Congratulations!
Your student has been awarded a PEP scholarship.
Personalized Education Program (PEP) Option ESA
Students who are not enrolled in full-time public school can utilize their scholarship by selecting the PEP option, which provides you access to an education savings account (ESA) to help fund your student’s parent/guardian directed learning. Please note that PEP students are allowed to be enrolled in a full-time hybrid option, where they have regular and direct contact with teachers at a private school’s physical location at least two school days per week and their student learning plan addresses the remaining instructional time. If applicable, PEP students must also terminate a home education program with their school district.
Important:
- If the 2024-25 school year is the first year your student will be using the PEP scholarship, you only need to complete the first requirement below.
- For students who received PEP scholarship funding the 2023-24 school year, you must complete both requirements below.
It is now time to complete a 2024-25 Student Learning Plan (SLP) for your student within EMA.
IMPORTANT: Please make sure to select 2024-25 from the drop-down to complete a 2024-25 SLP in EMA.
This must be completed by Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in order for your student to receive first-quarter funding.
- An SLP is simply a personalized learning plan developed by parents/guardians to help identify their student’s learning priorities and how to best spend scholarship dollars.
- An SLP must be submitted annually for each PEP student. Funding may only be disbursed into a student's account if they have a complete SLP. Step Up For Students funds PEP students on a quarterly schedule. If SLPs are not received prior to the first funding distribution, students will need to wait until the following quarter to receive scholarship funds.
- Click here to watch a video about SLPs, including step-by-step instructions on how to submit your student’s 2024-25 SLP. Another helpful resource can be found here. Updates were made to this year’s SLP process so please be sure to read the instructions before you begin.
- The 2024-25 SLP was released on June 20, 2024, and contains new content. If you have submitted a SLP before June 20, 2024, you MUST submit a new one now. Any SLP submitted before this date will not be accepted for the 2024-25 school year.
- Note: You may see an "Action Needed" message in EMA advising that a 2023-24 SLP is needed for your student. This message will be updated in the near future to reflect the 2024-25 school year. Again, please be sure to select 2024-25 from the SLP drop-down.
Students who utilized the PEP scholarship in the 2023-24 school year must submit their 2023-24 end-of-year norm-referenced test or statewide assessment results in EMA.
- Click here for step-by-step instructions on how to submit your renewal student’s assessment or test results.
- While submission of test scores is required by law, the results of the test will not impact your eligibility for scholarships or your ability to access your student's scholarship funds or any provider's services.
- Still need to take an assessment? It's not too late. A list of approved tests can be found here.
Note: EMA currently allows for one document to be uploaded for assessments. This document can be multiple pages, as long as the document is less than 5 mbs. If able, you may merge your documents into one PDF for upload. In the near future, EMA will allow families to upload up to 5 documents to accommodate uploading multiple test score documents.
MyScholarShop now includes two vendors offering a direct-buying option for approved norm-referenced tests: Homeschool Boss (administering the NWEA Measures of Academic Progress test) and CLT (administering the Classic Learning Test).
For more information on PEP, click here.
Award Amounts
The scholarship award amount is based on the student's county and grade level and is determined by a statutory formula. Scholarship award amounts may be prorated, if applicable, based on the student’s award.
Funding
Award amounts are distributed quarterly and may be prorated based on the student’s award date. Parents/guardians will be notified each time funding is added to a student’s account.
Reminders:
- For PEP scholarships, funds will be deposited directly into your student's EMA account.
- Available funds for the 2024-25 school year can be used for any approved items or services purchased on or after July 1, 2024. Funds cannot be used for purchases made outside of the academic school year.
- Reimbursements for purchases during the school year (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025) must be submitted no later than August 31, 2025.
- Be sure to keep track of your student’s scholarship balance. You may be responsible for any funds owed to schools or providers beyond what is available in your student’s account.
Don’t Risk It!
