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Program updates, with their sources

Programs change. This log records the sources checked and the guidance corrected on each date. An entry covers the listed facts, not every page on the site.

Source date and check date mean different things. A source date tells you when the agency published or measured something. A check date tells you when that source was inspected for this update.

This is a dated record. A deadline listed here does not mean applications remain open today. Follow the official link before acting.

Sources checked

Step Up quarterly attestation

For students included in the September payment, the Quarter 1 attestation deadline is September 15, 2026. Step Up says an earlier response may have been reset and may need resubmission in EMA. Completing the attestation does not guarantee funding.

Read the official quarterly-attestation FAQ. Check EMA and contact Step Up about your own account.

FES-UA handbook and scholarship amounts

The living 2026-27 FES-UA Family Handbook showed a last-modified date of August 12, 2026. The older downloadable 2025-26 parent handbook is an archive, not the current-year handbook.

The official 2026-27 award table lists district amounts by grade and matrix level. Its statewide ranges are $9,627 to $14,381 for levels 251-253, $21,379 to $25,701 for level 254, and $34,429 to $39,091 for level 255. Your county and grade matter; these ranges are not an individual award promise.

The public Unique Abilities resources page still warned that EMA could display 2025-26 amounts during system updates. No family's EMA account was inspected for this check. See our FES-UA guide.

APD pre-enrollment count

APD's county and priority-category report dated September 11, 2026 lists 14,634 people in pre-enrollment. That includes 7,843 in Category 7. These are people, not families.

Earlier site readings quoted an undated APD application page that still said more than 23,000. The dated report is now the source for the current count. Comparing those different sources does not show how quickly the queue moved. The count also cannot predict one person's wait. See the retained readings in Waitlist Watch.

Early Steps respite notice

The Early Steps policy page announced an approved removal of respite from its covered services and handbook section 6.7. It gives the effective date as "9/28" in a notice about FY26-27, without repeating the year beside that date.

Ask your service coordinator to confirm the effective date and your transition plan. This notice concerns Early Steps; it does not establish a change to iBudget respite. See Florida respite options.

Evaluation referrals do not need to wait

The First 90 Days playbook now makes clear that you can request an Early Steps or school Child Find evaluation while waiting for a medical diagnosis or written report. Funding programs have their own eligibility and documentation rules.

Sources: CDC, accessing services and FDLRS Child Find.

What this check did not establish

  • Your child's eligibility, scholarship payment status or service authorization.
  • Current clinic appointment waits or local availability of the Early Steps Extended Option.
  • A complete re-review of every state guide, insurance rule or funding amount on this site.

SpectrumBeacon provides navigation information, not medical or legal advice. Confirm account-specific questions with the program and medical concerns with your child's clinician.

Found a changed source? Report a correction. Read how source checks work.