New Application Process for the Florida Tax Credit (FTC), FES-EO and PEP 2025-26

Hi and welcome to Step up for Students. Thank you for your interest in participating in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options or the Personalized Education Program Scholarship. Today we will learn how to create your account and complete an application. Here are a few tips before you get started on your scholarship application. Per new legislation, families can only apply for one scholarship per student at the same time. Each time you log on to the EMA platform, you must complete a Multi Factor Authentication. We recommend you use a cell phone or phone number that does not answer as a recording. You will receive updates via email when your application review is complete. The new Student Application Checklist is now available on our website. See the QR code here for easy retrieval. If you need to translate to another language and you are using Google Chrome as your browser, click on the three dots at the top right of the browser. Next sel Translate. Finally, choose the language from the drop down menu that best suits your translation needs. Your page is ready. You may now view it in your preferred language. Please go to stepupforstudents.org to apply for the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, or the Personalized Education Program. If you have an EMA account, please enter your username and password. If you do not have an EMMA account, please click Sign up for New Users. Please provide your email address and then click on the Send Code button. You will receive an email with a code to enter on the Sign up screen. To continue, please enter the code received via email in the Verification code box and then click Confirm. Click Continue. Please complete all open boxes. Account type is Parent Guardian username will be your login username. The email address is preferred. Legal first name and Legal last name is the parent guardian name and password. This along with your username will be how you access the system. Please select three security questions and corresponding answers. The answers to the security questions will be used to verify your identity when you contact Step up for Students now, you will be prompted to complete the two steps verification process. The primary phone number listed must be Multi Factor Authentication compatible. We recommend you use a cell phone or phone number that does not answer as a recording. Please click on the link for terms, conditions and rules. Once you have read and agreed to the Terms and Conditions, select a checkbox to certify and click ok. The next step is to complete your guardian profile a one time step. This is where you will come if information like your address needs to be updated. If you want everything to be in Spanish, please select Primary Language as Spanish. Enter your contact information Important to note if the proof of Residency document is in a different parent's name, Enter your contact information. If you would like to allow anyone other than yourself to call in on your behalf, please select Add a Caller to add an authorized Caller. For the authorized caller, you're going to set up a four digit PIN and make certain your authorized caller knows the pin. All fields are mandatory. The next section of your profile setup is Manage Consents. This gives Step up for students permission to contact you. Please read and select yes or no to each section. This section gives you the opportunity to select additional ways for us to communicate with you by adding your contact preferences. For example, if you want us to text you, then please select the box next to text. Once completed, click Save. You will receive an email notification every time an update is made to your profile. Once you click Save, you will be automatically taken to your My Students section. Here you can find your renewal students, if applicable, and add new students. FEO applications require student Social Security numbers. If you or your student do not have a Social Security number, leave this question blank. Your student will only be considered for the FTC or PEP scholarships. Please complete all the boxes and verify for accuracy. Once you are done, click Save. Please refrain from using nicknames when completing this section. Once you have added all your students, you will see a tile for each student. Continue adding students until all you want to apply for are noted on a tile. At this point. Guardians you have two options to start the application process. Important to note, you can only submit one application per program for the ftc, FESEO or PEP scholarship at a time. Please ensure that all students have been added to the My Student section before you apply. Please indicate if anyone in your household has decision making authority in an eligible non profit scholarship funding organization that offer scholarships. Select a student for whom you wish to apply for the ftc, FESEO or PEP scholarship. Remember, students cannot apply for multiple scholarships at the same time. Once you have selected students by sliding the radio button to the right, click Continue in the bottom right corner. At any point before submitting your application, you can either add an existing student via the Add a Student blue button or you can remove a student via the trash can icon next to the student's name. To continue with the chosen student, please click the blue button located beneath the student's name and complete the following the student's Social Security number or the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number and confirm the student's Social Security number or the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number for incoming kindergarten and first grade students ages 5 to 6 by September 1st of 2025. A government issued birth certificate is required for application. A valid government issued passport may be submitted as well, provided it is active at the time of the scholarship. Please make note if you would like to make changes to grayed out fields, you must navigate to the My Students page, Select that student and make the necessary changes. This includes race and ethnicity. Complete enrolled school information indicating the type of school your student or students is attending for this current school year, the county the school is in, as well as the name of the school. Next, complete the expected school information indicating the type of school your student or students plan to attend for the upcoming 2526 school year and the grade level for PEP. Please select Florida Homeschool from the dropdown to get the PEP question Do you intend to use this scholarship for pep, the Personalized Education Program? If you choose Florida Homeschool as your anticipated school, you will need to respond to the PEP question. The PEP Scholarship program is designed for children engaged in parent directed education. If you respond with no, please update your expected school type or verify your intended use of the PEP application to proceed. If there is another student in your household who benefits from the FESUA scholarship, you must choose either yes or no. If you select yes, please provide their FESUA student ID number in the space provided, but please note it is not mandatory. If you answer YES to any of the following questions, you will be required to upload supporting documentation. Please ensure that any files you are uploading are not password protected. Once you complete all the sections, click Continue in the bottom right corner to Proceed or Save as Draft to