Enrolling Students in EMA For Schools 2026-2027

Welcome. Today we will walk through how school staff can enroll students in EMMA for the 2026-2027 school year. We will review the required setup, how to find and enroll students, how to manage grade level mismatches, and where to review enrollment and payment details. Here is the full enrollment process at a glance. First, update your school year details for 2026-2027. Next, obtain the student's Award ID from the parent or guardian. Confirm that your school shows as verified under the Enrollment tab. Then log into EMMA, go to Enrollments, locate the student by Award ID or bulk upload, complete the enrollment form, and send a request. The process is not complete until the guardian accepts or declines the school's enrollment request. Before using Enrollment Reporting, begin by reviewing the School Year Details section on the left side of the dashboard. Make sure the selected school year is 2026-2027, since the system may default to 2025-2026. In School Year Details, verify that your school information is correct. Most of this information is pulled from your DOE dashboard. Enter your school year start date, end date, total school days, and total capacity. Then select the test name, add test dates, and save your work as you complete each section. Next, review the grade levels your school serves and your religious affiliation. These fields also pull from the DOE portal. If you notice anything incorrect, update it in the DOE dashboard first. Please allow at least 24 hours for changes to appear in Emma. As you move through this process, use the blue Next button in the bottom right corner. When you select Yes in the onboarding section, you are confirming that you reviewed and understood the required onboarding documents and handbooks. If your school is approved by the Florida Department of Education to serve Pre-K students and you serve FESUA students, You will be asked to enter Pre-K tuition and fees. Eligible private schools may enroll Pre-K students directly in EMMA and do not need to use the Marketplace for Pre-K tuition and fees. When entering Pre-K levels, use the highest amount as your maximum where appropriate. In this section, enter tuition amounts for every grade level your school offers. Even if you do not expect to enroll students in every grade, Tuition must still be entered for all grades you serve. Use the Add button to enter as many grade levels as needed. Here you can add approved fees such as uniforms, books, transportation, registration, and assessment fees. Be sure all fee names and amounts align with the applicable purchasing guide for your scholarship programs. As you enter tuition and fees, Avoid using ineligible names or charges. Examples include lunch, before or after care, fundraising, optional fees, donation fees, and scholarship administration fees. Also, avoid references to scholarship programs or matrix scores in fee names. Initial tuition and fee review may take about 10 business days. Next, create a tuition and fee schedule for each grade level you serve and identify whether a schedule is marked as maximum. A maximum schedule can be edited after it is saved, but it cannot be changed once a student has been enrolled. If a maximum schedule must be removed after that point, your school will need to contact the Engagement Center. Once all required sections are complete, a pop-up will appear. You can select the gray button to go back and edit, or the blue button to continue to the enrollment screen. All school year details must be completed before students can be enrolled for the 2026-2027 school year. Do not save maximum tuition and fee schedules until you are certain they reflect your final approved amounts. After school year details are complete, return to the Enrollments tab on the left side of the dashboard to begin enrollment reporting. Your school must show as verified before you can enroll students. Verified means Step Up has reviewed and approved your school's eligible tuition and fees, and your school also meets the required DOE approval. Schools do not need to email tuition and fee submissions for 2026-2027. Processing time may take up to 10 business days. Once your tuition and fees are confirmed, your SUFS verification status will appear as verified in the enrollment section of EMMA. When you see that status, you are ready to begin enrolling students. If you receive an email from tuitionandfees@step4students.org, respond promptly with the requested information or documentation. Missing information can delay the review and approval process. To locate a student, select Find Students. Enter the student's Award ID. If the student's status shows as Available, you can proceed with adding the student to your enrollment list. Schools also have the option to upload a list of Award IDs instead of entering them one at a time. This can save time when enrolling multiple students. To use bulk import, download the CSV template, enter all Award IDs, save the file as a CSV, and then upload it using the Choose File button. After you upload the CSV and click Import, the system will confirm how many records were imported successfully. Those students will appear in the Enrollment Requests table. If any records fail, download the Failed Records list to review and correct the issues. Once a student has been added to the enrollment list, enter and verify the student's start date and grade level. Then choose the correct tuition and fee schedule and apply any eligible discounts. Please note that the school is responsible for entering this information accurately. After everything is confirmed, send the enrollment request for one student or send multiple requests at once. A confirmation popup will appear before students are added to your roster list. Click Confirm to proceed. If you need to make changes first, click Cancel. Next, we will review the mismatch grade level