Florida Funding Guide: ESA, Medicaid Waivers, and Homeschool Funding
Facts checked September 18, 2026 · 6-minute read · by the Brainrich Kids team
Florida's scholarship purchasing guides are the most equipment-friendly program documents we found in any state: both list home playsets and swing sets under PE equipment. The limits are frequency, capacity for new students, and the program's own review.
The quick answer for Florida: Both Florida ESA-style programs list this category. The FES-UA 2026-2027 Purchasing Guidelines include "Home playset/swing set (including rubber mulch or safety materials)" under P.E. Equipment and a sensory swing under Sensory Materials, and the PEP purchasing guide uses the same playset wording. Equipment can be bought once every two years, and items not listed need pre-authorization. PEP is at capacity for new 2026-27 students. The iBudget waiver covers physician-prescribed "Durable Medical Equipment and Supplies," with 14,536 people on pre-enrollment.
Please read this first: program rules, amounts, and waitlists change every year, sometimes mid-year, and no vendor can promise that a program will approve a purchase. Every row below was checked against the linked source on September 18, 2026. Before you spend a dollar, confirm the current rules with the program itself.
Jump to: Florida facts table · Can this fund a Brainrich gym? · Next steps · FAQ · The full guides · Sources
Florida funding facts at a glance
Three kinds of public money can reach a family in Florida: an education account or scholarship, a Medicaid waiver for a child with a developmental disability, and any homeschool-specific tax benefit. Here is what each official source says.
| Question | What the official source says (Florida) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ESA or scholarship program | Two programs: the Personalized Education Program (FTC-PEP) for students not enrolled full time in school, and the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA). Both active. PEP is at capacity for new 2026-27 students. | Step Up For Students |
| Who runs it | Scholarship funding organizations, chiefly Step Up For Students, under the Florida Department of Education. | Step Up For Students |
| Amount per student | 2026-27 PEP awards run $7,463 to $12,217 by county and grade, with most counties between about $7,500 and $9,300. FES-UA is "worth an average of $10,000 per student." | Step Up award chart |
| Who qualifies | PEP: Florida K to 12 residents not enrolled full time in a public or private school, no income limit, with a statutory cap that grows by 40,000 a year. FES-UA: ages 3 to 22 with a listed diagnosis documented by a licensed professional. An IEP is not required. | Florida Statutes 1002.395 |
| Can homeschoolers use it? | Partly. PEP is the home learning route, but a PEP student registers with the scholarship organization and must end home education status with the school district. FES-UA can be used by home education students. | Step Up FAQ |
| Curriculum | Allowed in both programs. Books and instructional materials are not capped. | PEP purchasing guide |
| Therapies and therapy equipment | FES-UA: specialized services from approved providers (ABA, speech, occupational, physical therapy) plus a "Sensory Materials" category that lists a sensory swing. The PEP guide also lists a sensory swing under Sensory Materials. | FES-UA 2026-27 guide |
| PE and play equipment | Allowed, with a frequency limit. FES-UA: "Home playset/swing set (including rubber mulch or safety materials)" and exercise equipment, once every two years. PEP: "Home playsets or swing sets, including rubber mulch or safety materials," once every two years. Items must benefit the student, and unlisted items need pre-authorization. | FES-UA 2026-27 guide |
| How purchases work | Step Up's EMA portal: the MyScholarShop marketplace, direct pay to providers, and reimbursement requests. | Step Up purchasing guides |
| Medicaid waiver for children | iBudget Florida waiver, run by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD), for children and adults with a qualifying developmental disability. | Florida APD |
| Equipment category to ask for | "Durable Medical Equipment and Supplies": equipment prescribed by a physician that the Medicaid State Plan does not otherwise cover. Spending is limited by the individual iBudget allocation. Service dollar limits: confirm with the program. | Florida APD |
| Waiver waitlist | 14,536 people on APD pre-enrollment as of September 15, 2026, including 7,835 under age 21. | APD pre-enrollment report |
| Katie Beckett or TEFRA option | Confirm with the program. We could not verify this on an official source on September 18, 2026. | Ask the program |
| Other homeschool funding | None found on official sources beyond PEP and FES-UA. Florida has no state income tax to credit against. | Ask the program |
A row that reads "Confirm with the program" means we could not verify that fact on an official source, so we left it open instead of guessing.
Can this fund a Brainrich gym in Florida?
A Brainrich gym is a steel indoor climbing frame: ladders, monkey bars, rings, a rope, and a swing point, for ages 3 and up with a parent in the same room. Programs do not approve brands. They approve categories, one purchase at a time. Here is how each lane looks today.
