State Scholarships
The Florida Department of Education’s Office of K-12 School Choice provides several scholarship options to support quality private educational choice programs. Each scholarship is different, with its own requirements. You can find information on how families can utilize these scholarship options for Sunshine State Academy K-12 (FL DOE private school) and Sunshine State Homeschoolers (501c3).
Family Empowerment Scholarship for Unique Abilities (FES-UA)
Students who receive the FES-UA scholarship need to register with a private school or their county. Sunshine State Academy K-12 (SSA) is a FL DOE private school (#5624) and students who receive the FES-UA may enroll as private school students with us. However, SSA is not a participating private school for state scholarship programs. This is because SSA is a virtual/remote (also referred to as an umbrella school) private school and does not meet school requirements to participate in state scholarship programs. No umbrella school will meet those requirements.
This means that the enrollment fee for SSA is not covered by the FES-UA and cannot be reimbursed. However, SSA offers a substantial discount on our enrollment fee for students who receive the FES-UA scholarship and direct pay for services provided by our affiliated non-profit organization, Sunshine State Homeschoolers, which is an approved Home Education Instructional Program via Step Up for Students.
You will notice that the same support services and curriculum options that Sunshine State Academy K-12 offers are also offered via Sunshine State Homeschoolers. To receive the discounted enrollment fee, you would complete our enrollment form and then contact us via email at sunshineacademyk12@gmail.com. The enrollment form will prompt for payment but you will skip that part. FES-UA recipients who are enrolled with Sunshine State Academy K-12 continue to follow the policies of SSA and are private school students who can graduate with a private school high school diploma.
Personalized Education Program (PEP) Scholarship
The Personalized Education Program (PEP) Scholarship is a Florida educational pathway, not an educational scholarship. Students can only be enrolled in one educational pathway (public school, private school (umbrella schools are private schools), county registered home education, or PEP. Students who receive the PEP cannot register as a private school student with Sunshine State Academy K-12 and cannot register with their county as a homeschool student. They can only be registered as a student via PEP. While recipients cannot register with SSA as a private school student, they can receive the same support services and curriculum options via our affiliated non-profit organization, Sunshine State Homeschoolers, which is an approved Home Education Instructional Program via Step Up for Students. Services specific to the PEP offered by Sunshine State Homeschoolers include PEP requires testing, assistance with developing a home education plan, choice navigator services, and curriculum options.
Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO)
The FES-EO scholarship is for families who choose an alternative to public school, including participating private schools. While Sunshine State Academy K-12 is a FL DOE private school, we are not a participating school. This is because SSA is a virtual/remote (also referred to as an umbrella school) private school and does not meet school requirements to participate in state scholarship programs. No umbrella school will meet those requirements.