The award email arrives with a number in it. Somewhere below that number is the part nobody explains: whether it pays for the school you had in mind, or whether it covers a third of it.

Florida moved to universal eligibility in 2023, so the question stopped being do we qualify and became what does this buy. The state publishes the answer, but it publishes it as a 66-row PDF sorted by county, with no reference to what any school charges. So parents in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach end up guessing.

Here are the 2026-27 numbers for those three counties, and the arithmetic that follows from them.

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How much is the 2026-27 award in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach?

For the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC), the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO) and the Personalized Education Program (PEP), the award is set by the Legislature and varies by your county of residence and your child's grade band.

Two things follow from the table. A Palm Beach ninth grader draws $8,091, while a Broward ninth grader in the same grade at the same school draws $7,701. And the award drops as your child gets older, which is the opposite of how tuition moves.

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What the award covers against real tuition

Take a Palm Beach family with a student entering tenth grade. The award is $8,091.

Tuition at Score Academy runs from $19,800 per year. The scholarship closes part of that. It does not close all of it, and any school telling a South Florida family that a standard FES-EO award covers a full independent-school tuition is doing arithmetic that does not work.

What the scholarship does is change the size of the decision. A family that could not consider private school at $22,000 can consider it at the difference. That is the honest version, and it is the version worth planning around.

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If your child has a diagnosis or an IEP, the number is different

This is where South Florida families get the biggest surprise, and where the state is most generous.

The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) pays on a matrix of services. A Level 1, 2 or 3 matrix, or a qualifying diagnosis from an authorized licensed medical professional, funds at the 251-253 band. Levels 254 and 255 fund far higher.

Read the last two columns again. At Matrix Level 254 in Palm Beach, the award is $22,439. At Level 255 it is $35,893. For families at those levels, the funding gap on a South Florida private school tuition closes entirely, and the remainder sits in an education savings account for approved expenses like therapies, tutoring and curriculum.

Qualifying conditions include autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, specific learning disabilities and others listed by the Florida Department of Education. Plenty of families whose child has a diagnosis on that list never apply, because they assume a scholarship means a means test. FES-UA is not income-based.

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The McKay Scholarship no longer exists

If you were told to apply for the John M. McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities, that program ended on 1 July 2022. It was folded into FES-UA. Students who held a McKay award in 2021-22 transitioned across without re-qualifying, and they remain excluded from the FES-UA cap.

Anything still directing you to a McKay application is out of date. Apply through FES-UA instead.

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Which Score Academy campuses accept scholarship funds

Score Academy is approved to accept scholarship funds at Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens and Wellington.

Miami and Coral Springs are not yet approved. At those two campuses, Score extends a tuition credit to parents equal to the anticipated scholarship award, so a family is not penalized for choosing the campus nearest to them while approval is pending.

That is worth saying plainly because the state directories will not tell you. The Florida Private Schools Directory lists participation status and stops there.

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Dates and mechanics for 2026-27

Applications for 2026-27 opened on 1 February 2026 and are reviewed first-come, first-served. New students must submit an initial application by 15 November. Funds disburse quarterly, not as a lump sum.

You apply through a Scholarship Funding Organization, not through a school. Florida has approved two: Step Up For Students and AAA Scholarship Foundation. One application covers both FTC and FES-EO, and students eligible for both receive FTC first until tax credit funding is exhausted.

Priority order for FTC and FES-EO goes to households at or below 185% of the federal poverty level and to children in foster or out-of-home care, then to households above that and up to 400%. Above 400% you still qualify, without priority. You can decline to submit income documentation and be processed without priority.

There is no cap on FES-EO. There is a cap on FES-UA, and applications can close before the published deadline once the program reaches capacity. If your child has a qualifying diagnosis, apply early rather than at the deadline.

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What the scholarship will not pay for

FTC and FES-EO cover tuition and fees at a private school approved by the Florida Department of Education. A school that has not completed FLDOE registration cannot receive the funds, and private schools are not required to participate.

Scholarship students cannot take Florida Virtual School courses except as private-paying students.

FES-UA is broader, because the award lands in an education savings account rather than going straight to a school. Approved expenses extend past tuition to therapies, tutoring, instructional materials and other services tied to the student's needs.

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Questions we get from families

Does Step Up For Students cover the full cost of private school? For most families on FTC or FES-EO, no. The 2026-27 award in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach runs $7,701 to $8,890, which is below the tuition at most independent schools in the region. Families on FES-UA at Matrix Level 254 or 255 receive $21,941 to $35,893 and often do see the full cost covered.

Do I need an IEP to qualify for FES-UA? No. A Level 1, 2 or 3 matrix of services qualifies, and so does a qualifying diagnosis from an authorized licensed medical professional. An IEP is one route, not the only one.

Does a 504 plan qualify for a Florida scholarship?A 504 plan on its own does not establish FES-UA eligibility. What matters is a matrix of services or a qualifying diagnosis. Many students with a 504 also hold a qualifying diagnosis, so confirm your specific case with Step Up For Students or AAA before assuming either way.

Why is my neighbour's award different from mine? County of residence and grade band. A Palm Beach K-3 student and a Broward ninth grader are $1,189 apart on the same program.

Can I apply directly through the school? No. Applications go through Step Up For Students or AAA Scholarship Foundation. A school confirms enrollment; it does not award the scholarship.

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Before you commit to a school

Bring your award letter to the conversation. At Score Academy, the admissions conversation happens with a Head of School rather than an admissions officer, and it starts with whether we have conviction that we can help your child. Sometimes the answer is no, and we will point you toward schools that fit better.

Either way you will leave knowing what the number in your award letter buys.

Book a fit assessment at Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens, Wellington, Miami or Coral Springs.