School Choice Scholarships
Kindergarten-12th Grade Scholarship Programs
School Choice scholarships expand educational choice by allowing public education funds to follow students to the schools or services that best fit their needs. New scholarship rules were recently introduced through House Bill (HB) 1 which require all scholarship recipients taking Florida Virtual School courses to either use the scholarship funds or pay for tuition directly for courses taken.
Any student who is a resident of Florida and in Kindergarten through Grade 12 is eligible to receive scholarship funds regardless of household income. Scholarship funds can cover eligible expenses for homeschool and private school students for tuition and fees at eligible private schools and/or Florida Virtual School. Learn more about the different scholarship types from the Florida Department of Education K-12 Scholarship Programs or scholarship-funding organizations who administer funds such as:
Student Scholarship Recipients
Important Update - FLVS has updated how scholarship payments can be applied to Florida Virtual School course tuition.
Scholarship recipients enrolled in FLVS courses are responsible for tuition and direct payment to FLVS if scholarship funds are depleted.
By law, charges will apply to courses the student is enrolled in and/or registered for at the time the scholarship becomes effective, including any courses started before but completed after the scholarship’s effective date.
- By law, charges will apply to courses the student is enrolled in and/or registered for at the time the scholarship becomes effective, including any courses started before but completed after the scholarship's effective date.
- Scholarships will be applied to private schools for their tuition and fees first
- Remaining scholarship funds can be applied to Florida Virtual School tuition
- If scholarship funds are depleted and NOT available to pay for FLVS course(s), parents/guardians are responsible for direct payment of FLVS course(s)
Students Currently Enrolled in FLVS:
- Students currently enrolled AND are receiving a Florida Tax Credit Scholarship no further action is required
- If your child is currently enrolled in (even if you signed up for the course before you applied for and were awarded the scholarship) or awaiting placement in a Florida Virtual School course, the scholarship rules requires you to enroll in Florida
Virtual School courses as a private pay student
- All scholarship student accounts will update to Private pay by the Scholarship team
- Scholarship recipients enrolled in FLVS courses are responsible for tuition and direct payment to FLVS if scholarship funds are depleted
- Homeschool Student or Personalized Education Program (PEP) scholarship recipients must register as “Private School” student type in the Admissions and Registration process:
Enroll in Grades K-5Enroll in Grades 6-12
Students NOT Currently Enrolled in FLVS:
- If your child is NOT currently enrolled in or awaiting placement in a Florida Virtual School course, no further action is required
- Course fees for private pay students are $375 per half-credit (one-segment).
- By law, charges will apply to courses the student is enrolled in and/or registered for at the time the scholarship becomes effective, including any courses started before but completed after the scholarship's effective date.
- You will receive an invoice for your child’s course fees along with a link to select an option for payment
You will receive and email from [email protected] containing invoice details, information regarding courses and tuition, as well as a link to select one of the payment options:
Pay with Scholarship Funds: Funds must be available in scholarship account- To check the status of available funds, log in to the account provided by your scholarship funding organization
- If scholarship funds are available, follow the instructions provided by your scholarship funding organization to submit an invoice for direct payment Florida Virtual School
- Your child will be placed in course(s) once Florida Virtual school can verify payment from the scholarship account
- Payment can be made to Florida Virtual School directly if you would prefer not to use scholarship funds or if funds are depleted
- Payment can be made via check or credit card
- Your child will be placed in their course(s) once Florida Virtual school can confirm receipt of payment
- Plan payments will automatically be charged to your credit card
- Students will be placed in courses(s) once the payment plan is approved
If you have any questions on the above payment options or how to use Florida Virtual School as a School Choice Scholarship recipient, please contact our Scholarship Support team: [email protected].
Private School Administration Guidelines- Private schools with students enrolled in Florida Virtual School courses will receive an email with an invoice and instructions on how to authorize payment for all the registered scholarship students.This email will also be sent to the parent/guardian.
- Private schools have the option to accept and authorize payment for the invoice for up to five (5) students in a single entry
- Private schools can choose to authorize all their students' course requests for the year with a blanket authorization by reaching out to the FLVS scholarship team
- Private school providers may pay using credit card, check, or ACH. Please contact [email protected] for information on setting up ACH with Florida Virtual School.
Private schools are encouraged to communicate their policy for taking Florida Virtual School courses as a scholarship recipient with their students/families.
For additional information regarding scholarships and payment options, please contact [email protected].
- Refunds are reviewed and processed by request only, and on a case-by-case basis
- If your child withdraws from a course, please notify the Scholarship Support Team at [email protected] so we can determine if the account is eligible for a refund
- Following activation in a course, the student has 14-days during which he or she may withdraw and receive a refund. If the student completes 20% or is active in the course beyond the 14 days and then withdraws, a refund will not be issued
- The refund will be issued to the entity or individual from whom the payment was received for the enrollment
Frequently Asked Questions
All Florida students in grades Kindergarten- 12th grade are eligible to take a course with Florida Virtual School as a scholarship recipient. As scholarship recipients, families can use scholarship funds or pay out of pocket to enroll in Florida Virtual School individual courses (FLVS Flex). However, scholarship recipients enrolled in FLVS courses are responsible for tuition and direct payment to FLVS if scholarship funds are depleted.
School Choice scholarships expand educational choice by allowing public education funds to follow students to the schools or services that best fit their needs. Scholarship rules were recently introduced through House Bill (HB) 1, which require all scholarship recipients taking Florida Virtual School courses to either use the scholarship funds or pay for tuition directly for courses taken.
The Florida Department of Education recently provided the quarterly list of students who were awarded and funded for a school choice scholarship. School choice scholarships expand educational choice by allowing public education funds to follow students to the schools or services that best fit their needs.
