State Funding For Gemm Learning

Using Scholarships and Education Saving Accounts (ESA)

These ESA programs will cover the cost of your Gemm Learning service. Some have income limits and/or learning diagnosis requirements, but many do not. States, in general, are easing these requirements year to year, making the scholarships available to more and more families.

In the 2027/28 year, there will be a major boost to family scholarships, funded in the “big, Beautiful Bill.”  See details below.

Here are the states where we are an approved provider with the enrollment periods for the 2025/26 school year for new families (where known). Once a family is enrolled, funding can continue into successive school years.

• Florida Step Up For Students – February to June 2
• Indiana- opens April 1
• Arizona – quarterly enrollment
• Tennessee – opens April 17
• Utah – February 28 to March 28
• New Hampshire – opens in March
• North Carolina – Feb 6 to March 6
• West Virginia – opens March 1

Enrollment periods can and do change.

About Education Saving Accounts

Education savings accounts allow parents to receive public funds for restricted but multiple uses. Those funds can cover:

• private school tuition and fees,
• online learning programs,
• private tutoring,
• community college costs,
• higher education expenses and
• other approved customized learning services and materials.

Gemm Learning is an approved ESA provider for the online learning and home learning categories. If you live in a state that does not have ESA state funding, there are many other financial aid sources—some of which are listed here.

Quick ESA Overview

ESA scholarship programs vary in three ways:

1. Student eligibility – student diagnosis, family income
2. Funding amount/source
3. What funds may be used for

Gemm Learning has clients in several state plans.

• Estimated ESA recipients in states with programs: 328,741.
• Arizona created the nation’s first ESA in 2011.
• Florida has the largest ESA program: 136,087 enrollees in 2023–24.
• Arizona, Florida, Utah, Arkansas, and Iowa have the most expansive ESA programs: 100 percent of students are eligible.
• The Arizona Supreme Court essentially declared ESAs constitutional in 2014, deeming those challenging the program unable to show harm.

Though many ESA families use their funds to pay for private school tuition, 28 percent spend the money on multiple learning services.

Source: EduChoice

Finding Funding for Gemm Learning

We wish there were an easy way to navigate this process. But there’s not. States vary significantly in their processes, the types of learners they will support, and the types of learning support they will approve. Some ESAs, but not all, even allow students to use their funds to pay for a combination of public school courses and private services.

The good news is that Gemm Learning is a live, human-supported service that targets autism, dyslexia, APD, and other common learning diagnoses. It has been approved or is on a list of accepted providers in a growing number of states.

These initiatives are a part of the “school choice” movement and a response to the rising costs for schools of administering an IEP and providing special needs education. It makes sense for states to give families the tools and funding to find solutions on their own, the hope being that the child can get back on track, which is, of course, great for the student and for the family who worries about them, and it’s good for your local school budget as it potentially saves them added costs.

A great site for getting information on education savings accounts is Edchoice. It’s a non-profit that advocates for school choice and includes good details about ESA and the funding options. Here is a link to their page on funding

Info on State-Funded Programs For Families at Home

We have compiled a checklist for families with eligibility and logistics for ESAs Gemm Learning Accepts here.  Here is a summary of the main education savings account programs currently active.

Florida – Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES), formerly Gardiner

EdChoice estimates 11% of public school students in Florida are eligible for funding.

If you live in Florida, you should look into FES funding through the Step Up for Funding portal. Gemm Learning expenses are covered by three different scholarship categories: FES-UA (children with “unique abiliteis, i.e., a learning or health diagnosis), PEP for homeschooling and NWSA for K-5 public school children who are below Level 3 on the state ELA testing.

Parents apply for block grants, choose providers in their management portal, and then the vendors automatically charge the funded account monthly in arrears. The average grant applied for through Step Up for Students is around $10,500.

Gemm Learning is a Family Empowerment Scholarship (Gardiner) approved provider. We are an approved provider for all Florida programs – FES-UA, FES-EO, FTC, PEP, and NWSA.

For more information on the logistics of using an FES-UA scholarship for Gemm Learning or any other approved provider, go to our FES-UA page here.

Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Accounts

EdChoice estimates that 22% of Arizona public school students are eligible.

Arizona also has a very good program for families, called Empowerment Scholarship Accounts.  While the program aims to help children who are struggling, it doesn’t require a learning diagnosis. It’s more focused on family circumstances and the school your child attends, with the assumption that many Arizona schools are not equipped to handle children with special needs. The Empowerment Scholarship Accounts are a way to help rectify that deficit.

There is a wide range of eligibility requirements – EdChoice estimates that 22% of public school students are eligible, and the average funding grant is $14,000.

