Most read and most popular article I have ever written, still continues to get updates. I’ve left the last update under the heart banner. As of 2022-2023 school year both the Gardiner and McKay Scholarships have been combined into the Step Up for Students Unique Abilities (UA). Just to be candid and clear, I’ve got…
Tag: Mckay scholarship
Going to Gardiner
I just found out that we are eligibile for the Gardiner Scholarship. This is something I have thought about but never been in the right place educationally to apply and follow through with changing from the McKay to the Gardiner. My primary reason for switching is money. Unfortunely for many people with children with special…
McKay Matrix
Using the McKay scholarship is one of the best ways to access private education for children with special needs. The McKay is a great option because it is based on a students IEP created by the school and is not reliant on a medical diagnosis. As parents getting enough money from McKay is key to…
Apply for scholarships
Its scholarship season! Are you looking at sending a preschool student to kindergarten next year or unhappy at your current school? Now is the time to apply for scholarships for next school year. The two largest scholarships for special needs students are McKay and Gardiner. Two income based scholarships are Florida Tax Credit scholarship through…
My best wishes for all autism families in 2019!
Happy New Year! Sending positive thoughts to each of you for 2019. As January has arrived it is time to renew or apply for very important paperwork. In Florida, Florida kid care or healthy kids insurance needs to be renewed. If you so not have any government insurance for your child with autism I would…
WAIT! do not file intent with Mckay
Calm down! Do not make this mistake. Do not file for intent to use the Mckay scholarship until you have completed your IEP re-evaluation and or end of year review where you can make sure all the lists of services and accommodations are on the IEP. McKay Scholarship is provided by the Florida Department of…
IEP, PBIB, ABA, OT, SLP… What does all this mean?
When you first realize that your child is struggling to develop at the same level as other children their age, you begin the early intervention process. Little did you know that you would have to learn a new language: acronyms. Below is a list of acronyms that I have learned over the years working through…
File Intent for the McKay Scholarship
The deadline to file for intent to use the McKay Scholarship is July 3, 2017 for the 2017-2018 100% award amount. Parents have to file for intent by July but the paperwork for admission and enrollment at their private school by August 2nd. Just because you file intent does not mean that you have to…
Learning Through The Mistakes
Pretty sure that I have made a big and costly mistake! Can you help me fix it?! So, this McKay Scholarship is all tricky and complex! There are all these rules and processes and no real human to walk you thru the system. It’s one thing to just file intent and fill out some private…
The serious business about the McKay Scholarship
Does your child have an IEP or 504 in the state of Florida? Florida was the first state to implement a scholarship like McKay. McKay allows for parents of special needs children to use funds allocated to the public school for private school tuition. (you can use McKay to transfer to another public school as…
Ruthfulness 