Scholarship rules were recently introduced through House Bill (HB) 1, which require all scholarship recipients taking Florida Virtual School courses to either use the scholarship funds or pay for tuition directly for courses taken. Because courses are counted as part of the school year they are COMPLETED in, this applies to any course the student is active in once the scholarship has been awarded regardless of when the course was requested.
An invoice will be sent by email from [email protected] once your child’s course request(s) are approved. Please allow 5-7 business days to receive the invoice email before reaching out.
Please send us a message so we can further assist you. The Florida Virtual School refund policy states: Following course activation, the student has 14 days during which they may withdraw and receive a refund. If the student completes 20% or is active in the course beyond the 14 days and then withdraws, a refund will not be issued.
Each scholarship has individual requirements for both eligibility and access to Florida Virtual School courses. If you have any questions on how to use your awarded scholarship, click on the link to be directed to your scholarship organization, Step Up for Students, and the AAA Scholarship Foundation.
Once you have notified your scholarship funding organization that you are declining your scholarship, please click here to submit a help ticket to advise FLVS that your student is no longer a scholarship recipient. Once we have processed the removal, your student will be sent to enrollment for placement. Please allow 5-7 Business days.
To remove the scholarship, your child must no longer be enrolled or receiving funds from a scholarship provider. Once you have notified your scholarship funding organization that you are declining your scholarship, please click here to notify FLVS that your student is no longer a scholarship recipient.
To find your child’s scholarship information:
- Have your child log into their Florida Virtual School account.
- From the Dashboard (home page), click the three lines in the top left corner of the screen and a menu will appear on the left side of the screen.
- Click on ‘Student Records’
- Choose ‘Academic Profile’
- Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page
- If your child’s scholarship information has been provided to Florida Virtual School by the Florida Department of Education, it will appear in the Academic Profile at the bottom of the page under 'Scholarship Program'
- If you do not see the 'Scholarship Program' section your child’s scholarship information has NOT been provided to Florida Virtual School yet. If you know you were awarded a scholarship, please use the Self Reporting Tool to add the scholarship information to the student account.
To remove the scholarship, your child must no longer be enrolled or receiving funds from a scholarship provider. Once you have notified your scholarship funding organization that you are declining your scholarship, please click here to notify FLVS that your student is no longer a scholarship recipient.
If your student is not a scholarship recipient for the school year, the required course fees will not apply. To remove the scholarship, your child must no longer be enrolled or receiving funds from a scholarship provider. Once you have notified your scholarship funding organization that you are declining your scholarship, please click here to notify FLVS that your student is no longer a scholarship recipient.
Once your child’s course requests are approved, you will receive an email from [email protected] within 5-7 business days containing your invoice information and a link to select a payment option. Please verify that the parent/guardian email on your child’s account is correct. If you no longer wish to be enrolled in courses, please cancel the course requests by accessing the student dashboard and selecting the option to 'Drop Course'.
Please check your child’s Florida Virtual School account to verify that scholarship information from the Florida Department of Education has been added to your child’s FLVS account:
- Log into your Virtual School Administrator (VSA) parent account.
- Select the menu icon on the top left side of the 'Student Dashboard.'
- Select ‘Student Records’ and choose 'Academic Profile.'
- Scholarship information will be visible in the 'Academic Profile.'
Log into your EMA Portal:
- 1. Login to the EMA portal
2. Click on "Marketplace"
3. Click 'Find Providers'
4. Select your student from the drop down menu
5. Then select the "Service Category:
Florida Virtual School (FLVS)
~Click "SEARCH"
6. Choose Florida Virtual School and then select the location (there is only one option)
7. Select the quantity of segments or full year courses
8. Click Add to Cart and then Go to Cart
9. Follow the steps in your cart to "Reserve Funds"
Once the funds are reserved, Florida Virtual School will process the request so your student can be assigned to a classroom. This can take up to 5-7 business days.
There are several options available to families who are waiting for their funding to be released. The options are as follows:
Reserve available funds and pay the remaining balance.
You can reserve funds for as many course segments as you would like to use the balance left in your scholarship fund. If you choose this option, you will pay the remaining balance (if any) with a credit card through the online payment portal or a pay plan. Later, when your scholarship funds become available, you can submit the amount paid to your funding provider for reimbursement. It is like a temporary loan from your own pocket with reimbursement down the road.
Drop the second segment and reserve funds for segment 1 only.
If you are running low on funds right now, you could drop any requested second segment courses altogether. By doing this, you will reserve the scholarship funds specifically for segment 1, using the balance left in your scholarship fund. You would then pay the remaining balance (if any) with a credit card through the online payment portal or request a payment plan for the balance. Any portion paid out of pocket can be submitted for reimbursement once the scholarship funds are available to you. When the next quarter’s disbursements come in you can then request the courses for the second segment.
Set up a payment plan and request reimbursement.
This option involves setting up a payment plan that automatically charges a credit card. It spreads out the cost over time. As scholarship funds become available, you can request reimbursement for the payments you made with your scholarship funding provider.
Change the Preferred Start Date.
You could push out the Preferred Start Date for the courses to the month that your next disbursement will be available.
The following options are available:
- Reserve funds for as many course segments as you would like from the scholarship and then pay the remaining balance with a credit card using the online payment portal. *You may then submit your portion for reimbursement when funds become available through the scholarship.
- Drop the second segment and reserve the funds for segment 1. The second segment courses can be requested when the next quarter's disbursements are released.
- Setup a payment plan (automatically charged to a credit card) and request reimbursement through the scholarship as funds are available.
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