Sources and methodology

The official sources behind each program page, how providers are included in the directory, and what is still unknown.

Official sources by program

Each program page is checked against the program’s own documents: the administrator’s handbook, the program website, and the statute or rule where amounts are set. The specific document and version behind each fact is shown next to the fact.

Florida

  • Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options — administered by Step Up For Students and AAA Scholarship Foundation. Official program page
  • Family Empowerment Scholarship for Unique Abilities — administered by Step Up For Students and AAA Scholarship Foundation. Official program page
  • Personalized Education Program — administered by Step Up For Students. Official program page

Arizona

  • Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Account — administered by Arizona Department of Education. Official program page

How providers are included

This list was researched on October 15, 2026.

What we checked:

  • We screened all 166 vendor listings on Step Up For Students’ public Vendor and Product Listing.
  • We evaluated about 55 individual providers against the same written rules, including the three providers already on the site.

Who was included: a provider was included only if all of the following were true:

  • It serves families anywhere in Florida or Arizona, either online or with locations in several regions.
  • Its own website names the product or service.
  • There is public evidence that it can be paid with a named program: Florida PEP, FES-UA or FES-EO, or Arizona ESA. That evidence must be either an official program list (Step Up’s Vendor and Product Listing) or the provider’s own page saying it accepts that program and how.

What we did not use:

  • Third-party directories, blogs, social posts and AI summaries.
  • Anything behind a login.

How we recorded results:

  • Each payment route is recorded as confirmed, conditional, available through another route, explicitly unavailable, or not publicly confirmed.
  • Each entry links to the source and quotes it, with the check date.
  • We did not contact providers or sign in to any marketplace.

Limits:

  • This list is not complete. Many other eligible providers exist, and approvals and rules change during the year.
  • Inclusion is not an endorsement or a rating.
  • Families should confirm eligibility with Step Up For Students or the Arizona Department of Education before buying.

One listed provider, SpanishVIP, is connected to members of our team; it was researched and is shown under the same rules as every other provider.

Providers evaluated so far

Is coverage complete?

No. The directory covers a small number of providers in Florida and Arizona and is not a full list of approved vendors. The official program marketplace is the complete list for its program.

What is unknown

  • Whether providers not yet evaluated can be paid with program funds.
  • Rule changes published after a page’s “source checked” date.
  • Decisions the program administrator makes case by case, such as individual pre-approvals.