Florida homeschooling · ESA funds, the affidavit, the choice

Homeschool in Florida with the money on your side.

Florida makes homeschooling legally simple: file one affidavit with the county, complete one annual evaluation, and you are in. And since the state's universal choice law, homeschool families can also tap real money through education savings accounts, about $8,000 a year on average on the Personalized Education Program track, with the former Gardiner Scholarship serving students with unique abilities. The catch is that program names, deadlines, and spending rules shift, so treat this as the map, not the gospel, and confirm against the official sources at the bottom.

A bright homeschool learning table with open books, a journal, colored pencils, and a succulent in soft coastal morning light

The legal basics: one affidavit, one evaluation a year

Under Florida Statute 1002.41, home education starts with a written notice of intent, the affidavit, filed with the district superintendent in the county where you live. In St. Johns County, that is the district's home education office. File within 30 days of the date you start, and it is a one-time filing, not an annual ritual. The notice lists the full legal names, addresses, and birthdates of the children in your program, and the district may not ask for anything beyond that.

Each year, by the anniversary of your registration, you file one of several approved evaluation options: a portfolio review and discussion with a Florida-certified teacher, a nationally norm-referenced achievement test, an evaluation by a licensed psychologist, or another valid measurement you agree on with the superintendent. Parents keep a portfolio of activity logs and work samples available for inspection on 15 days' written notice. That is the whole legal structure. It is genuinely light.

The St. Johns County home education page breaks down the filing, the evaluation options, and the local forms step by step, and it is the first place to go when you are ready to start.

The money: Florida's ESA scholarships

PEP: the homeschool ESA

~$8,000 avg · K-12

The Personalized Education Program is Florida's dedicated homeschool track. It runs through Step Up For Students, carries no income test for most families, and deposits roughly $8,000 a year into an education savings account. You spend it on approved curriculum, tutoring, materials, and technology through the program's vendor portal. One honest quirk: PEP is its own enrollment status, not county home education, so you choose one lane or the other.

FES-UA: the former Gardiner Scholarship

~$10,000 avg · ages 3-22

The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities is what the Gardiner Scholarship became, extended by the old McKay program. It serves students with qualifying diagnoses, has no income limit, and pays for far more than curriculum: therapy, tutoring, technology like a laptop or tablet, assessments, and even Florida Prepaid. County-registered homeschoolers with a qualifying child use this track.

FES-EO: the private school track

~$8,000 avg · universal

The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options pays private school tuition at around $8,000 a year, and since 2023 every K-12 Florida student qualifies regardless of income. Families can move between PEP and FES-EO within the same application system, which makes the private school and homeschool years easier to combine across a child's school career.

All three work the same way mechanically: a state-approved funding organization confirms eligibility, funds land in a restricted account for the student, and families buy from approved vendors, often through a portal and a prepaid card. Unspent money rolls over, which rewards planning over panic spending at year end.

What a typical choice process looks like

Decide which track fits

County home education (the classic affidavit path) and the PEP scholarship stay are separate statuses. PEP families are not registered with the county in the traditional way; county homeschoolers use FES-UA if their child has a qualifying unique ability. Picking the track first makes everything else cleaner.

Apply through an approved funding organization

For Step Up For Students, applications and renewals run on published windows, roughly February through April for renewing families with separate new-family deadlines. Eligibility is confirmed by the funding organization, not by the school district.

File the affidavit with the county

For the county route, send the notice of intent to the St. Johns County superintendent within 30 days of starting your program. It is a one-time filing that lists each enrolled child.

Build the plan, then the receipts

Choose curriculum, tutoring, and materials from approved vendors, buy through the scholarship portal or card, and keep the documentation. Unspent ESA funds roll over, so they are a pool to manage, not a monthly allowance to race through.

Close the year with the evaluation

County homeschoolers file a portfolio evaluation or test result by the anniversary of their registration each year. PEP families manage annual renewal through the funding organization instead. Either way, a tidy record makes the year painless.

For most families the whole thing, from the first application to the first lesson, takes a few weeks once you know your lane. The families who stall are the ones trying to decide between county home education and PEP in their heads. Pick based on your child and your approved-vendor options, not on which one sounds more official.

The honest part

Let's be honest about the fine print. The scholarship averages are averages, actual awards vary by grade and program, and spending is restricted to approved vendors and categories. You cannot treat the account like a cash allowance. Participation on some tracks is capped or prioritized by law, deadlines run on a calendar that changes, and the same curriculum can cost different amounts on different portals. Double check by asking the funding organization directly: every one of them publishes a phone number and a real person.

And the part nobody brags about: homeschool is only cheap if you ignore the parent's labor. The scholarship pays for materials and services, not for the hours of teaching, planning, and record keeping. Families here balance it beautifully with the co-op and tutorial network in this area, which I cover in the co-ops guide, but go in with your eyes open about the time commitment, not just the funding.

The official sources

Homeschooling changes what you need from a home.

You may not need a specific school zone, but you still need a layout that works for learning, a community with co-op access, and neighbors who get it. I help homeschool families buy for the life they are actually living, not the one the school maps assume.

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