Question 1

How does my private school start accepting Step Up scholarships?

Accepted Answer

FDOE comes first: the school must be registered through the annual survey (s. 1002.42), notify FDOE of its intent to participate and meet s. 1002.421. Then log in at floridaschoolchoice.org with your 4-digit DOE code and complete FDOE's steps; once the school is "Approved" or "Approved Conditional," SUFS emails a unique EMA invitation link. Schools may join "at any time of the year," and AAA Scholarship Foundation likewise invites approved school directors to onboard in its SMP.

Question 2

Should my school create an EMA provider account?

Accepted Answer

No. "Schools must not create Business or Personal provider accounts"; SUFS sends an invitation after FDOE approval. During setup, some data auto-populates from FDOE records, each location's address must match FDOE records, and the electronic W-9 must match IRS records. Each user email can be used at only one school, so multi-location schools need a different user email per location.

Question 3

What are FDOE's deadlines for private school scholarship participation?

Accepted Answer

A first-time school must submit a notarized Scholarship Compliance Form by October 1 and resolve outstanding documentation by December 1, or wait until the next school year. Continuing schools file the compliance form by February 1 and additional documents by April 1. Changes of name, director, address or location must be reported to FDOE within 15 days.

Question 4

Does a new scholarship school need a site visit or 3 years in operation?

Accepted Answer

A new school needs a satisfactory FDOE site visit before its first scholarship payment. For fiscal soundness, the school must have operated 3 school years, or file a surety bond or letter of credit equal to one quarter's scholarship funds. It must also have a Florida physical location with regular and direct contact with teachers; PEP and FES-UA students may meet this with 2 or more days a week on site plus a student learning plan.

Question 5

Do teachers at a scholarship private school need to be certified?

Accepted Answer

A state teaching certificate is not required. Teachers must hold a bachelor's or higher degree, have at least 3 years of teaching experience in public or private schools, or have "special skills, knowledge, or expertise" that qualifies them. The school must publish its teachers' qualifications for parents. Full-time private tutoring outside a school is different and does require a Florida certificate.

Question 6

What background screening do private school staff need for scholarships?

Accepted Answer

Every employee and contracted person with direct student contact must be screened under s. 1012.315, with fingerprints retained in the Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse and rescreening as s. 435.12 requires. Owners and operators must be screened before employment and may not take their own fingerprints; staff with a valid Florida teaching certificate fingerprinted under s. 1012.32 are exempt. Keeping someone on after a failed screening makes the school ineligible, and the school certifies compliance each year in a notarized Scholarship Compliance Form.

Question 7

Can we charge scholarship students different tuition than other families?

Accepted Answer

No. "Schools participating in the scholarship program cannot charge a different rate for scholarship students and non-scholarship students," and AAA Scholarship Foundation’s FES-UA handbook states the same rule. The EMA rate may be less than, but not more than, the published maximum for the grade or what the parent agreed to pay, and discount groups (for example multi-student, parishioner or employee) are allowed. Tuition names may not reference programs (FTC, EO, UA) or matrix scores.

Question 8

Which fees can our school bill to the scholarship?

Accepted Answer

Eligible fees include academic services, activity, application and registration (payable in the prior fiscal year), athletics, club, book, enrollment, graduation, security, technology, test and basic uniform fees, plus "other fees as unique to the needs of the student." Prohibited: annual funds, before- or after-school care, scholarship-management costs, food, fundraising, donation or volunteer-waiver fees, giving or building funds, optional fees, and shoes and accessories. Only fees "required for enrollment" go on the EMA schedule, which shows "Verified" after SUFS reviews it. For tuition-management systems (FACTS, TADS and similar), only the annual billing-service fee is reimbursable.

Question 9

Tuition is more than the scholarship can we bill the family for the difference?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Schools may charge more than the scholarship and may offer supplemental aid; the family pays the gap directly or from rollover funds. To be paid from rollover, the school must set up a separate tuition and fees service offering in the Marketplace. Parents don't have to tell you the award; on enrollment you see the expected payment, which is the lower of tuition and fees or the annual award.

Question 10

When does Step Up pay private schools?

Accepted Answer

SUFS commits tuition and fees (up to the award) and generates a quarterly invoice that both the school and the parent must approve; SUFS then pays "within seven (7) business days," as the statute requires. Payment can take up to 5 more business days to reach the school. For 2026-27 funding, enrollment by June 15 or July 15 feeds the Aug 1 or Sept 1 release, Sept 30 feeds Nov 1, Dec 15 feeds Feb 1, and Feb 15 feeds Apr 1. SUFS self-reports that "99.9% of 727,811 tuition payments to nearly 2,500 schools" in 2025-26 were paid within 2.5 business days (Feb 20, 2026).

Question 11

What happens if a parent doesn't approve the quarterly tuition invoice?

Accepted Answer

Parents must approve within 30 calendar days of the school submitting the invoice, or the invoice is deleted and the money returns to its source (FES-EO to FDOE, FTC to the funding source, FES-UA to the student's account). If the invoice was required for enrollment, the student becomes ineligible for the rest of the year, so SUFS tells schools to remind families. The school cannot approve for the parent: it "may not act as attorney in fact," and AAA Scholarship Foundation says power of attorney "is NOT permitted by law."

