SCHOLARSHIPS

CIAS accepts Florida Choice Scholarships via the Step Up for Students Scholarships foundation and is a direct service provider and PEP Hybrid School.

The Jones sisters, Mary Beth and Tricia, established an in-school scholarship fund, the D. Patrick Jones, Sr. Scholarship, in memory of their father. They have requested that half of all tuition statement differences, after awarded SUFS scholarship funds have been applied, be covered by this scholarship in honor of their father's legacy and involvement in CIAS as co-founder and visionary.

Step Up for Students

Step Up For Students is a state-approved nonprofit scholarship funding organization (SFO) that administers scholarships for Florida schoolchildren:

SUFS Parent Handbooks

Official CIAS Statements Regarding Florida Choice Scholarships: Step Up For Students Scholarships

An updated CIAS Fee Schedule is published online annually. All fees entered into Billing Invoices are transcribed from the Fee Schedule as they apply to each CIAS student individually.

Florida Choice Scholarships- Unique Abilities Scholarship Family Handbook (2025-26):

"If the school’s tuition exceeds the scholarship award amount, the parent or guardian is responsible for covering the difference, either by working directly with the school or by using available rollover funds in the scholarship account." (page 22) Florida Choice Scholarships- Private School Family Handbook (2025-26):

"Many participating private schools charge more than the value of the scholarship. In some cases, they may decide to provide scholarship students with supplemental financial assistance. Theparent or guardian should work with the school but may be required to pay the difference between the value of the scholarship and the full tuition and fees." (page 13)

Scholarship for Personalized Education Program (PEP) Students

Florida students who are not full-time private or public school students can access the Personalized Education Program (PEP) through the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. This scholarship provides an education savings account (ESA) to fund the educational needs of eligible students.

PEP is a legal covering agency for students receiving the PEP scholarship; therefore, PEP students cannot be enrolled under an umbrella school and must graduate under PEP as homeschooled students, earning no high school diploma. This is the tradeoff for being able to use a PEP scholarship that parents/guardians may not be aware of.

PEP students are not allowed to be enrolled in CIAS. However, PEP students are allowed to purchase CIAS services, such as guidance and counseling, taking classes, taking diagnostic screening & placement assessments, taking nationally normed Iowa Assessments, getting school work grades transcripted, etc.

The PEP Hybrid scholarship program (see information below) does allow students to be enrolled in private/umbrella schools like CIAS. This option permits CIAS to grant high school diplomas to PEP Hybrid scholarship students. The PEP Hybrid scholarship program required that students enroll in CIAS for 2 days a week attendance in person on campus (not remotely).

Some CIAS Umbrella School services and Campus School services are approved for PEP students, as long as they are not enrolled in our full-time Campus School option. CIAS services must be pre-paid to the school; then you will submit for reimbursement via your ESA account. Please talk about this program with us in person when you visit the school office or call to discuss your options.

Notes About Fee Schedules & Florida Choice Scholarships:
An updated CIAS Fee Schedule is published online annually. All fees entered into Billing Invoices are transcribed from the Fee Schedule as they apply to each CIAS student individually.
Florida Choice Scholarships- Unique Abilities Scholarship Family Handbook (2025-26):
"If the school’s tuition exceeds the scholarship award amount, the parent or guardian is responsible for covering the difference, either by working directly with the school or by using available rollover funds in the scholarship account." (page 22)
Florida Choice Scholarships- Private School Family Handbook (2025-26):
"""Many participating private schools charge more than the value of the scholarship. In some cases, they may decide to provide scholarship students with supplemental financial assistance. The
parent or guardian should work with the school but may be required to pay the difference between the value of the scholarship and the full tuition and fees."" (page 13)"

PEP Hybrid School Program

CIAS seeks to provide support and services to PEP students. In compliance with the new PEP rules, CIAS cannot provide direct umbrella school covering by enrolling students in our Umbrella School since PEP functions as their legal homeschool covering (the third option being enrolled as a home education student with the local district office). However, students may be enrolled in our PEP Hybrid Program. These students must physically attend the CIAS Campus School (brick and mortar location) two days per week, receiving direct instruction by Campus School teachers and participating in the daily class schedules in their grade-appropriate classrooms.

In collaboration and cooperation between CIAS Administration and the PEP student's parent(s)/guardian(s), both a CIAS Curriculum List and a Student Learning Plan (SLP) will be created to outline the remaining three days of weekly homeschool instruction. The SLP is a customized learning plan developed by parents/guardians and revised annually to guide instruction for their students and to address the services needed to fulfill their academic needs. PEP parents/guardians must complete a SLP for each student prior to funding.

Homeschooling parents/guardians of PEP students must keep detailed Lesson Plans for the remainder of their school subjects, to be recorded in the CIAS Lesson Plan Books. Homeschool instruction provided by parents/guardians for the remaining three days per week will be monitored by CIAS administration in parent/teacher meetings (PTMs) periodically. Iowa Assessments, a state-approved norm-referenced test, will be administered annually to PEP students by CIAS teachers in the spring (during the month of April), which parent(s)/guardian(s) will then submit to their scholarship funding organization (SFO), such as Step Up for Students).

CHRISTIAN INSTITUTE OF ARTS & SCIENCES

SCHOLARSHIPS