Did you see that in HB 7025 lawmakers are working on providing necessary equipment to any student enrolled in full-time online education? Maybe this would be helpful when talking about the need for computer equipment for PEP students.

Does this mean that once a provider is on the list we will no longer have to provide the benefit form and teacher credentials? Will the process be streamlined?

So true. It's like having a part-time job, and it detracts from learning.

The lack of a pre-authorization process is a big problem. I have had multiple reps tell me to fill out a pre-authorization in response to a question I ask, then in the next breath tell me there is not yet a way for me to submit a pre-authorization so "be patient and monitor your email". It has been an entire semester and still no form. Plus, I worry that the process for approval is going to be so long it won't be viable for most field trips anyway. I don't always know 60 days in advance that I'm going to travel. One of the benefits of homeschooling is the spontaneity. Many travel sites offer great deals for last-minute travel when they need to fill the rooms or seats.

That would work for step up but I'm not sure the studio would go through the hassle. They don't want to direct bill (because money is due in advance of the month). And their invoicing system doesn't, for example, show the first and last name of the instructor and the exact dates of service. It's a monthly charge. I'm having to go in and take screen shots of the studio calendar showing when my students have lessons and also document (every single month) who the teachers are. Even with jumping through all those hoops, I have reimbursements from summer that were submitted the day is the first funding drop and still aren't approved. My position is that if the business is vetted, the individual teachers shouldn't have to be. Otherwise why bother vetting the business at all? If a teacher is approved it doesn't matter where he is teaching.

Yes, and I understand that completely. Support it even. However, when it's a large studio with many teachers and an in-house curriculum, it's not the same. They have a large scale invoice system so it isn't so easy just to change the format. And different teachers might sub or come in for specialized lessons. Kids can switch around between multiple instruments. And there's a band program where a director helps them all work together. I don't dispute at all that if a teacher is a sole-proprietorship he should be vetted. I'm saying that if the money is going to a large studio then the studio should be vetted as a legitimate music business, and then let the studio work out it's personnel and staffing.

Mine is a studio with 10+ teachers plus a band program (similar to the School of Rock model but different). They've designed their own in-house curriculum. They called Step-Up at one point and were told each teacher would have to apply and and have an individual account. There are several reasons that doesn't make any sense for either the studio or the teachers. It's a thriving local businesses. Step-Up needs to just evaluate the qualifications of the leadership staff and then trust them to hire and manage their teachers. There is a difference between an individual teacher with a small business, and a large studio with multiple teachers. I imagine it's the same for a dance studio or a martial arts studio. The studio business model should stand as a collective.

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.

This is going to seem trivial but it causes so much aggrevation.... could step up please give an "estimated time remaining" or "number in line" feature on the chat? It's so frustrating to wait an hour for a rep to come online, then you have to step away from the computer for just a minute or two, or even switch to a different tab on the computer and miss the alert, and when you get back the rep has come online and then disconnected the session because you weren't immediately answering. It's hard to sit for that long just waiting when you have absolutely no concept of whether it's going to be 30 seconds or 2 hours.

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.

Hear! Hear! There is no reason this form can't be incorporated into the online submission. It's all duplicate information anyway!

I agree with this too. There needs to be a way to have an actual dialogue with someone about reimbursements that are "in-review" or "on hold". Asking questions of the customer service reps is an exercise in futility.

I would add that the caps don't work for older students either. Many high schoolers don't need "manipulatives" or "imaginative play", but they need much more expensive items in other areas because they are working at a pre-professional level in areas that SUFS considers "elective". Isn't the entire point to be education customized around the needs of the student?!

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.