We strongly encourage our FTC, FES-EO and PEP scholarship families to read our FTC, FES-EO and PEP Parent/Guardian Handbook. The handbook includes important resources on how to use your scholarship, including which items/services are preapproved.*
Families should also be familiar with the FTC/FES-EO/PEP Purchasing Guidelines.*
*Note: The 2024-25 Handbook and Purchasing Guidelines are not yet available. While families may reference the 2023-24 versions at this time, they are subject to change for the 2024-25 school year.
Funding is not guaranteed!
A student’s scholarship may be revoked if:
- The parent/guardian applies for multiple scholarships under the Family Empowerment Scholarship and the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship programs for an individual student at the same time.
- The student is enrolled on a full-time basis in the Florida Virtual School, the Florida School For The Deaf and Blind, the College-Preparatory Boarding Academy, the Florida School for Competitive Academics, the Florida Scholars Academy, a developmental research school, a charter school, or any other Florida public school as they are ineligible to receive a Family Empowerment Scholarship or a Florida Tax Credit scholarship. If the student is enrolled on a full-time basis during the 2024-25 school year, it will result in forfeiture of scholarship participation and the return of any remaining scholarship funds. This does not prohibit students using the Family Empowerment Scholarship or Florida Tax Credit Scholarship from attending one or more of these programs on a part-time basis, provided they are meeting regular school attendance requirements per s. 1003.01(16)(b)-(d), F.S. in some other way. Any participation in a public school on a part-time basis while receiving a scholarship must be paid for by the guardian using either personal or scholarship funds. A scholarship student may not be reported for state funding by a school district and receive a scholarship at the same time.
- A post-award audit determines the student is not eligible. Additional information and/or documentation related to the application may be requested at any time post-award for auditing purposes.
- You fail to comply with the provisions of the FTC, FES-EO or PEP scholarships or any parental obligations for the program, including fraudulent application, purchasing, or reimbursement activity.
- You share your user ID and password with anyone (including schools or providers). Allowing schools and/or providers to access your account may put your scholarship in jeopardy of being misused.
Additional Details:
- After the first year of using the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship and the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, your student may continue participating in the scholarship program until he or she graduates from high school or returns to public school – regardless of changes to your income.
- Parents/guardians must apply annually to continue using the scholarship.
Does your student need to complete the Assessment requirement?
If your student was funded on the PEP scholarship in the spring of the 2023-24 school year and is continuing PEP for the 2024-25 school year, you must submit the student’s 2023-24 end-of-year norm-referenced annual assessment results AND complete a new Student Learning Plan for the student.
If your student was funded on the PEP scholarship in the 2023-24 school year but switched to a different scholarship that they received funding through for the remainder of the 2023-24 school year, they are not required to submit annual assessment results or complete a Student Learning Plan for the PEP program. However, your student is still subject to any applicable testing requirements of the other scholarship program in which they participated in for the 2023-24 school year.
If your student was funded on the PEP scholarship in the 2023-24 school year but applied for and was awarded a FTC, FES-EO, or FES-UA scholarship for the 2024-25 school year, you still need to submit the student’s end-of-year norm-referenced annual assessment results from the 2023-24 school year. However, you do not need to submit a Student Learning Plan for the student.
2023-2024 | ||
| Persons in family/household | Priority 1 up to 185% | Priority 2 185%-400% |
| 1 | Up to $26,973 | Up to $58,320 |
| 2 | $36,482 | $78,880 |
| 3 | $45,991 | $99,440 |
| 4 | $55,500 | $120,000 |
| 5 | $65,009 | $140,560 |
| 6 | $74,518 | $161,120 |
| 7 | $84,027 | $181,680 |
| 8 | $93,536 | $202,240 |
| 9 | $103,045 | $222,800 |
| 10 | $112,554 | $243,360 |
| 11 | $122,063 | $263,920 |
| Each additional member +$9,509 | Each additional member +$20,560 | |
| Based on guidelines published by the Department of Health & Human Services in National Registry on January 2023 | ||