Step Up for Students & Math: A Florida Parent's Plain-English Guide

By Erika Nagy, founder of MathKnights and Florida parent of two · Updated October 2026 · Not affiliated with Step Up For Students or the Florida DOE — just a mom who did the reading.

If you've heard other Florida parents mention "Step Up money" and quietly wondered what they're talking about — this page is for you. The short version: Florida funds school choice more aggressively than almost any state, and since 2023, eligibility no longer depends on income. That includes families who homeschool. Many are receiving an education savings account worth roughly $8,000 per child per year — money that can pay for curriculum, online learning programs, tutoring, and instructional materials. Including, yes, math.

Here's the whole system in plain English.

The scholarships, decoded

Amounts are set annually by the Florida Legislature and vary by county and grade. 2026–27 official amounts publish in July 2026.

PEP: the one homeschool families ask me about

PEP gives homeschooling families an education savings account (ESA) — it works like a purpose-restricted bank account. The trade, honestly stated:

The distinction that trips everyone up: PEP is not the same as registering as a traditional Florida "homeschooler." In Step Up's own words, PEP is for students "not enrolled in public school or a Florida Home Education Program." You're parent-directed either way, but legally these are two separate paths — and you're on one or the other, not both. It matters because each path has its own reporting rules (PEP has the ESA and its own accountability requirements below; traditional home education has the county-registration and annual-evaluation route). If you're already a registered homeschooler, switching to PEP is a deliberate change, not an add-on.

You get: ~$8,000 per child per year for curriculum, online learning, materials, and tutoring. You commit to: a Student Learning Plan (SLP) filed with your scholarship organization, a sworn compliance affidavit, and an annual nationally norm-referenced test score submitted to them. Note that last one — it replaces the usual menu of Florida home-education evaluation options while you're on PEP, and it's the piece that surprises families most. This is exactly why practice aligned to Florida's own B.E.S.T. benchmarks stops being a nice-to-have: your child is practicing the same expectations they'll be measured against.

How families actually spend the money

Two paths, and most families use both:

1. MyScholarShop — Step Up's online marketplace of pre-approved vendors and products. Click, buy, funds deduct directly. Simplest path when what you want is listed.
2. Reimbursement — pay out of pocket for an eligible expense (an approved category like instructional materials or curriculum), keep the receipt, submit it through the portal, get paid back from the ESA. This is how families buy from smaller providers that aren't in the marketplace.

The rulebook for what counts is the Purchasing Guide for your specific scholarship — it's updated every year, so check the current one before a big purchase rather than relying on a Facebook comment (including this page!).

What ~$8,000 realistically covers in a year

The number sounds huge until you start allocating it — and then it's very workable, but not infinite. Here's a realistic, honest picture of how a PEP year actually breaks down for a homeschooling family (yours will vary, but this is the shape of it):

• Core curriculum across subjects (math, language arts, science, history): roughly $500–$1,500 depending on whether you go workbook-based or full online programs.
• Daily math practice / adaptive software: $60–$300 for the year. (MathKnights sits at the bottom of that range — $59.99/year, or $9.99/month, for up to four kids — which is why it's an easy line item, not a budget decision.)
• Tutoring for rough patches: this is where real money goes if you need it — $40–$80/hour for a private tutor, so even occasional help runs $1,000–$3,000+ over a year. Budgeting for the possibility is wise.
• Enrichment, classes, co-op fees, testing: $500–$2,000 — the annual norm-referenced test PEP requires, plus any online classes or co-op memberships.
• Materials, supplies, technology: a laptop or tablet, printing, manipulatives, books — $300–$1,500, and often front-loaded in year one.

The pattern most families land on: curriculum and materials are a known, one-time-ish cost; the variable line is tutoring, and it's the one worth leaving room for. A cheap, effective daily-practice tool that keeps a kid from falling behind in the first place is one of the highest-leverage ways to spend a small slice of the budget — because every rough patch it prevents is a $60/hour tutor you didn't have to book.

Before you buy: a 30-second checklist

1. Is it an approved category? Instructional materials, curriculum, and online learning programs are core-approved for PEP — but confirm against the current Purchasing Guide.
2. MyScholarShop or reimbursement? If it's in the marketplace, buy direct. If not, check that it's a reimbursable category before you pay out of pocket.
3. Does it support your SLP? Purchases should map to a subject area in your Student Learning Plan — math tools obviously do, which keeps your paperwork clean.
4. Keep the receipt and a one-line note of what it was for. Reimbursement-you and SLP-you will both thank present-you.

Using scholarship funds for math, specifically

Math is where a lot of ESA money goes, because math is where homeschool confidence wobbles first. What families typically fund: a core curriculum (workbook or online), an adaptive practice program for daily reps, and sometimes a tutor for rough patches. A few honest tips from the trenches:

• Match tools to Florida's benchmarks. If your child will take a norm-referenced test annually (PEP requires it), practice aligned to grade-level expectations pays off directly. Our B.E.S.T. alignment table shows what that looks like benchmark-by-benchmark.
• An $8,000 ESA changes the math on price. Full disclosure and a little perspective: MathKnights Premium Family is $59.99/year (or $9.99/month) for up to four children — under 1% of one child's PEP funds. (Heads-up: on a family plan, Step Up reimburses only the scholarship student's share; more on that below.) Whether you use ours or anything else, the point stands: don't let price anxiety push you toward a tool your child hates.
• Keep every receipt and a one-line note of what each purchase was for. Future-you, at reimbursement or SLP time, will be grateful.

