Can You Use Step Up or GA Promise Funds for Mental Training?
Step Up for Students and Georgia Promise can cover more than academics. Here's how mental performance curriculum fits, and who actually qualifies.
You're already using (or considering) Step Up for Students or the Georgia Promise Scholarship to fund your athlete's homeschool education. The academic side is usually the first thing families think to spend it on. The mental performance side, less so. Here's how the two funding programs actually treat curriculum like this, and what to check before you count on it.
What Step Up for Students Actually Covers
Florida's Step Up for Students (FTC-PEP) education savings accounts, managed through ClassWallet, can be used for curriculum and educational software, categories broad enough to include competency-based platforms alongside traditional academic materials. Families already use these funds for a wide range of homeschool resources beyond core textbooks.
What Georgia Promise Scholarship Actually Covers and Who Qualifies
The Georgia Promise Scholarship works differently, and the eligibility rules matter here. It provides up to $6,500 per year, and covers curriculum and supplemental materials among other qualified expenses, but not every homeschool family qualifies. To be eligible, a student generally needs to have attended a Georgia public school for two consecutive semesters (or be a rising kindergartner) and be zoned to a public school in the state's bottom 25% by performance. It's worth checking your family's specific eligibility with the Georgia Education Savings Authority before assuming the funds are available.
Why This Matters More for Athlete Families
Many families using either program are homeschooling specifically to make room for serious training, and the instinct is often to spend scholarship funds only on core academics, treating everything else as out-of-pocket. Mental performance development fits the same "curriculum and educational software" category as academic content. If your family already budgets scholarship funds for homeschool curriculum, the mental performance side is worth including in that same conversation, not treated as a separate expense.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use ESA funds for online mental performance training?
Both Florida's Step Up for Students and Georgia's Promise Scholarship allow funds to be used for curriculum and educational software, categories that can include competency-based platforms alongside traditional academic materials.
Does Step Up for Students cover mental performance curriculum?
Step Up for Students (FTC-PEP) covers curriculum and educational software broadly through ClassWallet, a category wide enough to include competency-based development platforms alongside core academic materials.
Does every homeschool family in Georgia qualify for the Promise Scholarship?
No. Georgia Promise Scholarship eligibility generally requires the student to have attended a Georgia public school for two consecutive semesters (or be a rising kindergartner) and be zoned to a public school in the bottom 25% by performance, not every homeschool family meets this.
What other homeschool expenses do these funds typically cover?
Beyond curriculum and software, both programs allow qualified expenses like tutoring, and in Georgia's case, textbooks and certain therapy services. Rules and category definitions vary by program, so it's worth checking the current guidelines for your specific state.
Related Resources
From Altitude:
- The Best Homeschool Curriculum for Student Athletes
- How to Use Step Up for Students Funds for Altitude
- Join the waitlist
Further Reading:
- The Champion's Mind by Jim Afremow, Ph.D.. Useful context for what mental performance curriculum actually covers, for families evaluating whether it's worth the spend.
Whether your family is using Step Up for Students or the Georgia Promise Scholarship, mental performance development belongs in the same funding conversation as academic curriculum.
Altitude opens to founding families in January 2027. Join the waitlist to be among the first families in Florida and Georgia.