How the money actually flows

Family Empowerment Scholarship — Educational Options (FES-EO) + Florida Tax Credit (FTC) is an ESA program with broad (near-universal) eligibility. Awards are ≈$8,000/yr average (FES-EO/FTC, 2026-27), varies by grade/county. Separate disability program FES-UA averages ~$10,000 up to ~$22k–34k.. Payments run through Step Up For Students (private nonprofit SFO, not a state agency). Confirm the current details on the official program site before acting.

1. Confirm how the money flows. Florida families use Family Empowerment Scholarship — Educational Options (FES-EO) + Florida Tax Credit (FTC) funds through Step Up For Students (private nonprofit SFO, not a state agency) to pay approved schools/providers. Your job is to be set up to receive them cleanly.

2. Get your business paperwork in order. Legal entity, tax ID (EIN), and proof you are a real operating school.

3. Meet the state requirements. Florida does not license or accredit private schools; they must register and file an annual database survey under Fla. Stat. §1002.42.

4. Apply as an approved provider. Register with FLDOE under §1002.42, then enroll through Step Up For Students' Schools & Providers portal (separate school / service-provider / product-vendor tracks).

5. Keep clean invoicing & records. Program spending is documented and audited. Clear invoices and audit-ready records are how you get paid and stay clear.

Important for Florida: fldoe.org Akamai-blocked (403); FL facts corroborated via secondary sources + Step Up (fetched). FES-UA figures hypothesis-grade.

The one step that decides whether you get funded in Florida

We read the Florida rules and wrote up exactly what gates the money, what the regulation says word for word, and where founders stall.

Read the Florida funding gate →

Want us to walk the Florida approval with you?

Get set up in Florida

Florida puts a state approval step in front of the money, so setup here takes more work than in a state without that gate. Both options are one-time. We never take a cut of your tuition.

Launch Kit · $1,450. Your Florida playbook: every step in the right order, the document each one needs, and the operator tools (roster, attendance, tuition billing, evidence vault). You do the filing.

Get the Launch Kit · $1,450

Concierge · $2,950. Everything in the Launch Kit, plus we do the ESA-vendor registration with you in a working session, inside Florida’s own platform.

Get Concierge · $2,950

Secure checkout via Stripe. We email you within one business day to confirm your state and school. Guidance, not legal advice.

Or start free: the Florida checklist

Free: the Florida microschool starter checklist

Where to begin, what your state requires, and how funding works. No fluff.

Questions founders ask

Do you take a cut of my scholarship money?

No — flat subscription, never a per-student cut.

Do I have to use a specific curriculum?

No. MicroschoolLaunchKit is the compliance and operations layer — use whatever curriculum or model you want. We handle the paperwork around it, not the teaching.

What exactly is ESA / voucher approval?

Many states let families use public scholarship funds for private-school tuition. Getting approved as a provider/vendor is how that money reaches your school. We walk you through it, state by state.

Do you take a cut of my tuition?

Never. It is a flat subscription. Your tuition is 100% yours — unlike franchise networks that take a fee for every student.

Is this legal advice?

No. We give plain-language guidance and sourced requirements, not legal advice. For legal-sensitive decisions we point you to an education attorney.

Official sources (verify current requirements): www.stepupforstudents.org

How to get funded in Florida