Question 12

Which school gets paid if a scholarship student transfers mid-quarter?

Accepted Answer

The first school the student attends for at least 10 days in a quarter gets the full quarter's payment, and the schools and parent may negotiate a share. Quarters run Jul 1–Sep 30, Oct 1–Dec 31, Jan 1–Mar 31 and Apr 1–Jun 30. Overpaid schools are invoiced when a student transfers, and SUFS may adjust future payments.

Question 13

How quickly must we withdraw a student in EMA?

Accepted Answer

Within 5 business days of the student's last day. The new school cannot enroll the student in EMA until you withdraw them, and the final payment to your school needs parent approval. At AAA Scholarship Foundation, the departing school files a Student Withdrawal Form within 5 business days (2025-26 handbook, still linked).

Question 14

Our quarterly payment is late or the invoice is missing what do we do?

Accepted Answer

Check the invoice status: both the school and the parent must have approved it, and payment is due within 7 business days of approval, plus up to 5 business days to arrive. If you expected an invoice you haven't received, or need to edit or delete one, contact SUFS's Customer Engagement Center at (877) 735-7837. A student is not eligible for a quarterly payment if the school misses the deadlines for admission confirmation and fee schedules. SUFS "may sometimes provide supplemental funding" to students missed on the schedule.

Question 15

What is the agreed-upon procedures (aup) report and when is it due?

Accepted Answer

A school that receives more than $250,000 in scholarship funds (FTC, FES-EO and FES-UA combined) in a state fiscal year must file an independent CPA's agreed-upon-procedures report, due September 15 to the SFO that provided most of its funds. The 2025-26 report was due September 15, 2026, using SUFS's mandatory template and the School Financial Reporting Agreement. That SFO notifies the Commissioner by October 30 of missing reports or material exceptions.

Question 16

Does Step Up use a scholarship commitment form (scf) like AAA Scholarship Foundation?

Accepted Answer

No. "SCF" is AAA Scholarship Foundation’s School Commitment Form: the parent selects the school in SMP, the school confirms enrollment and tuition, the parent gives final acceptance, and AAA Scholarship Foundation then runs quarterly Verification Reports completed by the school and then the parent. SUFS uses EMA enrollment: the family gives you the Scholarship ID, you enroll the student at the agreed rate, the parent confirms, and both of you approve each quarterly invoice. SUFS's older marketing page that mentions "Scholarship Commitment Forms" is outdated.

Question 17

When does AAA Scholarship Foundation pay private schools in 2026-27?

Accepted Answer

AAA Scholarship Foundation’s FTC/FES-EO ACH dates are Sep 9 and Nov 4, 2026, and Jan 20 and Apr 21, 2027, each after that period's School Commitment Form and Verification Report deadlines. FES-UA ACH dates are Sep 16 and Nov 18, 2026, and Feb 17 and Apr 21, 2027. AAA Scholarship Foundation’s State Board filing says remittances are initiated within 7 business days after the payment approval deadline for both parent and school. Schools can switch from check to ACH under Account Profile → Add Banking in the SMP.

Question 18

Does AAA Scholarship Foundation require proof of enrollment on school letterhead?

Accepted Answer

Yes. AAA Scholarship Foundation says that beginning in 2025-26, proof of enrollment must be on school letterhead showing the school name, the student's full name, grade level and enrollment date (academic year). AAA Scholarship Foundation applies it to renewing applicants using their scholarship at private schools, with each application. At SUFS, enrollment is proven by the EMA school enrollment, and a separate letterhead requirement is not published as of Oct 19, 2026.

Question 19

Can our school sell its online or virtual program to scholarship families?

Accepted Answer

No. "A virtual, remote, or online instruction program provided by a private school is not an eligible expense," and schools "may not submit such service in the EMA Marketplace." FDOE says private virtual schools "may not receive scholarship funding"; full virtual programs are paid instead through FDOE-approved VIP or online course providers. Tuition names such as "Online Tutoring Rates" or "Homeschool Tuition Rate" are also prohibited.

Question 20

Can our school serve PEP students part-time or as a PEP hybrid school?

Accepted Answer

Yes, through Marketplace service offerings rather than EMA enrollment, and "the eligible private school must accept the FTC Scholarship to provide part-time enrollment to PEP students." A PEP Hybrid school needs FDOE hybrid approval, with students on site 2 or more full days a week plus a student learning plan; "not all FTC participating schools are PEP Hybrid eligible." Schools without an EMA account get an email at the address they gave FDOE and should not create a provider account. PEP is closed to new 2026-27 students.

Question 21

Can FES-UA families pay a hybrid school?

Accepted Answer

Yes, by reimbursement only: hybrid schools are "currently not available through the Service Marketplace for FES-UA." A student learning plan must be on file first, or the request is denied. Since July 1, 2026, FES-UA students may meet the school-contact rule with 2 days a week on site plus a learning plan.

Question 22

Can students from other schools take individual classes at our school with scholarship funds?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A full-time scholarship student may use leftover funds for classes or activities at a different eligible private school without enrolling there full time, including academic services, athletics, clubs, activities, individual classes and testing. These are paid through the Marketplace or by reimbursement.

Florida K-12 scholarship provider FAQ: private-school participation and payments