On average recipients received $10,000 annually. Students can continue to receive the scholarship until they graduate high school, turn 22 or return to public school. Students can use the Gardiner Scholarship for homeschooling, but they can't use it while enrolled in public school or getting any other state-sponsored scholarships. The Gardiner Scholarship allows parents to direct scholarship funds toward a combination of approved programs and providers including approved private schools, therapists, specialists, curriculum and technology – even a college savings account. Household income is not a factor for eligibility with the Gardiner Scholarship. 1 may be eligible for the year they apply. Or, students in kindergarten deemed “high risk” due to developmental delays and not older than 5 on Sept. Step Up For Students was created to help alleviate the enormous educational challenges faced by children in Florida who live in or near poverty. This scholarship is for Florida students age 3 through 12th grade or age 22, whichever comes first, with one of the following disabilities: autism spectrum disorder, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, spina bifida, Williams syndrome or an intellectual disability (severe cognitive impairment). The state-funded Gardiner Scholarship is a program that helps families personalize educational plans for their children with certain special needs. If a family’s household income qualifies for the free- or reduced-price school lunch program, or if the family receives SNAP (food stamps), TANF, or FDPIR, the student may be eligible. Families may choose between two scholarship options: one helps cover private school tuition and fees, or one that assists with transportation costs to attend a public school in another county. The income-based Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC), funded by corporate donors, empowers low-income families to find the K-12 school that best meets their children’s learning needs. Step Up For Students administers two different scholarship programs: The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship for low-income families and the Gardiner Scholarship (formerly known as the Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts or PLSA) for children with certain special needs. These students are able to attend one of the more than 1,500 schools statewide that participate in the Step Up program, with nearly 390 of the schools in Dade and Monroe counties. Since 2010, Eagle Brand Sales has contributed more than $49 million to the scholarship program, providing more than 9,600 scholarships to low-income Florida K-12 students. That’s why Eagle Brand Sales is proud to support Step Up For Students, a nonprofit organization that helps provide Florida schoolchildren with educational options that work best for them. Eagle Brand Sales leaders think education is one of the most important building blocks to a child’s future, and a quality education can open a world of possibilities.

Step up for students