Highlights of today's call with Step Up (12/6/2023)

We had another call today with the head of PEP at Step Up, along with the leaders of several Home Education Instructional Programs (HEIPs).

The purpose of the call was to discuss updates that impact HEIPs, and to address any issues HEIPs are still having with getting onboarded, setting up their services in the Provider Marketplace, etc.

Most of the call was spent addressing specific questions the HEIP leaders had, however, there were also some more general pieces of info that impact PEP parents and/or HEIP Leaders:

1. FOR PARENTS: If a parent pays in advance for the yearly tuition at a Home Education Instructional Program, the parent can immediately submit that invoice for a full reimbursement even though the "service dates" (i.e., actual attendance dates) haven't been completed yet. However, you will need to show proof that the tuition you pre-paid is non-refundable. If you do not, you may only receive a partial reimbursement, because they can only reimburse up to 3 months ahead of the "service dates" unless you can prove it's non-reimbursable. (If you are an HEIP leader who allows parents to pay non-reimbursable tuition up front for the year, you will need to make sure that non-reimbursable is indicated on the invoice you provide to parents--and it may also need to be on your website/public documentation, so the processors can verify it.) Page 25 of the Parent Handbook for PEP has more details on this policy and what needs to be shown for proof that it's non-reimbursable.

2. FOR HEIP Leaders: Home Education Instructional Programs who opt in to the Provider Marketplace (to have their services directly purchaseable through EMA) are still advised to set up their services quarterly, semesterly, etc., because the Provider Marketplace system is still set up to where Providers are paid once the service is completed. So right now, if you are an HEIP who has parents pay the full year up front, having them pay out of pocket then submit for reimbursement may still be your best option. However, Step Up is looking into the possibility of trying to pay HEIPs up front rather than upon completion of services. This would involve some changes to the system and to the current policies of how they release funds, and it's still being looked into... but they are looking into it.

3. FOR HEIP Leaders: It is still advised to try to get approved as a Provider (even if you don't intend to offer services directly through the Provider Marketplace) because it should result in quicker processing times for those who submit for reimbursements for your program in the future.

4. FOR PARENTS: If you are shopping for standardized tests in MSS or a test proctor/adminstrator in the Provider Marketplace already (whether because you're wanting to explore options in advance, or because you want to use it as a tool for your own progress tracking), be aware that they have not yet approved any new "Standardized Testing Fee" Providers for the direct-purchase (Provider Marketplace) for this year---so whatever you're seeing in their system would only be what was already approved previously. They are waiting on some clarification from DoE about credential requirements for those who charge fees to offer/proctor tests, etc., before they begin processing those. But they should be getting to them soon. In the meantime, though, you can still submit reimbursements for any qualified standardized testing fees. If you were looking and saw very limited options, that's part of why. Also note... the required end-of-year testing is for end of the school year, meaning it will not be expected until May or June or somewhere around that time, though Step Up hasn't yet released the exact deadline for it.

5. FOR PARENTS: If you are having issues with reimbursements for HEIPs being put on hold, denied, and/or processors asking for additional teaching credentials or trying to recategorize it as Tutoring... One of the HEIP leaders brought this up on the call today, and the head of PEP at Step Up took notes and said he would connect with the Finance team to make sure they're aware of the requirements for HEIPs and are not attempting to conflate it with other categories. However, here are a couple of things you can try that also might help:

   
   

   ---Verify you're submitting it under the correct category. This would be "Home Education Tuition >> Tuition" and then you'll select "in-person" from the drop-down for in-person classes at an HEIP. This is how you would submit a reimbursement for classes at an HEIP... not under Tutoring or any other category. Many parents are already doing this correctly, but some are not. So ensuring they're submitted in the right category to begin with will help eliminate at least some of the confusion.

   
   

   ---Type "Home Education Instructional Program" clearly in the description (and even write it clearly visible on the invoice somewhere if you can). This was a suggestion made by one of the HEIP leaders, and which might help eliminate confusion for the Processors.

   
   

6. FOR PARENTS: He also said that this week, processors are giving special focus to PEP reimbursements... so don't be surprised if you see sudden movement on your reimbursements that have been waiting a while! They do still have a lot of open reimbursements to process, so not everyone's may get processed immediately, but they are working on them.

7. FOR EVERYONE: The head of PEP at Step Up who was on the call is also taking a look at the "Priority Suggestions for PEP Improvement" post we created here in the forum, and will be passing on some of the suggestions and concerns to his team. He hopes to have some clarification on some of these things by our next scheduled call, which will be in two weeks.

   
   

Again, I just want to reiterate that it really is a blessing to have the PEP director at Step Up directly engaging with us and being so responsive to our concerns and questions. There is movement and improvement happening! Some of takes time, but it's not going unacknowledged.