Hiring a Tutor or Therapist With Scholarship Funds: Who Qualifies as a Provider in Florida

The single most valuable thing a scholarship buys many homeschool families is a person: a reading tutor twice a week, an occupational therapist, a certified teacher for high school chemistry. The programs pay for these services, and they are also the category where families lose the most money, because the provider has to meet a credential rule and be paid through the right channel. Learn both before you book.

Tutors: the credential rule

PEP's covered list describes tutoring as part-time tutoring by a certified educator, and the private-school-track programs use similar language. Step Up's family handbook spells out exactly which credentials count — a valid Florida educator's certificate is the clearest case, and the handbook names the others. A college student who is great at math, a neighbor who used to teach in another state, or a retired engineer may be a wonderful tutor and still not qualify. Ask a prospective tutor which credential they hold and whether they have been paid by scholarship families before. If the answer is vague, assume the session is coming out of your own pocket.

Therapists: FES-UA's provider rule

FES-UA pays for speech-language pathology, occupational and physical therapy, applied behavior analysis, listening and spoken-language specialists and more, and it is strict about who delivers them. Service providers must be APD-approved, licensed by the Florida Department of Health, an Office of Early Learning school-readiness provider, or listed by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Services generally must be delivered in Florida, with credentialed virtual providers the exception. A therapist who is licensed but has never registered with Step Up can usually do so; a practitioner who is not licensed at all cannot be paid from the account regardless of how good they are.

Direct billing or reimbursement

A provider registered with Step Up can direct bill: you give them the student's scholarship ID, they invoice inside EMA after the service is delivered, and you approve it. Money never leaves your hands. A qualified provider who is not registered can be paid by reimbursement: you pay, keep an itemized receipt that shows the full date, the service, the student, the amount and proof of payment, and file it. Direct billing is easier on cash flow; reimbursement opens the door to more providers. Either way, providers are paid after a service happens, never in advance, and prepaid packages are a reliable way to get a denial.

Questions to ask before the first session

• Which credential or license do you hold, and can I see it?
• Are you registered with Step Up For Students for direct billing, or will I pay and file for reimbursement?
• Will your invoice or receipt show the date, the student's name, the service and the rate per session?
• Do you bill per session after it happens, or do you require prepayment?
• Have other Florida scholarship families paid you through the program, and were there any problems?

Action items

• Read the provider and tutoring section of Step Up's current family handbook before you interview anyone.
• Write the provider's credential and Step Up status in your records the day you hire them.
• Approve direct-billed invoices the week they arrive and file reimbursements the same month.
• If a provider you love does not qualify, ask whether they would register or partner with someone who does.

Tutors and therapists who already serve Florida scholarship families are in our vendor directory, with each program's covered services explained in the Step Up 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.