Reviewed October 2, 2026 against the August 2026 handbook for 2026–27. General educational information, not legal or scholarship advice. Confirm your student's situation with the responsible office.
Planning for Bright Futures as a Florida homeschool or PEP family starts with matching the rules to the student's graduation year and education pathway. A familiar scholarship checklist can become misleading when it comes from an older handbook. Build one clear record of the rules, dates, questions, and documents your family is using.
1. Start with the correct handbook and pathway
The 2026–27 Bright Futures handbook, Chapter 1 addresses home education and PEP together on pages 8–9. It recognizes participation during the current and prior academic year, including a combination of HE and PEP. The district certifies that status. This pathway does not require a student transcript for the scholarship review.
Keep a transcript for other applications. Create a separate scholarship folder so a college's admissions checklist is not confused with Bright Futures documentation. Ask which office will certify your student's status if the family has moved or changed education pathways.
2. Put the application and testing dates on your calendar
For 2027 graduates, the handbook lists an FFAA window of October 1, 2026–August 31, 2027. It accepts ACT, CLT, or SAT scores under the applicable graduation-year requirements. Regular graduates may test through August 31; mid-year rules differ. Check the current handbook's dates and score table.
Do not make the final permitted date your family’s first attempt. Set an earlier personal deadline for the application, testing, score delivery, and document review. Save confirmation messages and note any unanswered questions beside the relevant deadline.
3. Track approved work or service from the beginning
Current rules allow qualifying volunteer service, paid work, or a combination. FAS requires 100 hours; FMS allows 75 volunteer-only hours, 100 paid-work hours, or 100 combined hours. The handbook explains approval, documentation, and district certification. Ask for local instructions before counting an activity.
A simple personal tracker can include the organization, supervisor, activity, dates, hours, whether it was paid, and where the supporting documents are stored. Record what the student learned, too. Review the tracker together each month so missing signatures do not accumulate until senior year.
4. Keep a small, usable scholarship file
- The handbook version and graduation year used for planning.
- A list of district and scholarship-office questions, with dated answers.
- Application and score-delivery confirmations.
- Work or service records and copies of submitted documentation.
- A calendar of family target dates and official deadlines.
Use a checklist with three columns: not started, submitted, and confirmed. Those labels help distinguish sending a document from knowing it was received. Store passwords and sensitive records privately, not in a public planning board.
5. Review the plan before a major change
Before changing education pathways, graduating early, or relying on a scholarship estimate, ask the responsible office how that decision affects your student. For future graduation years, return to the official Bright Futures resource hub and confirm the updated requirements.
Your next step: use the High School, College & Career hub and free planning resources to organize your family’s scholarship questions and next actions.