Helpful Reference: Scholarship-Related Terms, Definitions, and Clarifications!

There are lots of healthy discussions happening around PEP right now, as parents are trying to understand the nuances of how the statutes apply to their particular desired purchases/needs/situations.

But we've also been seeing confusion about some of the terminology used surrounding PEP. When the terms are conflated or misused, it only brings more confusion. It can be hard to ensure we're talking about the same things if we aren't all using the same terminology in the same way!

So, as a helpful reference, I've created a list of common PEP-related terms, along with their definitions and explanations (and related statutes, where applicable). It will go a long way toward clearing confusion if we can all be intentional about using the correct terminology in our discussions.

If there's a term you'd like defined that you don't see on this list, please let me know and I can try to add it!

Types of Scholarships

FES (Family Empowerment Scholarships)

• Relevant statute: 1002.394. See also the FES page on the Florida Department of Education website.

• FES scholarships are funded by the state (government-funded).

• Includes FES-UA (Unique Abilities) scholarship (open to "students with disabilities, as young as 3 years of age.") Can be used as a home education student if student has either an IEP or "a diagnosis of a disability from a licensed physician or psychologist."

  
  

• Includes FES-EO (Educational Options) scholarship (the "private school" scholarship, available for K-12 students.) Private schools must go through an approval process with the DOE and be determined an "eligible" private school in order for the scholarship to be used at that school. You cannot use FES-EO as a home education student. It is for private school.

FTC (Florida Tax Credit) Scholarships

• Relevant statute: 1002.395. See also the FTC page on the Florida Department of Education website.

• FTC scholarships are privately funded (donated to the Scholarship Funding Organizations by corporations in exchange for a tax credit).

• Includes PEP (Personalized Education Program) scholarship (able to be used for parent-directed education under a new track in statute for satisfying compulsory attendance requirements in Florida). (See expanded definition of PEP under Compulsory Attendance definitions below.)

  
  

Compulsory Attendance

Florida is an "attendance" state. This means that the legal requirements for educating your child in the state of Florida are centered around "compulsory attendance" as defined in one of the following tracks:

• Public school

• Private school

• Parochial school

• Full-time private tutoring program

• Home education

• Personalized Education program (PEP) -- a new track created with the enactment of HB1 as of July 1, 2023

  
  

Some important notes about this:

• You must choose a track from the above options to satisfy your child's attendance requirements. A student cannot be fulfilling "attendance" in more than one track at a time.

• Umbrella schools and hybrid schools are not terms found in statute. If your child is enrolled with an umbrella school and/or a "hybrid" school, and that school is tracking attendance and records for your student, your child is considered a private school student according to statute.

• A home education student is one for whom the parent has submitted a "Letter of Intent to Home Educate" to the Superintendent of the county/school district. From that point on, the parent directs that child's education, and must keep portfolio/records and submit an annual evaluation in accordance with statute 1002.41.

• PEP (Personalized Education Program) is also parent-directed education, but done through a state-approved Scholarship Funding Organization rather than by submitting a letter of intent to the county. PEP is defined in HB1 and also in Statute 1002.01 : a “personalized education program” means the sequentially progressive instruction of a student directed by his or her parent to satisfy the attendance requirements of ss. 11003.01(16) and 1003.21(1) while registered with an eligible nonprofit scholarship-funding organization pursuant to s. 1002.395. A personalized education student shall be provided the same flexibility and opportunities as provided in s. 1002.41(3)-(12)." PEP was separated out from home education in statute intentionally so that if regulations are added to PEP in the future, it will not impact Florida's home education law, but PEP was also constructed to mirror traditional home education as closely as possible.

Purchasing Guide Terms

A quick explanation of some of the terms in the Step Up FTC FES-O Purchasing Guide about which we most often see questions/confusion:

Curriculum

• Curriculum is defined in statute (and in the Purchasing Guide) as "a complete course of study for a particular content area or grade level, including any required supplemental materials, teachers’ manuals, and associated online instruction."

• Curricula must be publicly available for SFOs to determine eligibility.

• According to Step Up, they will approve for reimbursement ANY curriculum that meets the above definition, so long as it is not deemed to "pose a safety threat" to the student or others.

• Some curriculum packages will be available for direct-purchase in Step Up's online shop once it releases to PEP families, but you do not have to purchase from the shop. If the shop doesn't have the curriculum you want, that doesn't mean you can't use that curriculum. You would just need to purchase your desired curriculum out of pocket and submit your receipts to Step Up for reimbursement.

  
  

Virtual Provider

• These are online/virtual programs which provide live, online instruction--essentially, like an online school. In order to qualify for PEP funds, a Virtual Provider must have been through a specific approval process with the Florida Department of Education. This is not the same as curriculum with an online component, or "digital materials" like pre-recorded videos, etc.

There are many other categories in the Purchasing Guide, as well. You can review the full guide on Step Up's website or download a copy directly from our Downloads page. 

If you're unsure which category a desired purchase falls under, you can always reach out to Step Up/AAA to ask.

Direct-Pay, Direct Purchase, and Reimbursement

• Some vendors will be pre-approved as direct-pay vendors inside Step Up's portal (meaning you can select them from a drop-down list and have Step Up pay them directly from your PEP funds).

• Similarly, some vendors will have their materials (curriculum, manipulatives, etc.) pre-approved for direct purchase through Step Up's MyScholarShop. NOTE: Access to a MyScholarShop will be available for PEP students through the EMA portal once Step Up gets it set up. The parameters/purposes of FES-UA and FTC-PEP are different, so what is available in the MyScholarShop for each scholarship may differ.

• You are not limited only by what's available as direct-pay or for direct purchase. You can also make eligible purchases out of pocket and submit your receipts for reimbursement. The parameters/criteria for what qualifies as an eligible purchase are outlined in Step Up's Purchasing Guide, which is available in our Downloads page here on the site. Reimbursements, once approved, are distributed via a debit card. We also have copies of Step Up's Reimbursement Card FAQs and Reimbursement Card Myth v. Fact at our Downloads page, which explain in detail how the reimbursement process will work and how that card can be used.

  
  

Other Important Terms

Scholarship Funding Organizations (SFOs)

• These are state-approved, non-profit organizations which award scholarships to eligible students. They must abide by all statutes as to how they distribute/award funds and how they determine eligible uses of those funds. Step Up for Students (SUFS) and AAA Scholarships are both approved SFOs in the state of Florida.

The Principle of Statutory Construction

• "Statutory Construction" is a principle which means it is assumed that legislators considered all options, and decided to include in statute only what they included.

• This principle is the reason the omission of certain things from a statute is significant--such as the exclusion of technology and digital devices from the PEP statutes, whereas they are included in the statutes for FES-UA.

• The SFOs can only approve categories of purchases that were specifically listed in statute. Step Up and AAA have lawyers who work with the DOE to determine the boundaries of what they can approve based on statute, and Step Up/AAA must abide by what's written in the laws.

We hope this helps clarify some things... and if you have confusion about a commonly used term or phrase related to PEP that isn't on this list, please let us know so we can try to add it!