Named in the purchasing guides
PEP and FES-UA
Both guides list home playsets and swing sets under PE equipment, and both list a sensory swing under Sensory Materials. The limits: one equipment purchase every two years, items should be for the student's benefit, anything not listed needs pre-authorization, and the scholarship organization reviews each purchase. An indoor steel play gym is not named word for word, so ask Step Up how your item is classified before you buy.
Case by case
iBudget Waiver
iBudget's equipment category is physician-prescribed durable medical equipment that the State Plan does not cover, inside the person's budget allocation. Approval is decided case by case in your child's individual service plan, usually with an OT or PT recommendation attached, and most waivers pay only after regular Medicaid or private insurance has said no. No state approves play equipment automatically. Pre-enrollment is long, so apply to APD early.
Needs a Letter of Medical Necessity
HSA and FSA dollars (the same in every state)
HSA and FSA rules are federal, so Florida families follow the same path as everyone else: with a qualifying diagnosis and a Letter of Medical Necessity, a play gym may be eligible. Your plan administrator makes the final call. Start with is a play gym HSA/FSA eligible? and the Letter of Medical Necessity template.
What Brainrich does, and does not do. We never promise that a program will approve a purchase. That decision belongs to the program. Applications, service plans, and therapist letters are the family's and their professional's work.
The one document we provide is an itemized invoice or quote. Email info@brainrichkids.com with (1) your full name, (2) your address, and (3) the model and color. We send back the invoice with shipping, applicable taxes, and the full total, ready for a case worker or a program portal.
🧩 A budget does not have to cover the whole build
Every Brainrich gym is modular. A Model T3 that fits this year's budget becomes a Spider V3 the day you add the Monkey Bars, and each add-on is its own purchase with its own invoice. Families fund the frame from one budget cycle and the expansion from a later one, out of pocket, or as a gift. That means matching real purchases to real budget cycles. It never means splitting a single purchase to slip under a review threshold, which programs treat as a red flag.
Next steps for Florida families
1. Open the current purchasing guide for your program the week you buy, and ask Step Up For Students how your item is classified. Remember the two-year equipment clock.
2. If your child has a developmental disability, apply to APD for iBudget pre-enrollment now, and look at FES-UA, which does not require an IEP.
3. When a case worker, support broker, or program portal asks for pricing, request an itemized invoice from us: email info@brainrichkids.com with your full name, your address, and the model and color. We reply with shipping, applicable taxes, and the full total.
Frequently asked questions: Florida
Does Florida have an ESA (education savings account)? Yes, two that families direct. The Personalized Education Program (PEP) serves students not enrolled full time in school, with 2026-27 awards from $7,463 to $12,217 by county and grade. FES-UA serves students ages 3 to 22 with a listed diagnosis and averages about $10,000. PEP is at capacity for new 2026-27 students.
Can Florida homeschoolers use PEP? Partly. PEP is built for learning at home, but a PEP student registers with the scholarship organization and must end home education status with the school district. It also requires a student learning plan and an annual test.
Can a Florida scholarship pay for a play gym or PE equipment? Both purchasing guides list home playsets and swing sets, including rubber mulch or safety materials, under PE equipment, once every two years. Items not listed need pre-authorization, and the scholarship organization reviews each purchase.
Which Florida Medicaid waiver can fund sensory or adaptive equipment? The iBudget waiver through the Agency for Persons with Disabilities covers physician-prescribed "Durable Medical Equipment and Supplies." As of September 15, 2026, 14,536 people were on pre-enrollment.
Does Brainrich work with Florida funding programs? We provide the itemized invoice or quote that Florida programs and case workers ask for: email info@brainrichkids.com with your full name, your address, and the model and color, and we send it back with shipping, applicable taxes, and the full total. We do not prepare applications or service plans, and we never promise that a program will approve a purchase. That decision belongs to the program.
📚 The full funding guides
Can You Buy PE and Play Equipment With ESA Funds? · State Disability Waiver Programs: All 50 States · Homeschool Grants and Funding, State by State · Is a Play Gym HSA/FSA Eligible? · Letter of Medical Necessity Template · Financial Assistance: every door in one place · Funding guides for other states
Sources
All sources checked September 18, 2026. Step Up For Students. PEP Purchasing Guide. · FES-UA Purchasing Guidelines 2026-2027. · Step Up For Students. Summary of changes, 2026-2027. · Step Up For Students. 2026-27 award amounts. · Step Up For Students. Personalized Education Program. · Step Up For Students. Unique Abilities. · Florida Statutes 1002.395. · Florida APD. iBudget services. · Florida APD. Pre-enrollment numbers, September 15, 2026.