The Family Empowerment Scholarship Program (FES) includes two branches of eligibility, the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options(FES EO) and the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES UA).

Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES EO)

This branch of the scholarship eligibility provides additional educational options for all K-12 students, such as attending a participating private school. Families apply and annually renew through one of the approved scholarship funding organizations (SFO), which are responsible for determining and distributing funding. FES EO also offers families of eligible students the option to receive a $750 scholarship to provide transportation to a public school different from the school to which the student was assigned.

Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES UA)

This branch of the scholarship is designed to offer families of students with disabilities, as young as 3 years of age, access to additional education options. Families may choose to enroll their student in another public school, or they may take the opportunity to receive a personal education savings account (ESA) for their student. An ESA can be to fund private school tuition and fees, online learning programs, private tutoring, or other approved expenses. Families apply and annually renew for participation in FES UA through one of the approved SFOs, which are responsible for determining eligibility, awarding and distributing funding to eligible student accounts, and approving eligible expenditures.

Please note, effective July 1, 2022, the McKay Scholarship Program will join the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program under the Unique Abilities category. For information on the transition process, please visit the Florida Department of Education’s website

How to Apply:

Parents/Guardians interested in applying for an FES should contact a state-approved Scholarship Funding Organization (SFO). It is the parents’/guardians’ responsibility to meet all requirements and deadlines specified by the SFO. State-approved SFOs are listed on the Florida Department of Education’s website.

To learn more about the changes to the FES Program, visit Florida Department of Education's website, Family Empowerment Scholarship (fldoe.org), or contact the Sarasota County Schools Office of School Choice at (941) 927-9000, ext. 32258 or email us.

Sarasota County Schools

Scholarship Programs

Family Empowerment Scholarship

Mckay Scholarship

The Gardiner Scholarship Program