How to get reimbursed for MathKnights (2026–27 rules)

MathKnights isn’t in MyScholarShop yet (more on that in the FAQ), so for now it’s the reimbursement path: you pay us, then request the money back from your ESA. In October 2026 I read the current PEP Purchasing Guide and FES-UA 2026–27 Purchasing Guide. Four rules matter for a math app:

1. Educational applications are a listed digital material. Both guides allow funds for subscriptions to “productivity, behavioral, or educational applications.” That’s where MathKnights fits.
2. Single-student pricing, so family plans are prorated. Reimbursement for a multi-user subscription covers only the scholarship student’s share. If one of your three kids has the scholarship, expect about a third of the family plan back.
3. It has to teach. Software should be safe for students and “provide opportunities for instruction.”
4. Gaming subscriptions are not eligible. MathKnights has a knights-and-quests theme, but what you’re paying for is adaptive math instruction and practice built on Florida B.E.S.T. benchmarks, with video lessons and a parent progress dashboard. Describe it that way on your request (wording below).

The guides only require pre-authorization for curriculum that isn’t publicly available; MathKnights is publicly available with published pricing. Still, both guides ask families to confirm with Step Up before paying out of pocket, so do that first, especially for the annual plan.

Step by step

1. Confirm with Step Up that an educational math application is reimbursable for your child’s program this year.
2. Try the free plan first so you know it fits before any money moves.
3. Subscribe with a card or other traceable payment (cash to private sellers isn’t reimbursable).
4. Save the paid receipt. After each payment we email a Receipt-####-####.pdf. Submit that, not the invoice: an invoice that shows an amount “due” won’t be accepted.
5. Submit the request in your Step Up account. On a family plan, note how many children share it so the reviewer can prorate.
6. Allow up to 60 days for review.

What your receipt needs to show

Step Up’s reimbursement best-practices guide puts subscription receipts that only say “subscription charges” on hold. The MathKnights receipt PDF already shows everything on their list: retailer name, date paid with the year, invoice and receipt numbers, the plan by name and dates (for example “MathKnights Premium Family Monthly, Oct 8–Nov 8, 2026”), subtotal, Florida sales tax and total, and the card used.

Wording for the description field: “MathKnights Premium Family — adaptive online math instruction and practice application for grades 1–5, aligned to Florida B.E.S.T. mathematics benchmarks. Category: digital materials (educational application). Single-student share.”

Sources: PEP Purchasing Guide 2026–27, FES-UA Purchasing Guide 2026–27, PEP Reimbursement, Reimbursement Best Practices for Families (read October 2026). Step Up decides every request; this is my summary, not official guidance.

Frequently asked questions

What is Step Up For Students?

Step Up For Students is a state-approved Scholarship Funding Organization (SFO) that administers Florida's school-choice scholarships — including the Personalized Education Program (PEP) for homeschool families, the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Unique Abilities (FES-UA), private school scholarships (FTC/FES-EO), and others. It has served Florida families since 2000. AAA Scholarships is the other approved SFO.

How much is the PEP scholarship?

PEP provides an education savings account (ESA) averaging around $8,000 per student per year (amounts vary by county and grade, and are set annually by the Florida Legislature). The program can serve up to 140,000 students in the 2026–27 school year.

Can PEP funds pay for a math app or online math program?

Usually, yes. The 2026–27 PEP and FES-UA purchasing guides list subscriptions to educational applications as an eligible digital material, at single-student pricing (family plans are prorated). Gaming subscription services are excluded. Purchases happen two ways: directly through MyScholarShop (Step Up’s marketplace of approved vendors), or by paying out of pocket and submitting the paid receipt for reimbursement. Always check the current Purchasing Guide for your scholarship, because rules are updated each year.

When can I apply?

Applications for the 2026–27 school year opened in January 2026 and the deadline for new and renewing PEP students was April 30, 2026 — so that window has closed. If you missed it, join Step Up's interest list so you're notified when 2027–28 applications open (typically each January), and note that renewal students get first priority by law.

Does my child have to take a test if we use PEP?

PEP has its own accountability path: families submit a Student Learning Plan, a sworn compliance affidavit, and an annual nationally norm-referenced test score to the SFO. (This replaces the standard Florida home-education evaluation options while on PEP — one reason benchmark-aligned practice is genuinely useful for PEP families.)

Is MathKnights an approved Step Up vendor?

Not yet, and we'll always be straight with you about it. In October 2026 Step Up reviewed our supplier application and added MathKnights to its MyScholarShop onboarding queue, which is not an approval and can take a while. Until then, families pay us directly and request reimbursement (see the section above). MathKnights Premium Family is $59.99/year or $9.99/month for up to 4 children. Questions? Email support@mathknights.com and a real person (me) answers.

Will a family plan be reimbursed in full?

Usually not. The purchasing guides say multi-user subscriptions are prorated to cover only the scholarship student's share. If two of your children share Premium Family and one has a scholarship, expect about half back.

Isn't MathKnights a game? Games aren't allowed.

The guides exclude gaming subscription services. MathKnights is an adaptive math instruction and practice app: every quest is built from Florida B.E.S.T. math benchmarks, with video lessons and a parent progress dashboard. The quest theme is there so kids actually finish their practice.

This guide reflects program information as of July 2026, with reimbursement rules checked against the 2026–27 purchasing guides in October 2026 and is written by an independent Florida parent and business owner. Program rules, amounts, and deadlines are set by the Florida Legislature and administered by SFOs — always verify current details at stepupforstudents.org before making decisions. MathKnights is not affiliated with or endorsed by Step Up For Students or the Florida Department of Education.