Hello, everyone!
If there were ONE, PRIORITY ITEM you could communicate to Step Up that you'd like to see changed/improved with their PEP processes as soon as possible, what would that one item be?
THIS is the place to drop those suggestions!
We will be sharing this post with the head of PEP at Step Up, for him to reference as an actionable list of issues to communicate to his team.
A few guidelines:
--This post is for big-picture issues. If you have a specific issue with your account, this is not the place for that. However, if your specific issue is tied to a bigger issue, you can post that issue. For example, "My kids still don't have MSS access." Please do not include personal account details here in the forum.
--The briefer, the better. We are hoping for this to be a helpful list for him to reference. If the comments are too lengthy, that won't be as effective. Try to hone down to the core issue and post only that.
--If you use a personal situation as an example of a larger issue (for example, a personal encounter with customer support where they gave incorrect info, etc.), you can share screenshots... but please be sure they do not include any personal information.
We're looking for big-picture issues--i.e., things that impact multiple parents, and which could be targeted for improvement as part of their processes, their system, etc.
As an example, here are some items I've already communicated to him via email (and which he forwarded to the appropriate departments last week):
Some parents who applied, did all the steps, and submitted PEP survey as long ago as August or even earlier, have still not been awarded PEP--even some who were in the income priority tier.
Some parents have some kids awarded PEP, while their other kids were not--even when on the same application and/or having submitted the PEP surveys around the same time.
Major concerns about the spending caps for categories, AND how purchases are being categorized via MSS and by reimbursement processors. (I provided more detail and examples, but this was the main point.)
Parents have been waiting close to 60 days on reimbursements with no movement, and/or have reimbursements approved but have been waiting WEEKS and still no funds on the cards. Those who have tried to contact customer support have been told it's a US Bank issue. When they try to contact US Bank, they're told it's a Step Up issue. It's incredibly frustrating for them.
Reimbursement amounts credited to the card are not matching the approved amounts. Parents also say it's very hard to tell which reimbursements were credited to the card and which weren't, since amounts do not match.
Concerns about the customer support call centers & chat service, in general. Some of the representatives are giving wildly inaccurate information to parents.
If you have anything to add to this list, or would like to echo/reiterate any of the above concerns, drop those in the comments below!
Note: In order to keep this list effective for its intended purpose, we will be moderating the comments and removing any which include personal account info and/or are not directly relevant to the purpose of this post.
Please go back to allowing us to get family memberships. As a large family with 4 PEP students, it now costs us $400 total ($100 per individual student membership) for zoo membership when a family membership is $200. There are many more examples of this where it feels as though scholarship funds are being wasted.
Alot fax and email n calls since 9/2023 and 11/2023 way over PROOF OF PAYMENT REACCURRING BILL MONTH TO MONTH 89.99 SPECTRUM INTERNET SERVICES AND MODEM RENTAL
Still waiting for REVIEW Reinbursements wifi internet Spectrum and Student my daughters PEP States its COVERED ON PAGE 3 Same request approved bfore xmas 89.99 same Purchase of Proof Acct number and bank statement saying exactly what day n month Spectrum Wifi Internet Paid?? Cmon please
Issue with processors changing reimbursement categories.
It seems like we are still having issues with processors changing categories of our expenses. Although cap limits have been eliminated, by the processor changing the categories for our reimbursement request, this might trigger a request for additional documentation and by consequence a delay in processing the request.
I recently submitted a couple of reimbursements under the Choice Navigator category, which the processor took it upon herself to change to 2 unrelated categories. My reimbursement request for a Diploma Audit with our Choice Navigator was recategorized as "Homeschool tuition and fees/Tuition/Face to Face course" and placed in review.
Next, my previous "Path to Graduation" seminar given by our Choice Navigator, was changed to Standardized Testing Fees and placed under review.
Without further commenting on the bizzare change of categories, my suggestion to SUFS would be to caution their processors not to be so fast on changing the category of our reimbursement requests.
It is known the processors aren't fully familiar with the ways of homeschooling, and by consequence most of the times they make any changes to our reimbursement categories it probably won't be correct.
Many of the PEP families have been homeschooling prior to being awarded this scholarship, and I'd say we probably have a pretty good understanding of which categories we should use when submitting our expenses (I know I do). Keeping this in mind, I'd caution their processors from recategorizing expenses they are unfamiliar with causing unnecessary delays. It just doesn't make sense for someone to go in and change reimbursements to something completely unrelated to then place them unhold, when they themselves don't fully understand homeschooling, at least as of yet.