correction process from the school's perspective. A student may be enrolled in a grade level that is different from the grade level listed on the scholarship application. The award amount, however, is based on the application grade level. If there is a mismatch, The parent or guardian will be asked to review the enrollment grade level before confirming enrollment. If they disagree, the request will move to Needs Review with Comments for the school. If you see a caution symbol next to the selected grade level, it means the grade entered by the school does not match the grade listed on the student's application. Before sending the enrollment request, make sure the checkbox next to the Award ID is selected. If you are unsure whether the grade level is correct, you may still proceed. The request will prompt the parent or guardian to confirm whether the grade level is accurate or needs to be changed. Now let's look at what the family sees when there is a grade level mismatch. Families can initiate a grade level change request by clicking into the application. Under Students section, Click View Details to open the application. In the Details section, they will select Request Grade Level Change to initiate the process of updating the student's grade level information on the application. At this stage, the parent or guardian will need to complete these 3 sections prior to submitting the request. 1, select the appropriate grade level. 2, provide a brief explanation detailing the reason for the grade level change. 3. Upload a supporting document, which may include a report card, school enrollment details, a letter from the student's private school, assessment results, or portfolio review documentation to validate the correct grade level. 4. Submit their request. Families will receive updates and notifications to keep them informed about the status of the grade level change request. They can search under Application Details or check your notifications by clicking the bell icon located on the portal banner. Once the school sends the enrollment request, the parent or guardian can log into Emma and review the student's grade level. They will have the option to confirm or decline the enrollment based on whether the grade level is correct. If the parent or guardian selects Yes, they are confirming that the student will be in the grade listed by the school. They must provide a brief explanation and upload supporting documentation, such as a report card, school enrollment information, assessment results, or portfolio review documentation. The request will then be sent for review by an Application Grade Level Processor. They will have the option to confirm or decline the enrollment based on whether the grade level is correct. If the family selects No, the enrollment request is returned to the school for review. The school should review the parent's explanation and determine whether the grade level needs to be updated. If the school agrees, it should resend the request with the corrected grade level. If the school does not agree, the family may need to reassess the enrollment grade level, or the school may need to contact the family directly about next steps. While documentation and the explanation are being reviewed, the family must continue monitoring Emma for updates. If the grade level change request is approved, The parent or guardian will return to Emma, review the updated application grade, and then click Confirm Enrollment to finalize the enrollment process. If the grade level change request is denied, the family can review comments in the student's application details for more information. Even if the application grade and enrollment grade remain different, the parent or guardian can still confirm enrollment if appropriate. Now, we return to the school's view for the second part of the mismatch grade level correction process. If the parent or guardian reports a discrepancy, the school will see a Needs Review notification under Enrollment Requests. A yellow ribbon will also appear indicating that the grade level does not match the application. If the parent's request is valid, select the correct grade level from the dropdown menu and resend the revised enrollment request to the family. If the school disagrees with the request, staff should contact the family directly to discuss next steps. Once the grade level has been corrected, complete the process by clicking Confirm. Within the Enrollments area, use Enrollment Requests to find and enroll students. Use Pending Responses to review students whose families have not yet taken action on an enrollment request. In the Pending Responses tab, review details such as the student's Award ID, name, start date, grade level, tuition schedule, and annual tuition amount. The Roster tab shows all students who are currently enrolled at your school. Staff can use this tab to review enrollment information for each active student. The Reporting tab provides a broader view of enrolled, pending, Declined, and Withdrawn students. It also includes important information such as the number of enrolled days. By selecting an individual student, you can review payment details. In the Reporting tab, you can search for students by most fields except dollar amounts and dates. Be sure the correct school year is selected in the dropdown menu. You may also export the full Student List to CSV. To view payment information, click the student's name in the Reporting tab. You will be able to see payment details by invoice period, including the actual amount paid to the school. For newly enrolled students, the estimated payment amount may appear first. Thank you for watching. If you need any assistance, Step Up for Students support is to help. Our team is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern Time. You can reach support by phone or through live chat at suffs.org. We're here to support you every step of the way.