Florida FES-UA: the Unique Abilities Scholarship

Florida’s Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) supports eligible students with disabilities. Its education account can pay for qualifying instructional materials, curriculum, services and other education expenses. Eligibility and the student’s award come first; the purchasing guide explains how that award can be used.

FES-UA, FES-EO and PEP are different programs

Use the Florida overview to choose the right route. A Step Up account does not, on its own, identify the scholarship’s rules.

Applications and awards: use your administrator’s current instructions

Florida residency, qualifying disability documentation and applicable age or grade conditions determine eligibility. Handwriting difficulty alone does not establish a qualifying diagnosis or an award. Check the administrator’s documentation checklist for the student’s situation.

The AAA Scholarship Foundation’s 2026–27 guidance lists November 15, 2026 as the new-application submission deadline, with different renewal deadlines. Follow AAA’s current instructions for accepting an award. If applying through Step Up For Students, use its own application and account instructions. A deadline for PEP is not the FES-UA deadline, and an application is not a funding guarantee.

The current FES-UA purchasing guide

The Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities at the University of Central Florida publishes the 2026–27 FES-UA Purchasing Guidelines, dated July 1, 2026. Its guide index also links a summary of changes. Use these guidelines alongside your scholarship funding organization’s handbook for account procedures.

Curriculum and educational subscriptions

Page 12 covers educational software and subscriptions at single-user or student pricing. Reimbursement for multi-user access is prorated to the student’s cost. The software should be safe for student use and provide opportunities for instruction. Curriculum that is not publicly available requires a preauthorization request.

Keep the product description, subject, student level, access dates and itemized price. A handwriting course is an instructional product; occupational therapy is a different service category with provider qualifications. Do not describe an app subscription as therapy to fit a different expense category.

Tablets, digital pencils and replacement rules

Page 4 explicitly lists tablets among digital devices and digital pencils among digital periphery devices. Devices must allow the student to access instruction or instructional content. The guide sets digital device purchases at once every two years, with possible earlier replacement through preauthorization. That frequency rule is attached to the digital-device category; do not assume every accessory has the same replacement rule.

For an iPad-based learning setup, list the tablet, digital pencil and course separately. Check prior device purchases, the intended student, the exact items and the account’s balance before ordering. The presence of a category in the guide does not approve every bundle sold under an educational label.

Marketplace, direct payment and reimbursement

The purchasing guidelines cover eligible product/service reimbursement and administrator purchasing platforms. Step Up uses EMA and MyScholarShop; AAA has its own scholarship management process. Follow the instructions for the organization administering the student’s award.

• Step Up: resources for Unique Abilities families
• AAA: home-school purchase, preauthorization and payment instructions
• Official vendor catalogs and provider directories

Preauthorization is reviewed for the individual student. The guide explicitly says it does not confirm provider eligibility or available reimbursement funds. Keep the approval, itemized invoice, required documentation and proof of payment for the authorized purchase route.

Before buying a handwriting course

1. Confirm the FES-UA award, school year and available balance.
2. Identify the course’s educational content, student access, price and duration.
3. Check software or curriculum classification separately from equipment.
4. Confirm any preauthorization and use the administrator’s payment instructions.

Questions families ask

Can FES-UA cover an iPad or digital pencil?

The 2026–27 guide lists tablets and digital pencils in its instructional-material categories. Check the student’s needs, purchase history, category rules and payment instructions for the exact item.

Can a family subscription be claimed in full?

The guide calls for student pricing and prorates multi-user subscription reimbursement to the student’s share. Keep the individual access and costs clear.

Can I use these rules for a PEP scholarship?

No. Follow the PEP guide and your administrator’s current-year PEP instructions. FES-UA and PEP have different participation and spending rules.

Sources

• FCSUA: FES-UA Purchasing Guidelines 2026–27
• AAA: FES-UA family applications and purchases
• Florida DOE: Family Empowerment Scholarship