Step Up for Students
At Miacademy, we’ve been hard at work partnering with various state funding agencies across the country. Our goal is to make a quality education accessible for every student, and we’re accomplishing our goal one state at a time.
If you’re homeschooling in Florida, we have some exciting news to share with you!
Beginning November 2023, Miacademy is now an educational provider for Florida’s Step Up Program! Eligible families in Florida can access Miacademy’s accredited online homeschool curriculum with funding provided by Step Up For Students.
At the time of writing, Miacademy is an approved vendor for those who receive any of the following:
- Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program (FTC)
- Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO)
- Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA)
- Personalized Education Program (PEP)
- The Hope Scholarship
What is Step Up in Florida?
Step Up for Students is a state-approved nonprofit organization that provides scholarships for PreK-12th grade students in Florida. Founded in 2001, Step Up is now one of the largest scholarship distributors in the country, providing the opportunity for school choice to over 350,000 students.
The goal of the Florida scholarship program is to increase access to high-quality, customizable learning to promote equal opportunity in education. These scholarships help families expand their educational options through public school alternatives such as charter schools, private schools, homeschools, and more.
Who Qualifies for Step Up for Students?
The Step Up program currently offers several different scholarships. Each scholarship has different eligibility criteria, funding usage, and award amounts. To determine your eligibility, you can check our quick guide below, and visit the scholarship website for more details!
Average Award: $7,800
The FTC Program and FES-EO (formerly known as the Gardiner Scholarship) are available to Florida residents who are eligible for K-12 public schooling, regardless of household income. Priority will be given to families whose household income is at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. The average amount awarded for the 2023-2024 school year is $7,800 for private school scholarships.
Average Award: $10,000
The FES-UA scholarship is an education savings account (ESA) that can be used for schools, therapists, specialists, tuition, college savings and more. To be eligible, your student must have received a specific diagnosis and be between the ages of 3-22 (or 12th grade, whichever comes first).
Average Award: Variable
PEP is for students who do not attend a public or private school full time. PEP provides an ESA for eligible students ages 5 and older on or before September 1 of the school year they wish to enroll. PEP currently serves 20,000 students in the 2023-24 school year and is expected to grow by another 40,000 students annually.
Average Award: $7,800
The Hope Scholarship is for Florida students who have been subject to bullying, threats, assault, or other violence at school. The scholarship is available for students grades K-12th who have experienced a documented qualifying incident.
Average Award: $500
Formerly known as the Reading Scholarship Accounts, the New Worlds scholarship is for public school students in grades K-5 who struggle with reading or math skills. The award provides an ESA that can be used for tutoring, literacy programs, curricula, and more. Unfortunately, Miacademy is not an educational provider for the New Worlds Scholarship at this time.
How Do I Get Miacademy on Step Up?
Step Up provides one easy login to manage all of your students’ individual scholarships! To sign up for Step Up, follow these steps:
- Create an account in EMA
- Add your student(s)
- Choose a program and click Apply to submit your application
- Check your email regularly for application status updates
Once you create an account and receive a scholarship, you can gain access to Miacademy by visiting Step Up’s Scholarshop. Keep in mind that the Marketplace tab will only be available after your funds have been deposited.
- Log in to your scholarship portal
- Select the Marketplace tab and student account
- Search for “Always Icecream & Miacademy” on the Scholarshop Marketplace
- If you are purchasing a membership for Always Icecream or Clever Dragons, select “Always Icecream & Miacademy” first. When our team reaches out for order fulfillment, you can let our team know which account to apply the membership to.
- Choose either the Monthly or Annual membership plan
- Add to cart and submit your purchase
- After the purchase order has been received from Step Up, our team will process it, and reach out to you with the activation instructions!
Note: Each purchase order should be a membership for 1 student. Please do not put memberships intended for 2 students in the same purchase order.
➡ If you have an existing parent account:
Purchased memberships can be applied towards your existing Miacademy/MiaPrep/Always Icecream/Clever Dragons account.
- Existing parents with child accounts – our team will contact you to verify the name of your child whose account you wish to apply the membership to. Once you have confirmed the name and we can find a corresponding child account, our team will proceed to manually apply the membership to your child’s account.
- Existing parents without a child account for the child the membership is intended for – our team will contact you to obtain parental consent to ensure compliance with COPPA and provide the instructions on how to add a new child account. After parental consent has been received AND the accounts have been set, our team will proceed to manually apply the membership to your child’s account.
➡ If you do not have an existing parent account:
- New parents with no account set up – our team will contact you to obtain parental consent to ensure compliance with COPPA and provide the new account setup instructions. After parental consent has been received AND the accounts have been set, our team will proceed to manually apply the membership to your child’s account.
Want to know more about Step Up for Students in Florida? Visit them online at stepupforstudents.org for more information and for an in-depth look at scholarship eligibility.
If you have any questions about Miacademy and Step Up, feel free to chat with one of our helpful customer service agents! They’ll be happy to help you find the answers you need.
FAQ
How can I get money to homeschool in Florida?
There are several ways you can get money to homeschool in Florida. A popular option is to register for Step Up for Students, which offers several different scholarships for students to use on variable educational expenses. You can also opt for Florida education savings accounts, check your local co-op for helpful resources, or sign up for other Florida homeschool voucher programs.
Does Step Up for Students pay for homeschool?
Yes! Step Up scholarships can pay for many different public school alternatives, such as private school, charter school, and homeschool. Families can use their homeschool grant for a curriculum, learning materials, books, supplies, and more. Each scholarship has different uses, so be sure to visit the Step Up website for more information.
Last updated: 08/29/2024. The information provided on this site is intended for research purposes only. Miaplaza is not responsible for any errors, omissions, or outdated information, or for the results yielded through use of this information.