Short answer:
Yes. All PEP students must submit test results at the end of the school year, even if not renewing PEP for the following year. Submitting test results at the end of each school year is a requirement of the PEP program, and part of what parents agree to when they accept the scholarship funds.
The longer answer, if you want it is as follows:
Some parents (and customer service reps at Step Up, apparently) have been confused on this, and some have been saying test results are only needed if you're renewing the scholarship.
However, the statutes actually list the testing as a requirement parents must agree to in the affidavit they complete as part of their initial application for PEP with Step Up or AAA, and that these results must be submitted prior to renewal. This part about renewal is a timeframe for submitting the results, not a condition that would exempt parents from completing the requirement itself.
See this screenshot of the statutes directly from 1002.395 (the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship statutes) below, and not the highlighted portions:
So, breaking this down a bit more:
This is the section of FTC statutes (1002.395) that list Parent and Student Responsibilities.
Section (a) is for those using FTC-EO at private schools or other FTC scholarships as full-time students at a public or private school. Section (b), which I've highlighted, is for those who are taking an FTC scholarship but will not be enrolled full time in a public or private school--i.e., FTC-PEP students.
Section (b)2. lists the criteria that are included in the agreement parents must sign when applying for an FTC program. (For Step Up, for example, this agreement is part of the online scholarship application and parents were/are required to check the compliance boxes and sign this agreement as part of the scholarship application process.)
(b)2. d. states the requirement to have the student take a nationally norm-referenced test (standardized test) from the DOE's approved list, and to submit the results to the SFO (Step Up or AAA) before the student's program renewal.
This little "and" is very important, because it means that the students must be tested and that the results must be submitted in a timeframe prior to renewal, NOT that a renewal is the only reason for which parents would need to submit the results.
This condition is one of the statutory requirements for accepting the scholarship funds, and failure to comply with this requirement as you complete a school year in which your child was a PEP student would be a breach of the agreement and of the program requirements.
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We'd been holding off on posting about this (even though it's a question we're getting a lot!) because we wanted to communicate with our contacts in Step Up's legal department to verify how Step Up was interpreting these statutes and to ensure we were all on the same page without any confusion. At this point, we have verified and wanted to share not only the answer but the explanation for why.
I hope this helps clarify some of the confusion floating around about this!
PEP open house.
23/24 PEP renewals, yes submit tests
23/24 PEP but switched mid year to another scholarship, no test needed
23/24 PEP completed the year but switched to another scholarship for 24/25, yes need to submit tests
Are we to submit test results already? Or should we wait for an email from STEP UP notifying us? Thank you!
Is there any official information on when the tests must be completed by? SUFS has stated that they must be turned in by 7/31 but also that it must be for the 23-24 school year which officially ends 6/30 as the 24-25 year starts 7/1/24. Can the test be taken throughout the month of July or do they need to be completed by the end of June?
They are still not being clear that this is necessary for those not continuing with PEP. Can you let your contact know that this information isn’t being portrayed in the documents they’re releasing?
Why would parents think they wouldn't need to submit test scores after receiving thousands of dollars from the State, especially when the program's only requirements are a test and a four-question Student Learning Plan? Parents, we have to do better.
Will Step Up, and AAA also, be issuing a clarifying statement on this? Because if you look at Step Up's April open house it's not just the phone reps confusing this. Their slide says "In accordance with statute, PEP renewal families are required to provide a standardized assesment result." period. it doesn't even say as a requirement for funding on that so it reads as ONLY needed for Renewal families. So they need to make sure all families understand this because they have been giving out incorrect information for months now. AAA also has been having test results being uploaded with renewal applications, I haven't seen where you can post them outside of this? This also comes across then as only needed for renewal.
Thank you for clarifying this, but that legislation is written kind of confusingly. Even with the AND wording, if you take into account that it only says to take the assesment and then after the word AND it list supplying it to the SFO for renewal. So maybe the wording needs work because supplying it reads as only needed for renewal