First, to be eligible for Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) funding, a student cannot be enrolled as a full-time public school student.

Florida law requires the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) to verify that a scholarship student is not also enrolled in a public school on a full-time basis. This process is called the Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) crosscheck.

 Step Up For Students verifies enrollment information through a public school enrollment crosscheck. If the crosscheck shows your student is still enrolled in a public school, your student's scholarship account cannot be funded.

If this occurs, you will see an Action Needed message in EMA and must provide documentation showing that your student is not enrolled in a full-time public school program. Acceptable documentation includes:

• A completed Standard Withdrawal Form
• A letter or email from the student's school district or assigned school confirming the student is not enrolled as a full-time public school student
• A letter or email from the student's public school or charter school confirming the student is not enrolled as a full-time public school student

Once the documentation is reviewed and verified, the student's account may be considered for funding. For additional details about the crosscheck process, please visit our crosscheck information page.

Beginning with the 2026-27 school year, parents and guardians of awarded students must also complete a quarterly public school enrollment attestation in EMA before each funding distribution. This attestation confirms that the student is not enrolled full-time in a public school. You can learn more about the current attestation policy in our FAQs here.

If you accidentally indicated that your student is enrolled in public school when completing the attestation, complete a Standard Withdrawal Form and upload it to your student's EMA account so the information can be reviewed and corrected.

Remember: Important: Public School Enrollment Rules

• Students cannot be enrolled in a public school on full-time basis and receive FES-UA funds at the same time. This would cause the student to receive double funding from the state.
• Students can still use public school services (such as individual classes or activities), but they must contract with the school for those services and pay either out of pocket or with scholarship funds.
• If a student uses public school classes or services, be sure the school reports them as privately paying. If the school incorrectly reports your child as a public-school enrollee, the student could lose the scholarship.

A student may not be enrolled full-time in a public school option while simultaneously being considered for funding through a scholarship program including FES-UA, FES-EO and FTC (including FTC-PEP). A student can still use federally funded public school services (such as IDEA) or pay for public school classes or activities if contracted with the school directly.