Short video (Step Up for Students) explaining reimbursement policy updates for the 2025–2026 school year that took effect July 24. Two primary changes: (1) taxes on eligible services (e.g., part-time tutoring, therapies, extracurricular instruction) are now reimbursable, aligning service tax treatment with product tax reimbursements; (2) annual memberships and subscriptions that span beyond the school year are reimbursed in full (no proration required). The video also defines proration, lists covered examples (gym, zoo memberships; subscription kits; software like Canva/Adobe; educational software like Microsoft Office or IXL), states exclusions (streaming platforms, home internet fees, sports lessons, items requiring designated service dates), and outlines special rules for family, lifetime, and monthly memberships. Contact/support: Engagement Center, Mon–Fri 8am–5pm Eastern Standard Time.
Questions this video answers
July 24 (changes applied to reimbursements reviewed on/after that date).
2025–2026 school year.
Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm Eastern Standard Time.
Chapters
Welcome to Step up for Students. In this short video, we'll walk you through the most recent updates to our reimbursement policies for the 2025-2026 school year. Whether you're a returning family or new to our scholarship programs, these enhancements are designed to make the reimbursement process smoother for you. Let's take a closer look at what's new and how these changes will benefit your family. Before we get started, it is important to note that these changes went into effect July 24th. If you're dealing with reimbursement submissions for the 2024-25 period and they were reviewed on or after this date, the new policy changes will be applied. Let's take a look at two important updates to our reimbursement policies that are now in effect. Taxes on services rendered, such as tutoring or therapy, will now be approved for reimbursement. Annual memberships and subscriptions that extend beyond the school year no longer need to be prorated. These changes are designed to simplify the reimbursement process and reduce the burden on families. In the next few slides, we'll walk through what these updates mean for you and where to find more support if needed. We are excited to share a policy improvement. Taxes on approved services are now eligible for reimbursement. This update aligns with our current policy that permits tax reimbursement for eligible products. This enhancement covers a variety of services including part time tutoring, specialized therapies, and extracurricular instruction such as sports lessons. Families will now benefit from more comprehensive reimbursements, effectively lowering out of pocket expenses and enhancing access to vital educational support. Now let's dive deeper into the second policy update. Previously, we only covered the portion of annual memberships and subscriptions that fell within the school year, but now we will reimburse these memberships and subscriptions in full, even if they extend beyond the school year. This means no more proration calculations are needed. Consider how this impacts your budgeting and planning. You can now take advantage of annual memberships and subscriptions without the hassle of calculating partial usage. This could include a variety of services, which we'll see in more detail on the following slides. Understanding proration is crucial, especially when dealing with memberships and subscriptions. So what exactly is proration? Proration is dividing the cost of something so you only pay for the portion you actually use. For example, if you pay for a yearly membership but only use it for a few months, proration calculates what you owe just for those months instead of the whole year. Let's take a closer look at some examples of annual memberships and subscriptions that are covered in full. These include gym memberships, zoo or aquarium memberships, and subscription kits like those for cooking or art. We also cover magazine or newspaper subscriptions in graphics or photo editing software such as Canva or Adobe. Additionally, curriculum or educational software like Microsoft Office or IXL is included. While our updated reimbursement policies offer expanded coverage, certain items and services remain ineligible. Please note the following exclusions subscription based streaming platforms, for example Netflix or Disney home Internet service fees, sports lessons and any item or service requiring designated service dates as outlined in our purchasing guides. For a complete list of exclusions and guidance on eligible purchases, please refer to the latest purchasing guide available on our website. Before we end this presentation, here are some things to keep in mind. First, family memberships must be prorated to the cost of an individual annual membership for each student. However, if the cost is split among siblings, we approve the family rate because it results in savings compared to individual plans. Second, lifetime memberships or subscriptions are only approved if they include a subject based curriculum. This ensures that the educational content is relevant and beneficial. Lastly, there's no need to prorate monthly memberships even if they span different school years. This simplifies the process for everyone involved. Thank you for joining us and for taking the time to learn more about the summary of new policy enhancements for reimbursements. If you have any questions or need additional support, our Engagement center is here to help. You can reach us Monday through Friday for 8am to 5pm Eastern Standard Time. Also, feel free to chat with us directly through our website or give us a call. We're happy to assist you every step of the way.
