Step Up for Students: Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities

What is the Step Up for Students Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA)?

The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) is granted to school-aged children in Florida with a disability diagnosis (including but not limited to speech and language disorders, developmental delays, Autism spectrum disorder, etc.) who do not attend public school. The scholarship can be used to pay for approved educational expenses like therapies, private school tuition, curriculum, and more. Thriveable Therapies is an approved direct provider for FES-UA.

How Much Is the Scholarship Worth?

The average scholarship amount is around $10,000 per student, per year. Some students with additional needs can receive up to $34,000 annually.

Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for the FES-UA scholarship, the student must meet the following criteria:

Student is a Florida resident
Student is age 3 to 22 years old (or 12th grade, whichever comes first)
Student does not attend a public school
Student has at least one of the following:
- Completed IEP (Individualized Education Program)
- Disability diagnosis from a physician (e.g., speech disorder, language disorder, Autism, Down syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, etc.)
- Developmental delays in cognition, language, and/or physical development (considered "high risk")

Scholarship Website

How to Apply for the FES-UA Scholarship

To apply for the Family Empowerment Scholarship, visit the Step Up for Students website, or click "Apply Now" below. For questions, contact Step Up for Students at 1-877-735-7837, or email info@stepupforstudents.org.

Using a Thriveable Therapies Evaluation Report to Apply for FES-UA

If your child does not attend public school and has a diagnosed speech or language disorder but does not have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), you may still be eligible to apply for the FES-UA scholarship. To apply, you will need an evaluation report from a certified speech-language pathologist documenting your child’s diagnosis. The report must also be signed by your child’s pediatrician to accept the diagnosis and authorize therapy. Thriveable Therapies evaluation reports include the information needed for your FES-UA application, as well as a designated space for your child's pediatrician to review and sign. Once you have the report and doctor's signature, you can upload it to your FES-UA application to apply.

Apply Now

How to Use the FES-UA Scholarship to Pay for Thriveable Therapies Services

Thriveable Therapies is an approved provider under the FES-UA program. Families may choose to have the scholarship pay Thriveable Therapies directly, or they may pay out of pocket and submit eligible expenses to the scholarship program for reimbursement.

To pay for Thriveable Therapies services directly through FES-UA:

Log in to the Educational Marketplace Assistant (EMA) portal.
Select Marketplace from the left-hand dashboard menu.
Choose Find Providers.
Select the student from the drop-down menu.
Search for Thriveable Therapies in the provider search bar.
Select our office location from the drop-down menu.
Choose the desired service and quantity, then click Add to Cart.
Open your shopping cart and review your selections.
Click Reserve Funds.
Confirm permission to share your contact information with Thriveable Therapies.

If you prefer to pay out of pocket first and then submit for reimbursement rather than directly paying with the scholarship, click here for instructions on how to submit the invoice to FES-UA for reimbursement.

EMA Portal / Login

Watch the video below for a step-by-step tutorial on how to reserve funds through the EMA portal.

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