I emailed a couple of departments at SUFS to bring this ongoing issue to their attention, but maybe it needs further discussion.
Thank you.
The same issue that @Carolina Ubinas - Castanet is dealing with, I am also dealing with. Also, when calling to speak with a rep at step up, you don't get the option to speak to anyone dealing with the actual reimbursements (i.e. financial department). The rep that you speak to literally just reads the same info that financial has told you they need, and when I explain to them that all the info they ask for is there, they double check it and just ask me to write a letter "to whom it may concern" hilighting" that all info is there. This is the only way we can "edit" a reimbursement on "hold" to upload an additional file (even after we have given them all documentation). It is very frustrating that the same purchase for one child is approved and then the same purchase for another child is on hold with all the same documentation. I have resubmitted "to whom iy may concern" letters stating this purchase was approved for another child with reference to reimbursement #'s. I know this is a lot of info, but bottom line is that if I felt like anything could be improved with the customer service side of things at Step Up, it would be to allow us to actually speak to representatives that are approving and denying reimbursements. You cannot have an actual conversation with someone you never get to speak with. It's frustrating to deal with someone who doesn't actually approve or deny reimbursements. I will say that every Step Up rep I have spoken with has been extremely nice and hospitable over the phone, but they are only appeasing us for a time and not actually solving the problems we are dealing with.
I recently had to call Step Up regarding a reimbursement request that had been in review but is now put on hold because they say the proof of payment I have shown is not what they are looking for. Mind you, I have already used the same proof of payment for this same recurring class for past months and it has been approved but for some odd reason, for this specific request, they are not accepting it. I called Step Up and the rep told me that our requests get approved or denied depending on the processor assigned to that request. Why would one processor approve the same request but another deny it or request more proof? I told the rep that and he said he was going to look into it but instead he hung up on me. After I waited a WHOLE HOUR to speak to someone. I didn't get my issue resolved and I don't know how to move forward since I don't have the option to resubmit. I will be calling tomorrow morning.
I would really like to see the EBF go away especially for subjects already listed in the purchasing guide ie:music, art, gardening, cooking, etc. I have to print and fill out the form for every line item purchased every single time I buy gaden supplies or materials. 25 packs of seeds at 1.99 is ridiculous to fill out that form everytime. Another conern I have, although I have not personally tried, is I have heard they will not reimburse flight lessons due to safety concerns. I think subject safety is my job not step ups and also every sport has potential safety hazards (broken bones, concussion, and the list goes on). Last one would be I was denied reimbusrsement for a 3D printer ($170) for my son who wants to design, print, build, and fly RC cars. This would fall under so many learning subjects- Math, science, computers, art..just to name a few. My confusion for this is I have heard they are reimbursing for Cricut machines and heatpress and I dont see how a 3D printer would have lesser educational benefit. Sorry thats 3 :)
Not sure if this fits here, but basically processor inconsistencies. I know we are all human, and trying out best. But from my personal experience, the default seems to be to place reimbursements "on hold/in review" first, ask questions later. I had 6 submissions for sports lessons, submitted the exact same documentation for each, and got rejected for half. Literally, a 50% failure rate. So half the processors found my documentation adequate so approved it, and half did not. That is unacceptable in my opinion. Again, for the same exact "type" of reimbursement. And the rejections are usually asking for documents that I have already submitted. Or adding additional rules or requirements not stated in the Handbook or applicable to my category. Why is the burden put back on me for processor errors? I keep hearing similar complaints in multiple forums, and it seems like things have not improved quickly enough.
We need some type of simple flow chart for category, required documentation for approval, etc. And if we adhere to the guidelines, we should have full confidence our reimbursements will be approved as quickly as possible, the first time around. Why is this so hard?
I have read the Purchasing Guide & Parent Handbook and am trying to follow it to a "T". And obvisouly, I am doing something right as half of all my submissions usually are accepted. But this trigger happy rejection attitude some processors have is infuriating. illogical, and time consuming.
So I don't know if this is still being monitored, but it's somewhat frustrating that only the child is covered when it comes to field trips. There's obviously no way a child is going to go to the zoo alone, and so an adult has to accompany that child. It seems like the cost of a chaperone should be covered by the scholarship.
I would gladly trade the eligibility of marginally educational theme parks for coverage an accompanying adult in museums/zoos/historical tours/etc.
