Last verified: October 2026. Checked against Step Up For Students' 2026-27 award tables, handbooks and purchasing guides.
What is the first layer of private school funding in Lee County?
The state award: $8,779 for K-3, $8,193 for 4-8 and $8,001 for 9-12 in 2026-27. At many Lehigh Acres, North Fort Myers and Cape Coral Christian schools, that one payment covers most of the cost.
What comes after the state scholarship?
The school's own help: need-based grants, sibling discounts, congregation rates and payment plans. Catholic families add the parish route; Bishop Verot, for one, offers a Catholic Allowance on top of FACTS-assessed aid.
Are there other sources for the remaining gap?
The Edu Fund partner scholarship at participating church and community schools, and the federal scholarship tax credit beginning in 2027 for households under 300% of area median income.
What about children under five?
VPK makes the year a child is four free, and income-eligible working parents can get help with the hours around it from School Readiness, run by Southwest Florida's early learning coalition.
| What it is | What it isn't |
|---|---|
| Private School Scholarship: $8,001-$8,779, paid to a school | Not paid to parents, and not for computers |
| FES-UA: from $10,567, parent-directed | Not combinable with the standard award |
| PEP: county award for learning outside full-time school | Not a full-time online school or a computer budget |