To qualify, a student must have a qualifying disability and provide eligible supporting documentation.

Quick Links

• Anaphylaxis
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Cerebral Palsy
• Down Syndrome
• Dual Sensory Impaired
• Emotional or Behavioral Disability
• Hearing Impairment
• High-Risk Child
• Hospital or Homebound
• Intellectual Disability
• Language Impairment
• Muscular Dystrophy
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Other Health Impairment
• Phelan-McDermid Syndrome
• Prader-Willi Syndrome
• Rare Diseases
• Specific Learning Disability
• Speech Impairment
• Spina Bifida
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Visually Impaired
• Williams Syndrome
• Disability Documentation

Anaphylaxis

Per Fla. Admin. Code R. 6A-6.0251, the medical term for the life-threatening allergic reactions that may occur when allergic individuals are exposed to specific allergens. Anaphylaxis is a collection of symptoms affecting multiple systems in the body.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

As defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, published by the American Psychiatric Association, an autism diagnosis requires persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by all of the following: deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, and in developing, maintaining and understanding relationships.

Cerebral Palsy

Per Florida Statute § 393.063(6), a group of disabling symptoms of extended duration which results from damage to the developing brain that may occur before, during, or after birth and results in the loss or impairment of control over voluntary muscles.

For the purposes of this definition, cerebral palsy does not include those symptoms or impairments resulting solely from a stroke.

Down Syndrome

Per Florida Statute § 393.063(14), a disorder caused by the presence of an extra chromosome 21.

Dual Sensory Impaired

Per Fla. Admin. Code R. 6A-6.0322, a student who has dual-sensory impairments affecting both vision and hearing, the combination of which causes a serious impairment in the abilities to acquire information, communicate, or function within the environment, or who has a degenerative condition which will lead to such an impairment.

Emotional or Behavioral Disability

Per Fla. Admin. Code R. 6A-6.03016, a student with an emotional/behavioral disability who has persistent (is not sufficiently responsive to implemented evidence-based interventions) and consistent emotional or behavioral responses that adversely affect performance in the educational environment that cannot be attributed to age, culture, gender, or ethnicity.

Hearing Impairment

Per Fla. Admin. Code R. 6A-6.03013, a student who is deaf or hard-of-hearing and has hearing loss aided or unaided, that impacts the processing of linguistic information, and which adversely affects performance in the educational environment. The degree of loss may range from mild to profound.

High-Risk Child

Per Florida Statute § 393.963(23), a child is considered “high-risk” if they are from three (3) to five (5) years of age before September 1st of the school year with one or more of the following characteristics:

• A developmental delay in cognition, language, or physical development.
• A child surviving a catastrophic infectious or traumatic illness known to be associated with developmental delay when funds are specifically appropriated.
• A child with a parent or guardian with developmental disabilities who requires assistance in meeting the child’s developmental needs.
• A child who has a physical or genetic anomaly associated with developmental disability.

Under Florida Statute 393.063(23), a child can qualify as high-risk based on developmental delay only between the ages of three (3) and five (5).

Although developmental delays may be diagnosed for children age 6 and older, the high-risk definition is limited to ages 3-5.

Children at age six (6) are no longer eligible as high risk based on developmental delay alone and will need to establish eligibility under another disability from Florida Statute 1002.394(2)(e) to continue participating in the program.

For example, a student can qualify as speech delayed until aged 5, after that the student would need to qualify under speech impairment.

Hospital or Homebound

Per Fla. Admin. Code R. 6A-6.03020, a student who has a medically diagnosed physical or psychiatric condition which is acute or catastrophic in nature, or a chronic illness, or a repeated intermittent illness due to a persisting medical problem that confines the student to home or hospital and restricts activities for more than six months.

Intellectual Disability

Per Florida Statute § 393.063(23), significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior which manifests before the age of 18 and can reasonably be expected to continue indefinitely.

Per Florida Statute § 393.063(23)(a), “adaptive behavior” means the effectiveness or degree with which an individual meets the standards of personal independence and social responsibility expected of his or her age, cultural group, and community.

Per Florida Statute § 393.063(23)(b), “significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning” means performance that is two or more standard deviations from the mean score on a standardized intelligence test specified in the rules of the agency.

Language Impairment

Per Fla. Admin. Code R. 6A-6.030121, language impairments are disorders of language that interfere with communication, adversely affect performance and/or functioning in the student’s typical learning environment, and result in the need for exceptional student education.

A language impairment is defined as a disorder in one or more of the basic learning processes involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language.

These include phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics.

The language impairment may manifest in significant difficulties affecting listening comprehension, oral expression, social interaction, reading, writing, or spelling.

A language impairment is not primarily the result of factors related to chronological age, gender, culture, ethnicity, or limited English proficiency.

