Less than two months after application season began, more than 500,000 students have applied for Florida’s K-12 Education Choice Scholarships, and record interest continues.
Step Up for Students, the nonprofit organization that administers 98% of the state’s scholarships, opened applications for the 2026-27 academic year on Feb. 1. A record 200,000 people applied in the first three days.
A total of 300,106 students had applied for scholarships by noon on February 10, an 11.7% increase compared to the same 10-day period last year. By Friday morning, February 27, a total of 401,507 students had applied.
The number of applications reached 500,000 on March 30, 22 days earlier than in 2025.
Step Up For Student CEO Gretchen Schoenhaar said the organization’s teams and systems are ready for the increased interest. StepUp’s technology systems processed 15% more applications on the first day of this year than during the same period last year. More than 90% of families who sought support said they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the support they received.
Since its founding in 2002, Step Up has managed more than 3 million scholarships.
During the 25-26 school year, more than 525,000 students received funding from Florida’s K-12 scholarship program, allowing them to access their preferred learning options. If these students were counted as one district, it would be the largest in the state and the third largest in the nation. That makes Florida a national leader in educational options.
However, not all families use up their scholarship funds. The main reasons are: The private school I wanted didn’t have capacity. They were on a waiting list for a charter school but were accepted. They chose to attend district schools.
This fiscal year, Step Up is on track to complete 2.75 million transactions valued at more than $425 million on its online marketplace, MyScholarShop. This year, StepUp is on track to process more than 4.5 million reimbursement claims worth more than $595 million, four times as many as just two years ago.
Households currently receiving scholarships must renew their scholarships for the next year by April 30th. All families seeking PEP scholarships must also apply by April 30th.
