School choice in Florida has become a hot commodity, and the demand continues to grow.
Step Up For Students, the nonprofit organization that administers 98% of the state’s scholarships, says that opened applications for the 2025-26 school started at 9 a.m. Saturday morning, and by the end of the weekend, it set new records with more than 120,000 students applying.
“That’s the most demand Florida’s scholarship programs have ever seen in their first two days after opening applications,” said Travis Pillow, a director with Step Up for Students.
New statistics show nearly 63,400 students (51,861 renewal and 11,533 new) applied for scholarships that help pay private school tuition. Families can use any leftover money for tutoring, curriculum, or other supplemental learning.
Approximately 33,900 students applied for Unique Abilities Scholarships, which enable students with special needs to customize their education. This number includes 28,608 renewals and 5,270 new applications. Additionally, about 25,700 students applied for Personalized Education Program scholarships, which assist families in directing the education of children who do not attend school full-time. This total consists of 20,572 renewal applications and 5,081 new applications.
Step Up For Students says they weren’t surprised by the surge of interest, “Step Up’s technology systems had zero downtime. Of families who called in for assistance, 84% reported they were “very satisfied” with the support they received and nine of 10 said their inquiry was resolved on the first call,” said Step Up For Students CEO Gretchen Schoenhaar.
Step Up’s Travis Pillow says this year, more than 500,000 students use the state’s K-12 scholarship programs to access learning options of their choice, which makes Florida the national leader in education options. “If these students were counted as a single school district, it would be the largest in the state and third largest in the country,” said Pillow.
Current scholarship families have until April 30 to renew their scholarships for next school year. All families who want a PEP scholarship also have an April 30 deadline to apply.
Private school and Unique Abilities Scholarship applications will be available through Nov. 15 for families who want a new scholarship or current students who do not renew their scholarship by April 30.
