The Florida Scholarship Calendar: Every Deadline Homeschool Families Should Track

Florida's scholarships are funded and processed in a rhythm. Learn the rhythm and the system works for you; ignore it and you discover its penalties the hard way. Here is the shape of a scholarship year.

Winter (January – February): the starting gun

Application windows for the coming school year open in early February. Renewals and new applications open together — and for PEP, this window is the only one. Set your reminder for late January so you're ready on day one; priority processing is first-come.

Spring (March – April): the renewal cliff

Renewal windows close in late April (April 30 for the 2026–27 cycle). Here is the trap: a renewal submitted after the deadline isn't rejected — it's reclassified as a new application. Your student keeps eligibility but loses renewal priority, and in a first-come system with a fixed appropriation, priority is everything. PEP closes entirely at this point and does not reopen in the fall.

Late spring (May): accept, don't just qualify

Eligibility and acceptance are separate steps with separate deadlines. Renewing families must formally accept by the stated date to keep renewal standing. An award you never clicked accept on is an award you don't have.

Summer (July – September): money starts moving

The scholarship year runs July through June, and funding lands quarterly — renewing students are typically funded first in early August, newly awarded students about a month later. Plan purchases around deposits, not around the school year in your head.

Fall (October – November): the last doors

New applications for the private-school-track scholarships (FTC/FES-EO) stay open into mid-November — November 15 for 2026–27. After that, the main entry point left is the Hope pathway, which stays open year-round for students affected by bullying or violence at a public school.

Five dates to calendar right now

• Late January: check the new cycle's application dates.
• Early February: apply — especially renewals and PEP.
• Mid-April: confirm your renewal is submitted, two weeks before the cliff.
• May: formally accept every award.
• Each quarter: FES-UA families — file the attestation before the deposit date.

Current-cycle status for every program is kept up to date on our scholarships page, with the full rules in the complete guide.

My Learning Source is an independent marketplace and is not affiliated with Step Up For Students or the Florida Department of Education. Program rules and amounts change every cycle — confirm details on the official program pages before making financial decisions.