To start a Florida K-12 scholarship, your current public or charter school has to complete the state’s standard withdrawal form (IEPC-SWF) at your request, you and a school administrator both sign it, and you then send the signed form to your scholarship funding organization. No scholarship money is released until that form is in their hands.
Who Needs This Form
Florida Administrative Code Rule 6A-6.0952 requires a school district or charter school to complete the IEPC-SWF at a parent’s request whenever the student was enrolled in that district or charter school during the prior school year or is currently enrolled.1Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code Rule 6A-6.0952 – Family Empowerment Scholarship Program The form covers students entering the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO), the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA), the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC), and the Hope Scholarship.
If your child has never been enrolled in a Florida public school or charter school, the form does not apply to you. It exists so the state can confirm a student has formally left public enrollment before scholarship funding is redirected.
Where to Get the Form
The Florida Department of Education released the IEPC-SWF through memorandum DPS-2025-93, dated August 1, 2025, and the fillable PDF and Word versions live at www.floridaschoolchoice.org.2Florida Department of Education. Withdrawal Form for Students Entering K-12 Scholarship Programs The form is incorporated into the administrative rule, so schools cannot alter it beyond removing the Department logo. A school’s own in-house withdrawal paperwork will not be accepted by a scholarship funding organization in place of the IEPC-SWF.
If you can’t find it online, your scholarship funding organization can send you the right file. Step Up For Students and the AAA Scholarship Foundation both work with it routinely.
What the Form Asks For
The IEPC-SWF is short, typically a single page, and it collects three things: student information, withdrawal details, and signatures.
Student Information
You’ll fill in the student’s name, date of birth, and FLEID number. The Florida Education Identifier is a 14-digit alphanumeric code the Department of Education assigns to each student in the state.3Florida Department of Education. Florida Education Identifier Assignment If you don’t know your child’s FLEID, ask the school; it’s in their records. Don’t substitute the district’s local student ID, which is a different internal number.
Withdrawal Details
The form records the date the student withdrew (or will withdraw) from the public or charter school and identifies which scholarship program the student is entering.4Florida Department of Education. Florida K-12 Scholarship Standard Withdrawal Form Get the withdrawal date right. The scholarship funding organization uses it to set when the student became eligible for payments, and an incorrect date can push back your first quarterly disbursement.
Signatures
A school district or charter school administrator and the parent or guardian both sign, certifying the withdrawal information is accurate. The school’s signature confirms the student is off the enrollment rolls; the parent’s confirms they initiated the withdrawal and understand the move to the scholarship program. One signature alone will not get the form processed.
Getting the School to Complete It
This isn’t discretionary for the school. Rule 6A-6.0952 says the district or charter school “shall” complete the form at the parent’s request when the student was enrolled in the prior year or is currently enrolled.1Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code Rule 6A-6.0952 – Family Empowerment Scholarship Program
Most registrars handle this as routine paperwork. If you hit resistance, cite memorandum DPS-2025-93, dated August 1, 2025, which was sent directly to every superintendent and charter school leader in Florida and spells out the obligation.2Florida Department of Education. Withdrawal Form for Students Entering K-12 Scholarship Programs If the school still refuses, contact the Florida Department of Education’s Office of K-12 School Choice or your scholarship funding organization to escalate.
A practical tip: bring a printed copy of the IEPC-SWF to the school. Pre-fill the student information in the fillable PDF before you go, so the administrator only has to verify, add the withdrawal date, and sign.
Submitting the Form
Once both signatures are on it, you send the completed form to your approved scholarship funding organization. This has to happen before any scholarship funding is released.4Florida Department of Education. Florida K-12 Scholarship Standard Withdrawal Form The two largest scholarship funding organizations in Florida are Step Up For Students and the AAA Scholarship Foundation.
Step Up For Students accepts documents through its EMA online portal. Uploading a scan or clear photo of the signed form is the fastest route. If you don’t have internet access, call the Customer Engagement Center at (877) 735-7837, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern, and staff can walk you through other options.5Step Up For Students. Florida Choice Scholarships Private School Family Handbook
Keep a copy of the signed form. If any question comes up later about your child’s enrollment status or when eligibility started, that copy is your proof.
What Happens After You Submit
Submitting the withdrawal form kicks off eligibility verification, after which the Florida Department of Education releases funds in quarterly installments. For the Family Empowerment Scholarship, the schedule depends on whether your child is a new or renewing scholarship student:
- Renewing students: no later than August 1, November 1, February 1, and April 1.
- New students: the first payment comes no later than September 1, followed by November 1, February 1, and April 1.
The initial payment goes out after the scholarship funding organization verifies admission acceptance at the private school. Later payments require verification of continued enrollment and attendance.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 1002.394 – The Family Empowerment Scholarship Program
A late form can push your start date into the next quarter, which means waiting months for the first payment while the private school is already expecting tuition. Submit the form as early as you can, ideally before the school year begins if you already know your child will be at a participating private school.