Gardiner Scholarship (Family Empowerment Scholarship Program for Students with Unique Abilities)

Gardiner Scholarship (Family Empowerment Scholarship Program for Students with Unique Abilities) is sponsored by Step Up For Students Florida Inc.. This scholarship is available to Florida students with a specific diagnosis, aged 3 through grade 12 or age 22, whichever comes first. It can be used for tuition and fees for private school, homeschooling options, therapies, tutoring, and more.

Unique Abilities - Step Up For Students Translation Notice: This website has been translated using Weglot translation software. While every effort has been made to provide an accurate translation, some content may not be translated precisely or may differ slightly from the original English version. If there are any discrepancies, the English version is the official version.

Scholarships Private School Scholarship Unique Abilities Scholarship Personalized Education Hope Scholarship New Worlds Scholarship Transportation Stipend Member Area Become An Advocate Alumni Login Parent Resources MyScholarShop Reimbursements Vendor and Product Listing Find A School Pre-Approved Reading Provider Private Schools Service Providers Product Vendors Partner Resources AUP for Private Schools Handbooks "How To" Videos" Marketing Toolkit School & Provider Login Florida Tax Credit Charitable Giving Auto Dealers - Hope Scholarship Funding Planned Giving Other Ways To Give Donor Advised Funds Make An Impact Vehicle Donations Donor Resources Bill of Rights Contact Team Gift Acceptance Policy InspirED Start shopping on Amazon Smile Income Based Scholarship Reports Family Empowerment For Unique Abilities Reports Hope Scholarship Reports New Worlds Scholarship Reports Resources and Links Financial Reports History White Papers Annual Reports Financial Reports Governance Policies Everything You Need, Every Step of the Way Choose a stage below to get started A Unique Education For A Unique Child The Unique Abilities Scholarship helps students with qualifying diagnoses thrive by giving families the flexibility to invest in the educational resources that best support their child's success.

Families can use the scholarship for private school tuition, home education expenses, therapists, specialists, curriculum, contributions to a college savings account, and other approved education-related expenses. This flexibility empowers you to choose the services that work best for your child. The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) is worth an average of $10,000 per student.

Which Scholarship is Right For My Child The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) gives families the flexibility to customize their student’s learning through an Education Savings Account (ESA). An ESA allows scholarship funds to be used for approved educational expenses that support a student's individual learning needs.

The following categories of items and services are eligible expenses under the scholarship Tuition for full-time or part-time education at an eligible postsecondary educational institution or approved apprenticeship program At an eligible postsecondary institution , including those participating in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) For a full-time private tutoring program At an approved online or virtual provider As a private-pay student for Florida Virtual School At an FLDOE approved pre-apprenticeship program Standardized testing fees, including test proctoring and administration Contracted services provided by a public school or school district Part-time tutoring and Choice Navigator services 2026-27 Scholarship Amounts At this time, EMA will continue to display the 2025–26 scholarship amounts while we update our systems.

Please note: The scholarship amounts are established annually by the Florida Legislature in the state budget. To qualify for a Unique Abilities Scholarship, a child must be: A Florida resident between the ages of 3 and 22 years old or grade 12, whichever comes first. Please note that students must turn 3 on or before December 31 of the year you apply and must not turn 22 on or before September 1 of the year you apply.

Military families have added flexibility. Find out more here! Diagnosed with one of the following conditions: Emotional or Behavioral Disability Specific Learning Disability When you're ready, use this checklist to gather the documents you’ll need to complete your application.

Frequently Asked Questions Are You Ready to Apply? How to create your FTC/FES-EO account How to complete an FTC/FES-EO application Document checklist for FTC/FES-EO applications Per Fla. Admin.

Code R. 6A-6. 0251 , the medical term for the life-threatening allergic reactions that may occur when allergic individuals are exposed to specific allergens.

Anaphylaxis is a collection of symptoms affecting multiple systems in the body.

Autism Spectrum Disorder As defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, published by the American Psychiatric Association, an autism diagnosis requires persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by all of the following: deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, and in developing, maintaining and understanding relationships.