Save and return to complete the application at a later time. When you click Continue or Save as Draft, a confirmation modal appears. This confirmation message should only appear if the application has already been saved as draft. Once you click Remove Student, the application is saved and the student is removed. Path 1 if the parent or guardian chooses no regarding automatic consideration above the 400% Florida poverty guideline, income documentation must be provided for all household members age 18 and older. To be eligible for income priority, you must provide your accurate household income along with the necessary verification documents. If you fail to enter your income or decide not to upload the required documents, your application will not qualify for income priority. Step up for Students is required to award scholarships first to students from households with income priority. You must review the information listed here to ensure its accuracy. If you need to make any changes, simply click on the profile icon in the upper right hand corner of the page and make the necessary corrections. Failure to do so may result in processing delays. You will need to enter your Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer identification Number and provide proof of residency. For proof of residency, please ensure that the documents you submit 1 valid, 2 current meaning dated within 2 months if a recurring bill or statement and 3 match the primary or secondary guardian's full name as well as the current physical street address provided on the application. Refer to the guidelines listed on the slide for the list of acceptable documents for submission. The list identifies what documents are required for proof of residency. You need to upload either one document from column A or two different documents from column B. If you submit only one document from column B, you will receive an error message. However, you can easily fix this by simply scrolling up and submitting another document type. If you provide a Florida driver's license, you must also include another form of documentation such as an automobile insurance statement. When submitting two paystubs for income verification or proof of residency, they will be considered as one document type. As a result, you will still need to submit an additional document. Here is the necessary documentation for dependent children of active duty members of the United States Armed Forces moving to or from Florida on permanent change of station orders. Next, fill out the Employment Income section. You will need to include details about your employer and the income you have received. Please provide your income verification documents. You can find examples of approved documentation in the new Application checklist linked here. Pay stubs should be from the 30 consecutive days leading up to your application submission. Additionally, include any other income sources such as unemployment benefits, Social Security or child support. Additional Income Access a drop down menu for options like Child support and alimony Additional Income category. Click the arrow for the drop down menu. Other Income Amount Monthly Use arrows to enter the monthly income amount. Income Verification Documents Upload required supporting documents as specified. Additional Information does anyone in the household receive food stamps, TANF or fdpir? If your answer is yes, choose the appropriate drop down category and upload proof of document. Please be aware if you are a homemaker, currently unemployed or a student, you might need to submit proof of your living expenses. If you receive cash payments, Please download form 1055. You will need to attach this form to your application. After finishing all the questions in the Guardian Information section, click Continue to move on to the next part. Now you will be asked to fill out the Additional Household Members section. It is essential that you include all household members in this application. This includes any non scholarship individuals living at the same address. After reviewing the definition of additional household members, please check the box to continue to include members in the application Simply navigate to the Add Member tab and add as as much many individuals as necessary for each household member. Click on View Details to provide their information. If the additional household member is 18 years or older, you will be automatically prompted to enter their employment type. You should now be on the Summary section of the application, which provides an overview of all completed sections. You can review and modify any part as needed, using the headers to navigate between sections. You will also be required to complete the Parent Guardian Terms and Conditions. Make sure to click on each box once you have read and agreed to the Terms and Conditions. You will also be required to complete the Sworn Compliance Statement. Make certain to click on each box once you've read and agreed to those terms. Please enter your name in the designated box and provide your signature. In the Signature area, click Keep if you would like to save your signature. If you prefer to modify your signature, simply click Clear and sign again by clicking Submit. Your application will be forwarded for processing. A confirmation notice will appear on your screen. Path number two this is the path. If the guardian chooses yes and will not be providing income information, choose yes. If you will not be providing income documentation, it is essential to verify the information provided here for accuracy. To make any adjustments, just click on the profile icon located in the upper right corner of the page and update the details as needed. Neglecting this step could lead to delays in processing. You will be provided to input your Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number and submit Proof of Residency. Please make sure that the documents you submit meet the following 1. They are valid. 2. They are current dated within the last two months for recurring bills or statements. 3. They match the full name of the primary or secondary guardian along with the current physical street address provided in the application. Please consult the guidelines provided on this slide for the list of documents that are acceptable for submission. This list identifies what documents are required for proof of residency. You need to upload either one document from column A or two different documents from column B. If you submit only one document from column B, you will receive an error message. However, you can easily fix this by simply scrolling up and submitting another document type. If you provide a Florida driver's license, you must also include another form of documentation, such as an automobile insurance statement. When submitting two pay stubs for income verification or proof of residency, they will be considered as one document type. As a result, you will still need to submit an additional document. Note if you are a homemaker, unemployed, or a student, you may need to provide proof of living expenses. Please Download the form 1055. If you receive payment in cash, you will need to then attach this form to your application. Additional Information does anyone in your household receive food stamps, TANF or fdpir? If your answer is yes, choose the appropriate drop down category and upload Proof of Document. After you have answered all the questions in the Guardian Information section, click Continue to move on to the next part. You will now be asked to fill out the Additional