Many homeschool parents "hire" an individual with appropriate credentials to teach a full course to our students, but because we pay an individual who is not set up as a business, we're forced into placing these classes into "part time tutoring" instead of "home education instructional program." The main problem with this is that we're being asked for the tutor's hourly rate and for the dates of each session, meaning we can only be reimbursed when the school year is over, even though the instructor charges per course (which is paid at the beginning of the schoolyear) and not per hour. Please change home education instructional program to include the ability to pay an eligible individual for full courses.
Yep, I have 5. 2 in piano and 1 in handbells the others not sure yet. But with them Switching all to electives I'm sure we won't be able to get as much for long. It seems like they are trying to restrict allowances. Games from Walmart or other things usually get approved within 2 weeks. Yet I'm fighting for 7 still music tutorials from 9/23. I have 14 in review plus one glitch item. They still want to argue over the EBF for a civil war reenactment it cost 💲 8 . 3 kids approved, 2 still fighting. Feel like giving up on it.
The most frustrating part is simply that the most beneficial resources for students, such as, lessons, classes, tutoring, activities, and courses are the MOST difficult to get reimbursed. Meanwhile things like legos, furniture, toys, subscription boxes etc are approved quickly with a single receipt. Access to the toys , games, and other extras is wonderful but the thing that made me most excited to receive this scholarship was the idea that I would have the funds to send my children to local classes, lessons, and activities that enrich their education in immeasurable ways and places them in an educational environment with other students. Disappointingly, the system is backwards and these educationally rich opportunities are proving to be the hardest things to get reimbursed and most of them put on hold or in review. Classes and lessons, especially those taught at local businesses, should automatically be approved. The system needs to look at the priorities of education and match up the purchasing guide to those priorities. Local, live, instruction should be the easiest thing to get reimbursed for our students!
***NEW GLITCH *** We are beginning to hear back from multiple people that Step Up is investigating a New Glitch that is causeing issues with in review line items. I had step up FB chat check in on a reimbursement for me and they said the line item has now been approved(it was for a book). But it still shows as "in review" even though the main page says complete. I also have three music lesson reimbursments that were in review and have now been approved. They say in review on the main page but if you click in details, they say approved(and I got approval emails for those)
Could Step Up please address music lessons? I understand wanting to make sure that uncle joe isn't "teaching music" and kicking the money back to the parent. However, if there's an established music studio with multiple teachers, can these be fast-tracked? Can there please be a way to get a studio that has been in business at least three years, with an established commercial location and a storefront, pre-approved so that it isn't so bloody difficult to get lessons approved every month? Music lessons are clearly reimbursable expenses. The crazy-specific invoice requirements, the teacher bios, the benefit form... it is taking several months and multiple revisions to get lessons approved. It shouldn't be this hard.
There should be a way to edit submissions once they have been sent in (but before they are "In Review.") Sometimes you just forgot to add a form or something simple and your choices are to wait until they ask (and then go back into a long waiting period for approval) or to delete and add the submission all over again.
As my children age, I'm unsure how PEP with the current spending caps would work for our family when it comes to specialization and electives. With such a small cap, it is impossible to dig into any subject area in a concrete way, outside of books and curricula. The spending caps need to be drastically increased or eliminated all together to allow for a truly personalized education for Florida students of all ages through graduation.
I would say Reimbursement is currently my big ticket issue. Items taking longer than 60 days. Them coming in and asking for more information that is already there, or requesting an EBF for an item that should not be necessary. The EBF is a huge other issue as well, they already have us fill out online boxes for reimbursement. If an EBF is required it should just populate extra boxes to fill in rather than having to print out and sign an extra form especially for a weekly lesson that is obviously educational. The biggest issue with reimbursements currently is Music or other "elective" lessons that the teacher qualifies as a part-time tutor. The handbook states "if the teacher does not meet the requirements of a part-time tutor they can also qualify under electives" but then they are saying it's not part time tutoring and all is considered electives. I'm trying to save that category for items that can only fit in that category. If it can fit under part time tutoring as the handbook states, it would save a lot of time on having to fill out an EBF for each and every student for each class. It's weekly. So 5 filled out per week. I've even started filling out the EBF for these particular items and it's still not good enough. Eventually I'll find the right combination ?
The list of required information that is needed on invoices and receipts is extensive and MOST businesses do not have those exact details on their automated receipts and invoices. SUFS parents are not in positions to ask businesses to write custom invoices each month for scholarship students. It is unfortunate that many wonderful educational opportunities must be omitted only because a business cannot or is unwilling to spend time each month writing detailed, custom invoices that they are not being paid to write.