Per Florida Statute § 393. 063(6) , a group of disabling symptoms of extended duration which results from damage to the developing brain that may occur before, during, or after birth and results in the loss or impairment of control over voluntary muscles. For the purposes of this definition, cerebral palsy does not include those symptoms or impairments resulting solely from a stroke.

Per Florida Statute § 393. 063(14) , a disorder caused by the presence of an extra chromosome 21. Per Fla.

Admin. Code R. 6A-6.

0322 , the presence of both hearing loss and a visual impairment, or an etiology or a medical diagnosis that indicates a potential dual sensory loss, the combination of which adversely affects the student’s educational performance.

The term includes congenital deaf blindness, congenital visual impairment with acquired hearing loss, congenital hearing loss with acquired visual impairment, and acquired hearing loss and visual impairment including blindness, as defined in Rules 6A-6. 03013(1)(a) and (b) and 6A-6. 03014(1)(a) , F.

A. C. If a student is found eligible for both deaf or hard of hearing and visual impairments as primary or other exceptionalities, then the student must be made eligible for dual sensory impairment.

Per Fla. Admin. Code R.

6A-6. 03016 , a student with an emotional/behavioral disability who has persistent (is not sufficiently responsive to implemented evidence-based interventions) and consistent emotional or behavioral responses that adversely affect performance in the educational environment that cannot be attributed to age, culture, gender, or ethnicity. Per Fla.

Admin. Code R. 6A-6.

03013 , a student who is deaf or hard-of-hearing and has hearing loss aided or unaided, that impacts the processing of linguistic information, and which adversely affects performance in the educational environment. The degree of loss may range from mild to profound. Per Florida Statute § 393.

963(23), a child is considered “high-risk” if they are from three (3) to five (5) years of age before September 1st of the school year with one or more of the following characteristics: A developmental delay in cognition, language, or physical development. A child surviving a catastrophic infectious or traumatic illness known to be associated with developmental delay when funds are specifically appropriated.

A child with a parent or guardian with developmental disabilities who requires assistance in meeting the child’s developmental needs. A child who has a physical or genetic anomaly associated with developmental disability. Under Florida Statute 393.

063(23), a child can qualify as high-risk based on developmental delay only between the ages of three (3) and five (5). Although developmental delays may be diagnosed for children age six (6) and older, the high-risk definition is limited to ages three to five (3-5).

Children at age six (6) are no longer eligible as high risk based on developmental delay alone and will need to establish eligibility under another disability from Florida Statute 1002. 394(2)(e) to continue participating in the program. For example, a student can qualify as speech delayed until age five (5), after that the student would need to qualify under speech impairment.

Per Fla. Admin. Code R.

6A-6. 03020 , a student who has a medically diagnosed physical or psychiatric condition which is acute or catastrophic in nature, or a chronic illness, or a repeated intermittent illness due to a persisting medical problem that confines the student to home or hospital and restricts activities for more than six months. Per Florida Statute § 393.

063(23) , significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior which manifests before the age of eighteen (18) and can reasonably be expected to continue indefinitely. Per Florida Statute § 393.

063(23)(a) , “adaptive behavior” means the effectiveness or degree with which an individual meets the standards of personal independence and social responsibility expected of his or her age, cultural group, and community. Per Florida Statute § 393.

063(23)(b) , “significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning” means performance that is two (2) or more standard deviations from the mean score on a standardized intelligence test specified in the rules of the agency. Per Fla. Admin.

Code R. 6A-6. 030121 , language impairments are disorders of language that interfere with communication, adversely affect performance and/or functioning in the student’s typical learning environment, and result in the need for exceptional student education.

A language impairment is defined as a disorder in one or more of the basic learning processes involved in understanding or spoken or written language. These include phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. The language impairment may manifest in significant difficulties affecting listening comprehension, oral expression, social interaction, reading, writing, or spelling.