It started in 2011 and is administered by the Arizona Department of Education. Parents are given the flexibility to make educational choices for their children based on Empowerment Scholarship Account program guidelines and access their allocated funds through the ClassWallet program. The Department of Education does not approve vendors but instead requires parents to submit appropriate documentation on services/products acquired.

Gemm Learning has families receiving funding through the Class Wallet program in Arizona.

For more on the Arizona ESA program click here. 

Indiana – Education Scholarship Accounts

Indiana established the Indiana Education Scholarship Account program in 2022.  It provides funding for tutoring and home-based services for children with a disability who require special education.

Gemm Learning is a registered provider for families in Indiana.  More on the Indiana ESA program here.

North Carolina Personal Education Savings Account

EdChoice estimates 10% of students in NC are eligible.

North Carolina’s Personal Education Savings Account program began providing funding to students in the 2018–19 school year. It pays for a variety of educational services,  up to $9,000 per student.  It is focused on autism and special needs mainly.

The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA) awards certain students with special needs accounts that are loaded quarterly with funds for qualified educational and therapeutic uses, including private school tuition. Students may attend public school part-time while receiving partial ESAs worth $4,500 if the private school they attend exclusively serves students with special needs. NCSEAA deposits funds in equal amounts once per quarter into the accounts. The maximum value for a full ESA is $9,000 per student per year.

Funds can be used for supplies, tuition, and for programs like Gemm Learning.  To qualify, students must have an IEP and be identified as having special needs under the IDEA definition of a “child with disabilities.”

Learn more about the North Carolina Personal Education Savings Account here.

Timing: Applications are available on February 1. Beginning March 15, the Authority shall begin selecting recipients for scholarships

Tennessee Individualized Education Account Program

Tennessee gives parents of students with special needs access to an Individualized Education Account (IEA). An IEA can be used for a variety of educational expenses, including private school tuition, private tutoring, learning therapies, and more.

Eligibility includes students in K-12 with an IEP and a diagnosis of one or more of the following: autism, deaf-blindness, a hearing impairment (including deafness), an intellectual disability, an orthopedic impairment, a traumatic brain injury, developmental delay, visual impairment (including blindness) and/or multiple disabilities.

Applications are accepted year-round.

The average account value is $5,830 and roughly 2% of students are eligible statewide.

Mississippi Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Program

EdChoice estimates 19% of students in MS are eligible.

The Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Program, an education savings accounts program, allows Mississippi students with special needs to receive a portion of their public funding in a government-authorized savings account with multiple uses.

Students must have had an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) within the past five years. While participating in this program, students are not eligible for either a Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship (which is restricted for enrolment in a specialized private school) or a Nate Rogers Scholarship (which allows students in K-6 with speech/language impairments to attend a specialized school).

Timing: Applications must be received by June 20 of each year. New ESA recipients are notified by July 1.

The average account value is $6,756.

Federal And State Support Services and Grants

Participant-directed services are home and community-based services that help people of all ages across all types of disabilities maintain their independence and determine for themselves what mix of personal assistance supports and services work best for them. Participant-directed services are sometimes referred to as consumer-directed or self-directed services. Historically, several initiatives have advanced participant-directed services including the Independence Plus and the Cash & Counseling Programs.

Example:  Department of Developmental Disabilities – Minnesota The Developmental Disabilities (DD) Waiver provides funding for home and community-based services for children and adults with developmental disabilities or related conditions.

Family Support Grants – Minnesota
The Family Support Grant (FSG) program provides state cash grants to families of children with certified disabilities. The goal is to prevent or delay out-of-home placement of children with disabilities and promote family health and social well-being by providing access to family-centered services and supports.

Other Sites Worth Checking Out

Department of Education Vocational Services (for adults) – Iowa
https://ivrs.iowa.gov/agency-services

School Districts/Charter Schools – CA, AK, MA – eligibility and availability specific to school or district. Parents have to go after school…negotiations are often hostile.

Autism Funding Unit – Ministry of Child and Family Development, British Columbia
Autism funding helps pay for eligible services or supports that promote skill development for children living with autism. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/managing-your-health/child-behaviour-development/special-needs/autism-spectrum-disorder/autism-funding

Military Organizations – SEALKIDS, through its programs, supports the children of Naval Special Warfare- everyday kids living in extraordinary circumstances. This encompassing approach of academic testing, tutoring, therapy, advocacy, and enrichment fosters the success and well-being of the child, critically reducing family stresses and ultimately keeping today’s Navy SEAL in the fight. https://www.sealkids.org/

Helping a child realize his full potential is an attractive funding idea for many institutions for two key reasons:

1. It is a one-time expense, not an ongoing commitment
2. It potentially connects the local organization to a wonderful success story.