SUFS should consider having a form that the parent can fill out all the detailed required information about the class/lesson/course that can be signed and dated by businesses/instructors, this would help ensure all the correct information is listed, speeding up the reimbursement process for both parents and SUFS, and would help keep educational opportunities available to the students.
Non-Florida field trips should be reimbursable without pre-authorization at least until they set up the pre-authorization process. The pre-authorization requirement would be ok if there was a process in EMA for it! Why is something required of us that StepUp has given parents NO possible way to accomplish? This makes absolutely no sense. We are traveling out of state next week and would love to take advantage of the amazing educational opportunities available across our nation; however, with 5 children, the admission fees add up quickly. Learning happens outside of Florida!!! Please help with this! Thanks!
Sent Proofs Etc. Payment Verifications, Statements,Invoices,Payment RECIEPTS AND EMAILS CALLS STILL NOTHING
Its UN FAIR and I AGREE 100% I sent PROOF AND XTRA PROOF Wifi Spectrum internet Services Monthly 89.99 i PAY AND ITS Suppose to be COVERED UNDER SCHOLARSHIP its been 74 days
Reimbursements issues.
Here's what's happening, not just to us but it's a general complaint online that just happened to me this morning.
We are receiving notifications for expenses put on hold for request of documentation that is clearly already all there.
In addition, what makes it all the more frustrating and confusing, these same exact expenses/receipts, have been approved a day earlier for the sibiling.
Once again I say, we don't have control how receipts are issued. Processors need to be a little less robotic and see the big picture. In my case (which I'm using as an example) and many others have reported online the same scenario happening to them, the processor placed an expense on hold asking for things that are all currently included in the receipt, a receipt that was good enough just a day prior to be approved for the sibiling.
We need a way to chat directly with the processors to challenge their decision before these expenses sit on hold an additional 60 days. There has to be a better way. I understand some processors might miss something, but without a way to effectively communicate with them other than through a 3rd person on FB chat or emailing the general CS email, it becomes a drawn-out frustrating process.
Communication. If reimbursements are delayed and will take 90 days, tell us. If there is an issue with the bank card, tell us. If there is a delay in funding tell us. If you are working on something, tell us. Maybe a weekly or monthly email? Or join a live? But communication is HUGE. I am sure they would not be so inundated with calls, emails and chats if someone would have been communicating. Parents are much more willing to be patient if we know it is being handled. But telling us to just be patient is not letting us know that we are being heard or that we are important at all. If every time we raise an issue we are told to just monitor our email how do we know there is not a glitch in the system? When can we escalate the issue, next year?
Just communication. Please!
Remove the reimbursement cap and education benefit form for electives. As someone with an MFA and a career in the Arts, I bristle at the monetary cap for electives but no cap for sports. I'm all for sports but not over the arts. I do not understand the need to justify why my child is taking artistic and music courses. The humanities and arts should be considered center to an educational experience.
Clarify in the purchasing guide what kinds of credentials (or not) providers of sports lessons need.
The cateogies and caps seem to be set up for elemetary aged student. High school students often spend the majority of homeschool funds in what Step-Up is calling "electives", while they don't really need such a large allotment for imaginative toys and playground equipment. High school students are starting to specialize and do deep dives into subject matter.
My name is Delene Howell. We are a renewal for FES EO family and we're in the top income priority category. I applied for both my school aged children mid August. One of my two children switched to FTCPEP early September, her sister has stayed FES EO.
I have redone the survey and SLP when asked. I have put in tickets and asked to speak with supervisors. I've called and chatted more times than I can count.
I withdrew both my children from their private school sept8.
It's now been over three months since only one of my children switched to pep.
Clarity on online/live classes. Many homeschoolers (particularly in high school) take online classes via programs outside the state of Florida but it is unclear if those would be approved. If they would not be approved this is something that should be changed in the program.
Some processors are requesting that the date on an invoice is only acceptable in the mm/dd/yyyy format. 2. There is no way to leave notes for processors or communicate anything with the processor. If they place it on hold, their initial comments disappear after you upload a new document. 3. It would be helpful to be able to leave a comment with each uploaded document with a description.
4. In general, lack of communication. I think a lot of parental anxiety would be alleviated if they just gave us a little bit more information.
5. I have submissions from September (80+ days ago at this point) that haven't been touched or are "under review" with no request for more information.
