management. A portal entry still does not replace the need to confirm the exact service and expense category.

Can a private school be a home education instructional program? Step Up excludes private schools from its HEIP category. AAA excludes full-time and full-time-equivalent programs at private schools. Florida law separately allows PEP tuition and fees at an eligible private school, but a traditional full-time private-school student uses the full-time scholarship track rather than PEP. The formal PEP Hybrid exception has its own state and Student Learning Plan rules.

Can PEP pay for a full-time microschool? The word “microschool” does not answer that. Find out whether it is a registered private school, a Step Up PEP Hybrid school, a full-time private tutoring program, a HEIP, a virtual program, or something else. Then use that category's rules.

Can an individual instructor be a HEIP? At Step Up, generally no. Step Up requires a business organization, with a narrow exception for a regional program director or designated liaison of a national home education community. AAA does not state that business rule in its HEIP section. An individual instructor should still be checked under tutoring first.

Does the program have to publish its prices? At AAA, yes. Step Up removed the published-price requirement from its HEIP eligibility test for 2026-27, but it still requires a tuition and fee schedule for direct billing. Sunshine does not publish a HEIP-specific rule; submit an itemized cost and ask what else it needs.

Can I use PEP to buy a laptop for the program's coding class? No through Step Up. Its 2026-27 change log says FTC-PEP funds cannot pay for digital devices or related peripherals. Do not assume another category turns the same device into an eligible purchase.

Does pre-authorization guarantee payment? No. Step Up says an approved pre-authorization does not confirm provider eligibility or available funding. Sunshine says pre-authorization does not guarantee reimbursement. You still need the right provider, documents, dates, and balance.

Can I pay for fall classes over the summer? Step Up allows HEIP fees to be paid and reimbursed in the previous school year once the program is approved by Step Up. AAA lists expenses incurred before the school year in which the PEP account was established as ineligible. Sunshine's public handbook does not publish a matching HEIP rule. Check your SFO before paying a nonrefundable summer deposit.

Does my child's IEP make a provider eligible? No. An IEP or diagnosis may affect which scholarship program fits your child, but it does not classify a provider or make a purchase payable by itself.

Can a religious program qualify? Religious identity does not decide the HEIP category. The provider's legal structure, service, schedule, delivery method, and your SFO's current rules still control the review.

What if the program meets three days a week—is that full time? Days alone do not answer it. Hours, legal structure, enrollment status, delivery method, and the SFO's definition all matter. Put the exact schedule in the written-confirmation email before you enroll.

What if the provider's status changes after I enroll? Save the dated portal record, written confirmation, invoice, payment proof, and cancellation terms. Recheck the exact service before each new term or large payment.

What if I missed the application window? The regular 2026-27 PEP application window closed April 30, 2026. A student in foster care or out-of-home care, or a dependent child of an active-duty U.S. Armed Forces member, may apply outside that window. Step Up also says some PEP students may apply through April 15, 2027, with follow-up requirements due May 15, 2027, but its public FAQ does not say who qualifies. None of these paths promises funding, and the 140,000-student cap still applies.

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One last thing

If you take nothing else from this page, take these three lines.

At Step Up, the program gets set up. At AAA, the family pays and asks for reimbursement. At Sunshine, the public handbook does not give families a HEIP test yet.

Everything else—the removed requirements, the fee schedules, the co-op-versus-microschool arguments—sits downstream of that difference.

Figure out which SFO holds your child's account. Name the exact service. Use the right category. Put the unclear parts in writing. Save the paper.

You're not being difficult. You're being the parent who doesn't lose $1,500 in November.

Still unsure? Go back to the six-question program check, or copy the written-confirmation email before you pay.