What Happened to the Gardiner Scholarship? Florida's FES-UA Explained

If you searched for the Gardiner Scholarship and landed here, here is the short answer: the Gardiner Scholarship no longer exists as a separate program. It was folded into a newer scholarship called the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, which everyone calls FES-UA.

Your child's money did not disappear. The Gardiner Scholarship just got a new name and a few upgrades. If your family was already on Gardiner, you were moved over automatically.

Here is everything you need to know.

Why Did the Gardiner Scholarship End?

Florida officially repealed the Gardiner Scholarship Program on July 1, 2021. It was not cut or defunded. The state absorbed the Gardiner Scholarship into the broader Family Empowerment Scholarship umbrella and expanded eligibility at the same time.

The McKay Scholarship, which served many of the same families, was folded in at the same time. Both programs became what is now FES-UA.

For families who were already on Gardiner or McKay when the switch happened, there was a built-in protection: students receive whichever amount is higher, what they received in 2020-21 under the Gardiner Scholarship, or the newly calculated FES-UA amount. Longtime families were not left with less.

Sources: Florida Department of Education, Gardiner Scholarship page | FES-UA Family Handbook 2026-27 (last updated July 3, 2026)

What Is FES-UA?

FES-UA stands for Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities. It is Florida's Step Up for Students scholarship for children with disabilities or qualifying diagnoses, and it is the direct successor to the Gardiner Scholarship.

The scholarship gives families a pool of money they manage through an online system called EMA (Education Market Assistant). You use that money to pay approved providers directly or request reimbursement for eligible expenses.

FES-UA is administered by Step Up For Students and AAA Scholarship Foundation. Most families use Step Up. Step Up families manage their scholarship in EMA. AAA families use AAA's own Scholarship Management Platform.

Source: Step Up For Students: FES-UA Program

Who Qualifies for FES-UA?

To be eligible for the scholarship that replaced the Gardiner Scholarship, a student must:

• Be a Florida resident
• Be age 3 or older (birthday on or before December 31 of the application year), or be eligible to enroll in a Florida public school
• Be younger than 22 years old
• Have an IEP from the past three years, or a validated diagnosis from a Florida-licensed physician (or a physician licensed in another U.S. state or territory), a physician assistant, an autonomous advanced practice registered nurse, or a Florida-licensed psychologist

The list of qualifying diagnoses is long. Some of the most common include:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Specific Learning Disability
• Speech or Language Impairment
• Emotional or Behavioral Disability
• Hearing Impairment, including deafness
• Visual Impairment, including blindness
• Cerebral Palsy
• Down Syndrome
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Other Health Impairment
• Intellectual Disability
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Rare Diseases (as defined by NORD)

If your child has a diagnosis that affects their education, check the full eligibility list at stepupforstudents.org/scholarships/unique-abilities.

Source: FES-UA Family Handbook 2026-27 (last updated July 3, 2026)

How Much Is the FES-UA Scholarship Worth?

The amount varies based on your child's matrix level of services and grade level. The matrix is assigned by your local school district's special education department and reflects the intensity of your child's educational needs.

For 2025-26, the average award is around $10,000 per year, but many families receive more depending on their child's support needs. Funds are deposited quarterly into your EMA account.

Unspent funds can roll over from one school year to the next, which is helpful if your child's needs vary or you are building toward a larger purchase.

Source: FES-UA Family Handbook 2026-27 (last updated July 3, 2026)

What Can You Spend FES-UA Funds On?

This is where FES-UA is genuinely flexible. Unlike the old Gardiner Scholarship, which had a narrower approved list, FES-UA covers a wide range of educational services and products. Approved spending categories include:

• Tuition and fees at an eligible private school, including a hybrid eligible private school
• Tutoring from a qualified provider
• Therapies: speech, occupational, physical, music, art, and horse therapy
• Curriculum and instructional materials
• Educational technology and devices
• Specialized after-school and summer programs
• Virtual instruction programs approved by FLDOE
• Evaluations related to your child's disability
• Transition-to-work programs for students ages 17 to 22
• Florida 529 college savings contributions

The key word with most of these is “approved.” Providers need to be registered in the EMA system before you can pay them through the scholarship. If a provider you want to use is not registered yet, they can apply directly through Step Up For Students.

Source: FES-UA Purchasing Guide 2025-26

How Do You Apply for FES-UA?

Applications open February 1 each year. For 2026-27:

• Renewal applicants deadline was April 30, 2026
• New applicants can apply through November 15, 2026

To apply, create an account in EMA at stepupforstudents.org. You will need to upload proof of age, proof of Florida residency, and your child's IEP or diagnosis documentation.

If you missed the renewal deadline, your application will be treated as a new application. Contact Step Up directly if you have questions about your status.

Source: Step Up For Students application info

I Have FES-UA. How Do I Find Approved Vendors?

This is the part most families do not realize is a challenge until they are sitting on scholarship money and ready to spend it. EMA has a built-in vendor search, but it is not easy to navigate and it does not tell you much about a provider beyond whether they are approved.

That is exactly why Florida Education Vendors exists.

We built a free directory specifically for Florida PEP and FES-UA families. You can browse by category, including tutoring, therapy, curriculum, enrichment, and more, and see real listings with descriptions, service areas, and contact information. Each listing shows the scholarships the vendor says it accepts. That information is self-reported, so confirm in EMA before you pay.

Browse FES-UA Vendors

Whether you are looking for a speech therapist near Tampa, an online curriculum your child can do at home, or an enrichment program that accepts FES-UA funds, the directory is a practical place to start.

You can also download our free Florida Scholarship Insider's Guide for a full overview of how PEP and FES-UA work, what you can buy, and what to do before August disbursement.

Quick Summary

The Gardiner Scholarship is gone in name only. The funding, the eligibility, and the approved vendor structure all carried forward into FES-UA and expanded from there.

If you are a Florida family with a child who has a disability or qualifying diagnosis, start your application at stepupforstudents.org. And when you are ready to find providers, browse the directory here.

Sources

• Florida Department of Education: Gardiner Scholarship
• Step Up For Students: FES-UA Program
• FES-UA Family Handbook 2026-27 (last updated July 3, 2026)

Florida Education Vendors is an independent directory for Florida PEP and FES-UA families. We are not affiliated with Step Up For Students or the Florida Department of Education. Always verify current program details directly with your scholarship funding organization.