A language impairment is not primarily the result of factors related to chronological age, gender, culture, ethnicity, or limited English proficiency. As defined by the Center of Disease Control , muscular dystrophies are a group of muscle diseases caused by mutations in a person’s genes. Over time, muscle weakness decreases mobility, making everyday tasks difficult.

There are many kinds of muscular dystrophy, each affecting specific muscle groups, with signs and symptoms appearing at different ages, and varying in severity. Per Fla. Admin.

Code R. 6A-6. 030151 , orthopedic impairment means a severe skeletal, muscular, or neuromuscular impairment.

The term includes impairments resulting from congenital anomalies (e.g., including but not limited to skeletal deformity or spina bifida), and impairments resulting from other causes (e.g., including but not limited to cerebral palsy or amputations). Per Fla. Admin.

Code R. 6A-6. 030152 , other health impairment means having limited strength, vitality or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that is due to chronic or acute health problems.

This includes, but is not limited to, asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Tourette syndrome, diabetes, epilepsy, heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, and acquired brain injury. Per Florida Statute § 393.

063(28) , a disorder caused by the loss of the terminal segment of the long arm of chromosome 22, which occurs near the end of the chromosome at a location designated q13. 3, typically leading to developmental delay, intellectual disability, dolichocephaly, hypotonia, or absent or delayed speech. Per Florida Statute § 393.

063(29) , an inherited condition typified by neonatal hypotonia with failure to thrive, hyperphagia or an excessive drive to eat which leads to obesity usually at eighteen (18) to thirty-six (36) months of age, mild to moderate intellectual disability, hypogonadism, short stature, mild facial dysmorphism, and a characteristic neurobehavior. Per Florida Statue § 1002.

394(e) , rare diseases which affect patient populations of fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States, as defined by the National Organization for Rare Disorders. Per Fla. Admin.

Code R. 6A-6. 03018 , a specific learning disability is defined as a disorder in one or more of the basic learning processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest in significant difficulties affecting the ability to listen, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematics.

Associated conditions may include, but are not limited to, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, or developmental aphasia. A specific learning disability does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of a visual, hearing, motor, intellectual, or emotional/behavioral disability, limited English proficiency, or environmental, cultural, or economic factors. Per Fla.

Admin. Code R. 6A-6.

03012 , speech impairments are disorders of speech sounds, fluency, or voice that interfere with communication, adversely affect performance and/or functioning in the educational environment, and result in the need for exceptional student education. A speech impairment diagnosis must be provided by a licensed professional listed under the Qualifying for Unique Abilities Scholarship section. Per Florida Statute §393.

063(41) , a person with a medical diagnosis of spina bifida cystica or myelomeningocele. Per Fla. Admin.

Code R. 6A-6. 030153 , a traumatic brain injury means an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects educational performance.

The term applies to mild, moderate, or severe, open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas such as cognition, language, memory, attention, reasoning, abstract thinking, judgment, problem-solving, sensory, perceptual and motor abilities, psychosocial behavior, physical functions, information processing, or speech. The term includes anoxia due to trauma.

The term does not include brain injuries that are congenital, degenerative, or induced by birth trauma. Any impairment in vision regardless of significance or severity that, even with correction, adversely affects the student’s educational performance.

The term includes both partial sight and blindness, including ocular, brain-based and neurological disorders, but does not include esotropia (crossed eyes), hyperopia (farsightedness), and myopia (nearsightedness). A visual impairment diagnosis must be provided by a licensed professional listed under the Qualifying for Unique Abilities Scholarship section.

As defined by the National Organization for Rare Disorders , a rare genetic disorder characterized by growth delays before and after birth (prenatal and postnatal growth retardation), short statute, a varying degree of mental deficiency, and distinctive facial features that typically become more pronounced with age.

Step Up For Students (SUFS) will never ask for your SUFS account credentials or banking information by phone, text or email. Using third-party services to access your account violates our user agreement and may expose your data. Questions?

Call 1 (877) 735-7837 or email [email protected] . Visit our Security Center to learn more.