Household Members section. It is essential to include all individuals living in your household on this application, which encompasses any non scholarship individuals residing at the same address. After reviewing the definition of additional household members, please check the box to continue to add members to the application. Use the Add Member tab and add as many members as needed. You will automatically be prompted to input Employment type if the additional Household member is 18 years and older. You will also be required to complete the Parent Guardian Terms and Conditions. Make sure to click on each box once you have read and agreed to the terms and the conditions. You will also be required to complete the Sworn Compliance statement again. Please make certain to click on each box once you have read and agreed to the terms. Please enter your name in the designated box and provide your signature. In the Signature area, click Keep if you would like to save your signature. If you prefer to modify your signature, simply click Clear and sign again. After you've completed the Parent Guardian Terms and Conditions and Sworn Compliance Statement, a reminder will pop up stating you have opted out of provided income. By opting out, you will be considered above 400% of the Florida Poverty Guideline and marked the lowest priority for processing. Click Submit to confirm your opt out or click Go Back to provide your income information by clicking Submit. Your application will be forwarded for processing. A confirmation notice will appear on your screen. Your application has been successfully completed. You can now head back to the dashboard to review your recent submission and check the status of your application. Once your application has been processed, you can now check your applications in the Action Items section to approve them. To proceed, click on the arrow located to the right of the application marked as Pending as shown above. The window will enlarge displaying the students who are eligible for the specific application on your screen. On this page, you may click the highlighted link to see an overview of the scholarship award and funding process. A step by step guide to your scholarship will now appear. Please note you can always come back to decline this scholarship and apply for another one if the application window is still open. If your student is already enrolled in a school, you'll need to withdraw them from that school before you can decline the scholarship. To access the application details, just click on the View Details link. The information is now available for qualifying students. You can carry out this action for all eligible students within your account. Guardians are required to select either Decline Scholarship or Accept Scholarship on this screen. Please be aware that no scholarship decision will be finalized until you either approve or deny your student scholarship. If you choose to accept the scholarship, you will either receive confirmation of your award or or a notification that the program is at full capacity. An email will be dispatched to keep you informed. You are welcome to return here anytime to check your status. Upon accepting the scholarship, you will see Scholarship accepted next to the student's name. If you decide to decline the scholarship, the student will be withdrawn from the FTC FESEO PEP Scholarship program and will be eligible to apply for other scholarships. Please make sure to follow the steps outlined earlier to apply for a different scholarship. When you choose to decline the scholarship, you will see Scholarship decline next to the student's name. If you want to switch from a private school scholarship, meaning FTC FES EO to a personalized education program or vice versa, do not decline your scholarship and call us at 1-877-735-7837 to request the switch. What steps should I take if I mistakenly decline my Student Scholarship? To restore a scholarship for a student, simply click the View Student button on the dashboard that corresponds to that specific student. Next, click on the View Application button. To proceed, simply click the button highlighted Accept Scholarship button in blue. On this page, a pop up will appear providing you with the choice to click the Cancel button to return or accept the Scholarship button to continue. If you click the blue Accept Scholarship button, you will be taken to this page. Please keep in mind that this notation Scholarship Accepted will be displayed Program at Capacity this scholarship has reached its maximum capacity for the current school year, meaning that the scholarship you applied for is not available for your student at this time. If you want your student to be considered for the program, please accept the scholarship and then they will be put forward for potential funding. You will be notified via email if a scholarship opens up. Should you wish to pursue a different scholarship that is currently available, please decline the current scholarship. Once your student scholarship status is marked as declined, you can apply for another scholarship, but your student will no longer be eligible for the recent program you applied for. Please note that there is no guarantee that additional scholarships will be available this school year and funding is not assured. Please be advised Again, if you wish to transition from a private school scholarship meaning FTCFeseo to a personalized Education Program or the other way around. Do not decline your scholarship. Instead, contact us to initiate this change. Displayed here are the application statuses pending. Your student's eligibility status is currently being reviewed. Please keep an eye on your EMA account for any updates awarded. Your application has been approved and the student is now eligible for a scholarship. However, please be aware that the student has not yet received funding for the current school year. Fund it. The scholarship for your student has been successfully credited to your EMA account. You are now able to use the funds available in your account at capacity. This scholarship has reached its capacity as defined in statute for this school year and a scholarship for which you applied is not currently available for your student. After a student Once a student receives their scholarship, if you intend to utilize it at an eligible participant participating school, it's essential to reach out to the school using your award ID to initiate the enrollment process. The school will need the student's award ID found under Applications. This is different than the student id, which is a unique identification number the engagement center will require to access your student's application Once an Eligible Private School Once a qualifying private school registers a student in their system, you will receive an email notification prompting you to log in and review the enrollment request now. If the amount due to school matches your total yearly obligation to the institution, which encompasses both the scholarship and any out of pocket expenses, confirm your enrollment. If the amount due to the school is inaccurate or if your student plans not to attend this school, please decline the enrollment offer. All payments made to schools require quarterly verification and approval from the guardian. You can manage these school payments by viewing, approving or denying them directly from your dashboard. Please note, no payments to school will be processed until the action is completed. Still need assistance? Feel free to chat, call or email us here at Step up for Students.