6. I'm waitlisted for UA, and there is no information about what happens when I switch from PEP to UA.
This week, I have encountered numerous processing mistakes. These are blatant errors that would be easily caught by anyone who has familiarized themselves with the purchasing guide and student handbook. I am guessing this has to do with the rapid hiring of more processors, but the inconsistencies are maddening and are wasting everyone's time! I have also noticed an uptick of social media comments regarding this same frustration, so it's not just me. Some comments are identical to the mistakes I have encountered. I realize these processors are human beings and will make mistakes, but there has to be some sort of uniformity of quality service to strive for here.
I would recommend a place in the reimbursement request where we can make comments/questions to the processor. They make notes to us when our items go on hold, but we have no ability to communicate to them about these errors. Especially when their notes to us do not make sense, like requiring a note from a doctor or a therapist for my PEP student. This is obviously wrong.
Also, I am having to resubmit an request that they lowered by over $500 with NO explanation. No email, no notes that were visible to me, nothing. The FB messenger chat person was very helpful after 4 days of going back and forth about it, and he eventually admitted that it was a mistake made by their processor... but I am still having to resubmit again after waiting 7 weeks for this one to be approved. This is really unacceptable!
As reimbursements are taking an INSANELY long time, I have a couple of suggestions to streamline things and get them moving faster:
There needs to be a way to set up recurring expenses like music lessons or dance classes - almost like a pre-authorization. Once it's approved once, it shouldn't require submitting the exact same information every. single. month. It's a waste of time for both Step-Up and for parents, especially when certain months get randomly kicked back or put in "in-review" status.
When submitting for reimbursement, there is already a drop-down menu for vendors, but the list is very limited. Any of the vendors who are approved in the Scholarshop should be there, and if the item is the same that could be purchased via direct-bill, then it should be a faster more streamlined process. I'm thinking specifically of homeschool programs with this one. Why should each parent have to submit everything required to get a homeschool program approved if it's already there in the system?
There needs to be a way to reference an already approved submission. There are so many instances where something is approved for one kid and not the other, or approved once and then not again. If all the information is already on an approved submission, it would streamline things to be able to enter that submission number for reference.
Physical Education classes/enrollment suggestion.
We as parents cannot control how a receipt is issued/printed.
Some sports organizations include exact enrollment dates, where others just list the season ex. (Spring soccer, or Fall LaCrosse, etc).
Sometimes if it's a smaller organization we can reach out and ask for dates to be added onto the receipt, but in other cases the format of their receipts doesn't allow for change or additional input.
My suggestion is a Recreational sports program's receipt that lists its dates by naming the Season (for example: Spring Soccer 2024) should be considered as an acceptable form of receipt, keeping in consideration not all sports organizations lists their exact dates on their receipts.
Streamlining reimbursements. I participated in the homeschool program in Alaska for 7 months and it was very simple-though it has been around for decades. The striking contrast here is once receipts were submitted, we would have a reimbursement check mailed within 2 weeks, even for large purchases like computers. The bank card reimbursement process seems to add an extra layer of unnecessary burdens and delays. The gap between purchasing what we need, and getting reimbursed for it (money in hand) should not take 4-6 months (or more) especially for the materials that are obviously educational/curriculum related.
There is no process in place for incorrect holds/denials. I am being asked for an Educational Benefit Form for a category that doesn't require it. There isn't any established way to get help with this. If I decide to do the extra work and submit the unnecessary form, the timer is reset on the 60 day processing limit, through no fault of my own. This happened to me 58 days after I first submitted the request. There needs to be better training for processors and customer service agents and there needs to be somebody higher up who can rectify mistakes in a timely manner.
Another issue is when purchasing items that are no longer available within myshop. There is no notification as to the item being no longer available. I was on myshop for half a day trying to put in an order not realizing that the item I was trying to purchase was no longer available on the shop.
In addition to the things you've already mentioned, the Educational Benefit Form is a HUGE hassle! The only thing on that form that isn't already filled out online is a link to where to buy the item. This shouldn't be necessary anyway, but if they want it, add it to the website! Copying a long url, plus all of the other information we've already provided online for every elective reimbursement request takes SO MUCH TIME! It's taking my time away from my kids! It's wasting time, paper, ink, etc. It is completely redundant. Please stop requiring the same information twice and add whatever is actually necessary to the online reimbursement request form. The EBF is ridiculous.
If I had to narrow it down to just one issue, it'd be the extremely long wait for reimbursements. I'm at 63 days and counting for over $2,000 worth of reimbursement requests.
A close second would be the spending cap amounts.
