State Scholarships
The Florida Department of Education’s Office of K-12 School Choice provides several 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 (SSA) (FL DOE private school) and Sunshine State Homeschoolers (SSH) (501c3) below.
Family Empowerment Scholarship for Unique Abilities (FES-UA)
Students who receive the FES-UA scholarship need to register with a private school or as a home education student with their county. SSA is a FL DOE registered private school (#5624) and students who receive the FES-UA may enroll with SSA. However, SSA is not a participating private school for state scholarship programs. This is because SSA is a virtual/remote/private school (aka umbrella school) and does not (a) have a physical location where students attend onsite classes full time and does not (b) require annual norm-referenced tests of our students. Both of these are required for any private school to participate in state scholarship programs. No umbrella school will meet those requirements.
SSA's annual enrollment fee 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 (SSH), which is an approved Home Education Instructional Program via Step Up for Students. The same support services and curriculum options that SSA offers are also offered via SSH. SSA students who are FES-UA recipients follow SSA policies and are private school students.
Personalized Education Program (PEP)
The PEP is a Florida educational pathway, and students can only be enrolled in one. Students who receive the PEP cannot register as a private school student with SSA. PEP recipients 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 include required testing, assistance with developing a home education plan, choice navigator services, and curriculum options. PEP recipients cannot graduate from SSA with a high school diploma.
Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO)
The FES-EO is for families who choose an alternative to public school, including participating private schools. While SSA is a FL DOE registered private school, we are not a participating school.