TL;DR: The Florida Department of Education's private school file for the Pinellas district lists 145 schools as of October 28, 2026. 113 of them carry the flag for the Private School Scholarship, 111 can be paid from a Unique Abilities account and 12 are on the PEP list. Enrollment clusters in mid-county Clearwater and west St. Petersburg, while the most schools by ZIP code sit in north St. Pete.
How many private schools are registered in Pinellas County?
The state file we pulled on October 28, 2026 lists 145 private schools registered to the Pinellas district, reporting 20,695 students in total. That number includes everything from a K-12 campus with more than 1,200 students to home-based programs that report fewer than ten, along with two schools whose filed address sits outside the county.
Size varies enormously. Twenty-four schools report 300 or more students, 55 report fewer than 50, and 16 report no enrollment at all in their latest survey. The largest by reported enrollment is Indian Rocks Christian School in Largo at 1,201 students, followed by Shorecrest Preparatory School in St. Petersburg at 1,004.
By grade, the file counts 1,763 pre-K students, 14,053 in kindergarten through grade 8 and 4,879 in high school. Pinellas private education, in other words, is mostly an elementary and middle school story.
How many of them take the Florida scholarship?
113 of the 145 schools carry the state's FTC/FES-EO participant flag, which means a Pinellas family can apply the county award there: $8,643 for grades K-3, $8,059 for grades 4-8 and $7,868 for grades 9-12 in 2026-27. Those 113 schools account for 18,161 of the 20,695 reported students, about 88 percent.
The 32 schools without the flag are mostly very small or new programs, but a few are well established. Shorecrest Preparatory School, Lutheran Church of the Cross Day School, Vallenari's Integrative Learning and Allendale Academy each report more than 200 students and are not flagged. For those schools the Florida scholarship is not an option, so the school's own aid is the main lever. Our full directory shows the flag for every school.
Where in Pinellas are the schools?
We grouped the ZIP codes in the file into 12 communities. The table below shows how they compare.
| Community | Schools | Scholarship flag | Reported students |
|---|---|---|---|
| North St. Petersburg, Riviera Bay & Gateway | 16 | 6 | 1,765 |
| Pinellas Park, Lealman & Kenneth City | 15 | 15 | 1,287 |
| Countryside & North Clearwater | 15 | 13 | 3,187 |
| Palm Harbor, East Lake & Tarpon Springs | 13 | 12 | 1,352 |
| Largo & Seminole | 12 | 12 | 2,249 |
| West & Central St. Petersburg | 12 | 10 | 2,664 |
| Downtown, Midtown & South St. Petersburg | 12 | 10 | 667 |
| Downtown Clearwater & North Greenwood | 12 | 10 | 1,500 |
| South & East Clearwater | 10 | 8 | 1,435 |
| Dunedin, Safety Harbor & Oldsmar | 10 | 5 | 966 |
| Gulfport, South Pasadena & the Gulf Beaches | 9 | 7 | 1,201 |
| Old Northeast, Crescent Lake & Snell Isle | 7 | 5 | 2,414 |
Two patterns stand out. Every school registered in Pinellas Park, Lealman and Kenneth City and every school in Largo and Seminole carries the scholarship flag. North St. Petersburg has the most schools of any area but only six with the flag, because several of its registrations are small international, online or coaching programs that do not participate.
What kinds of schools are they?
66 of the 145 schools report a religious affiliation. Among them are 14 Catholic schools, 26 non-denominational Christian schools, seven Baptist schools and five Lutheran schools, with smaller numbers of Episcopal, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Methodist and other Christian schools, one Islamic academy and one school listed under another faith. The other 79 schools report no religious affiliation.
Religious and secular schools take the scholarship at similar rates in the file: 59 of the 66 religious schools and 54 of the 79 others carry the flag. 64 schools report pre-K students, 77 run through grade 12 and 44 list at least one accrediting body, most often Cognia, the Florida Catholic Conference or the Florida Council of Independent Schools.
What does the state file not tell you?
The record is built for eligibility, not for shopping. It does not include tuition, because Florida does not collect private school prices. The Pinellas pull also has no lists of disability categories served and no websites, so a school's FES-UA flag tells you it can be paid from a Unique Abilities account, not which diagnoses its staff are trained for.
The flags are also a snapshot. A school can register with a scholarship funding organization next month, and a small program can close. Treat the flag as the starting question for each school, then confirm with the admissions office.
Survey timing matters too. Of the 145 records, 53 come from a 2026 annual survey and 92 still reflect the 2025 survey, so enrollment figures for many schools are a year old. A school that has grown or shrunk since then will look different on a tour than it does in the file.
Frequently asked questions
How many private schools are registered in Pinellas County?
145 schools are registered to the Pinellas district in the Florida Department of Education file pulled October 28, 2026, reporting 20,695 students.
How many Pinellas private schools take the scholarship?
113 of the 145 carry the FTC/FES-EO flag, covering about 88 percent of reported students.
Where in Pinellas are the schools?
North St. Petersburg has the most schools by count, while Countryside and north Clearwater report the most students.
What does the state file not tell you?
It does not show tuition, and the Pinellas pull has no disability-category lists or websites.
Related questions
- Which Pinellas schools carry the scholarship flag?
- What does the Private School Scholarship pay in Pinellas?
- Which schools take FES-UA?
Sources
- Florida Department of Education: Private School Directory
- Step Up For Students: 2026-27 scholarship amounts by district (FTC, FES-EO, PEP)
- Step Up For Students: FAQs for 2026-27 scholarship deadlines and payment schedules
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