This will sound like a joke but better training for their call center people. They tried to tell me I didn't know how a fax machine works. This started when I informed the call taker I had a fax confirmation of the being transmitted fax and recieved.
Also they need to communicate within SUFS so its less "Please just wait" i think im going to pull out hair on my head if i hear it one more time.
1 - Add direct deposit as an option. So many extra business days in this process causing a significant burden (from approval email to remittance advice email to deposit to card, and finally going my bank so they can process it as a cash advance and return the money to our bank account.) What a hassle! Just deposit it to my account directly!
2 - Let a receipt be sufficient as proof of purchase. (Everyone submitting screenshots/redacted PDFs of their bank statements/websites are such a time sink...making the processors look through all those and evaluate them seems ridiculous, and it wouldn't prevent a return anyways, since that could be redacted!) 3 - Add "Other" as an item description and let us fill it in...or include absolutely everything in the drop-down list. ("Telling time flash cards," for example, don't appear anywhere, so I categorized it as a puzzle, but I'm planning on it being rejected.)
Long wait on reimbursements. "More Info Needed" adds more delays. So a quick checklist of what you need to submit for parents. The debit card is sent without any info so you do not know what it is for. Then the money should go right to personal account anyway like Zelle.
I tried to limit my comments to 1 issue, but that just isn’t possible. The issues are many!
-The Educational Benefit Form (EBF) is arbitrary and redundant. The “Educational Benefit” field in the EMA online reimbursement form is sufficient for parents to communicate how the item is being used for the student’s education. Much of the information requested on the EBF has already been submitted by the parent, and it’s a waste of time to be required to fill out this form. It’s also a waste of time for a processor to have to examine the form before moving on to 1 of the hundreds of thousands of backlogged reimbursements! Removing this redundant form would help both parents and the Step Up processors.
-We need computers and other digital devices to be authorized purchases. They are so necessary for home education!
#1 priority is meeting the needs of our children/studnets. "No child left behind" is not honored when parents don't have access to appropriate materials because they are waiting in limbo to be placed into their program or are not funded or not getting reimbursed in a timely fashion. All of these issues delay the opportunity to purchase the necessary tools or paricpate in educational outings / activities. Spending caps limit our students opportunities for individualized learning paths.
Seriously working on giving MSS access to those students who have active open IT tickets.
Streamlining reimbursement through their processors. It seems like processors are asking for extra documentation even when all purchasing guide parameters are met by parents (it personally happened to me and many other parents are reporting the same on fb pages). All of this is slowing down the reimbursement timing/process.
Prioritizing older reimbursements requests vs newer. Parents are reporting approved reimbursements submitted in October when many others (including myself) have reimbursements requests older than 60 days not touched.
PEP purchasing guide says that "a stand-alone online class does not permit live, interactive instruction." Why on earth would a class (science, math, etc.) not be reimbursable if it is taught by a live instructor versus a pre-recorded lesson? These are critical options for homeschool parents.
Interscholastic activities and contracting pubic school classes - there is a thread on this below, but no update for months. My son is taking ROTC, math, and science at the public HS, but they don't know how to categorize him. Although I have officially indicated he is a pep student and "withdrew" him from public school, they have not changed his status in skyward.
WiFi seems like such an easy thing to process in bulk by category or via a search for the companies we use in FL.
-No caps on categories, especially electives and manipulatives. It just makes it too complicated with miscategorization and extra justification on how things will be used. Different homeschool styles have different "core" subjects so distinguishing between core and elective is not clear cut in homeschooling. Limiting manipulatives limits our ability for hands on learning styles, learners, and curricuulums.
-Stop requiring extra steps/more information for things that were submitted before changes were made (for example, educational benefit form). Reinbursement submissions should be approved based on formal guidelines/requirements at time of submission (be grandfathered in) even if new rules developed since then.
-Faster reinbursements!
-Please don't ask parents to validate curricuulum. If parent says "this is part of my history curricuulum" on educational benefit form that should be enough; we should not have to provide external evidence that this is a formal cuurriculum that comes from a published book.
I purchase my curriculum for the following school year in late winter/early spring for a deep discount. Please approve these purchases.
I am also concerned about the spending caps, particularly in the electives category.
--Faster reimbursements- I have some over 60 days.
--higher or NO cap on learning manipulatives, especially for early elementary.
Please Allow Faster Reinbursements Wifi for Home Education and for aHigher Cap per year- nows $900.00 wifi and PLEASE LET PEP Purchase TECHNOLOGY DEVICES COMPUTORS PRINTERS ALL OFFICE SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY