Any public school student in Florida who was a victim of a qualifying incident at:

· A K-12 school.

· A school-related or school-sponsored program or activity.

· Was riding in a school bus or waiting at a school bus stop.

Qualifying incidents include:

 – Battery

– Harrassment

– Hazing

– Bullying

– Kidnapping

– Physical Attack

– Robbery

– Sexual offenses, harassment, assault or battery

– Threat or intimidation

– Fighting

1.  The incident must have occurred on or after Aug. 1, 2018.

2.  A student must submit a report of an incident to the school principal or his/her designee. That person will investigate the incident.

3.  Be sure to ask for the Hope Scholarship Notification Form (Form IEPC-HS1). Once the investigation is complete, or within 15 days after the incident was reported (whichever comes first), the principal or his/her designee must notify the parent about the Hope Scholarship and provide the parent with a fully completed Hope Scholarship Notification Form (Form IEPC-HS1). Again, be sure to ask for the form and ensure every section is completed by the principal or his/her designee Submitting a form that is not fully completed  will delay the processing of the application.

4. This form is required for Step Up For Students to determine scholarship eligibility.

5.  Applications are processed in the order they are received. Scholarships are awarded to eligible students on a first-come, first-served basis pending funding availability.

Families can choose one of the following: 

– Financial assistance toward private school tuition and fees.  

– Receive assistance with transportation to a public school in another school district. 

If using the private school option, click here to find a school. 

– Scholarship funding can be transferred to another eligible, participating private school if the student moves within the state or wants to attend a different eligible, participating private school. 

– Both the private school and transportation options have the same eligibility requirements. 

– The student will remain on  scholarship (depending on available funding) until the student returns to public school or graduates from high school, whichever occurs first. 

– If using the private school option, checks are sent directly to the eligible private school where the child is enrolled. Schools will notify parents when checks have arrived, so they may come into sign the child’s check. 

– Detailed Hope Scholarship information can be found in the Hope Scholarship Parent Handbook 

Private school scholarship option: The scholarship option to attend an eligible, participating private school will cover published tuition and fees up to $6,519 for kindergarten – fifth grade, $6,815 for sixth – eighth grade and $7,111 for ninth – 12th grade for the 2018-19 school year OR the school’s total tuition and fees, whichever is less. Scholarship amounts may be prorated based on the following factors: date of award, date moved from the waitlist (if applicable), student’s first day of attendance, school’s first day or school’s date of compliance, whichever is latest.  

The scholarship can be used towards the following school expenses, in this order until the maximum scholarship amount is reached: 

1. Tuition 

2. Books** 

3. Registration 

4. Transportation made available by the school (e.g. school bus pick-up/drop-off)  

5. Uniforms** 

6. Testing (e.g. standardized or entrance testing) 

7. Other fees (e.g. graduation fees, yearbook fees, field trips. Services before or after school hours such as aftercare or sports are not covered.) 

Families choosing the transportation option will receive up to $750, to assist with the cost of transportation to an out-of-district public school. 

The scholarship was created in 2018, by the Florida Legislature to give public school children in Florida relief from bullying and violence at school.  

Step Up For Students administers the private school and transportation options for the Hope Scholarship.