Muscular Dystrophy

As defined by the Center of Disease Control, muscular dystrophies are a group of muscle diseases caused by mutations in a person’s genes.

Over time, muscle weakness decreases mobility, making everyday tasks difficult.

There are many kinds of muscular dystrophy, each affecting specific muscle groups, with signs and symptoms appearing at different ages, and varying in severity.

Orthopedic Impairment

Per Fla. Admin. Code R. 6A-6.030151, orthopedic impairment means a severe skeletal, muscular, or neuromuscular impairment.

The term includes impairments resulting from congenital anomalies (e.g., including but not limited to skeletal deformity or spina bifida), and impairments resulting from other causes (e.g., including but not limited to cerebral palsy or amputations).

Other Health Impairment

Per Fla. Admin. Code R. 6A-6.030152, other health impairment means having limited strength, vitality or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli, that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that is due to chronic or acute health problems.

This includes, but is not limited to:

• Asthma
• Attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
• Tourette syndrome
• Diabetes
• Epilepsy
• A heart condition
• Hemophilia
• Lead poisoning
• Leukemia
• Nephritis
• Rheumatic fever
• Sickle cell anemia
• Acquired brain injury

Phelan-McDermid Syndrome

Per Florida Statute § 393.063(28), a disorder caused by the loss of the terminal segment of the long arm of chromosome 22, which occurs near the end of the chromosome at a location designated q13.3, typically leading to developmental delay, intellectual disability, dolichocephaly, hypotonia, or absent or delayed speech.

Prader-Willi Syndrome

Per Florida Statute § 393.063(29), an inherited condition typified by neonatal hypotonia with failure to thrive, hyperphagia or an excessive drive to eat which leads to obesity usually at 18 to 36 months of age, mild to moderate intellectual disability, hypogonadism, short stature, mild facial dysmorphism, and a characteristic neurobehavior.

Rare Diseases

Per Florida Statue § 1002.394(e), rare diseases which affect patient populations of fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States, as defined by the National Organization for Rare Disorders.

Specific Learning Disability

Per Fla. Admin. Code R. 6A-6.03018, a specific learning disability is defined as a disorder in one or more of the basic learning processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest in significant difficulties affecting the ability to listen, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematics.

Associated conditions may include, but are not limited to:

• Dyslexia
• Dyscalculia
• Dysgraphia
• Developmental aphasia

A specific learning disability does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of a visual, hearing, motor, intellectual, or emotional/behavioral disability, limited English proficiency, or environmental, cultural, or economic factors.

Speech Impairment

Per Fla. Admin. Code R. 6A-6.03012, speech impairments are disorders of speech sounds, fluency, or voice that interfere with communication, adversely affect performance and/or functioning in the educational environment, and result in the need for exceptional student education.

Spina Bifida

Per Florida Statute §393.063(41), a person with a medical diagnosis of spina bifida cystica or myelomeningocele.

Traumatic Brain Injury

Per Fla. Admin. Code R. 6A-6.030153, a traumatic brain injury means an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects educational performance.

The term applies to mild, moderate, or severe, open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas such as cognition, language, memory, attention, reasoning, abstract thinking, judgment, problem-solving, sensory, perceptual and motor abilities, psychosocial behavior, physical functions, information processing, or speech.

The term includes anoxia due to trauma.

The term does not include brain injuries that are congenital, degenerative, or induced by birth trauma.

Visually Impaired

Any impairment in vision regardless of significance or severity that, even with correction, adversely affects the student’s educational performance.

The term includes both partial sight and blindness, including ocular, brain-based and neurological disorders, but does not include:

• Esotropia (crossed eyes)
• Hyperopia (farsightedness)
• Myopia (nearsightedness)

Williams Syndrome

As defined by the National Organization for Rare Disorders, a rare genetic disorder characterized by growth delays before and after birth (prenatal and postnatal growth retardation), short stature, a varying degree of mental deficiency, and distinctive facial features that typically become more pronounced with age.

Disability Documentation

To qualify for the UA Scholarship, families must submit acceptable disability documentation.

Acceptable documentation may include:

• A Florida Individualized Education Program (IEP)
• An out-of-state IEP
• A qualifying diagnosis or evaluation from an approved licensed professional
• Other approved documentation verifying the student's qualifying disability

An IEP, diagnosis, or evaluation must be signed by one of the following qualified professionals:

• Medical Doctor (MD)
• Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO)
• Physician Assistant (PA)
• Psychologist

Documentation signed by an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) or nurse practitioner is not accepted.

Documentation requirements may vary depending on the student's disability and circumstances.

Important Note

Eligibility is determined based on both the student's qualifying disability and the supporting documentation provided. Having a listed condition does not guarantee eligibility if the required documentation is not submitted or does not meet program requirements.