How MyScholarShop works for PEP families.

• MyScholarShop is the store inside EMA. Vendors are paid directly from your child’s scholarship account, so there’s nothing to pay up front and no reimbursement request.
• It’s optional. You can still buy eligible items elsewhere and request reimbursement; see what EMA is and the Amazon question.
• It opens after funding, and orders can take up to two weeks to process.
• Orders ship only to the Florida mailing address on the scholarship account.
• Returns go through the vendor, not Step Up.

Step Up’s MyScholarShop page describes it as “a portal that allows you to purchase pre-approved instructional materials and curriculum without having to pay out of pocket.” It lists two benefits: MyScholarShop vendors “are paid directly through your child’s scholarship account with no out-of-pocket costs,” and “No reimbursement paperwork is needed.”

The PEP Family Handbook lists it as one of three ways to spend PEP funds:

For tutoring and other services through Find Providers, see using PEP for tutoring. For paying out of pocket, see the PEP reimbursement guide.

Step Up says on the same page that it does not profit from MyScholarShop, and its FAQ says families can suggest an item or provider for Step Up to review. The page also links to a Vendor Catalog of participating vendors.

Not always. The handbook says: “If an item is not in MyScholarShop or the program Purchasing Guide, it may still be an eligible expense. If an item is in MyScholarShop, it may not be an eligible item for all scholarship programs.”

Step Up’s FAQ adds that items in MyScholarShop are generally eligible, but “some products have additional rules or limits,” so an order may need extra review before it can be approved. The handbook says any purchasing rule, “such as size, quantity, or frequency limitation,” applies in MyScholarShop too.

If you’re unsure about an item, the handbook says to submit a pre-authorization request. If the item needs pre-authorization, the request must be approved before you order, and the approved number goes in the matching field at checkout. For what the guide allows by category, see the PEP purchasing guide, explained and what PEP covers, item by item.

Step Up’s pages describe the timing in two ways:

• PEP Family Handbook: MyScholarShop “becomes accessible within a few days after funds are deposited into a student’s account.”
• Step Up FAQ: “It typically takes approximately 7 business days after a child has been funded for their account to be activated in MyScholarShop.”

Either way, access follows a deposit. For when deposits arrive this year, see PEP payment dates for 2026–27.

The handbook says parents and guardians log in to EMA to reach MyScholarShop. (The “Shop Now” button on Step Up’s public MyScholarShop page is labeled “For families with FES-UA funds available.”)

Step Up’s FAQ lists these steps to finish a shopping session:

1. Select the cart icon in the upper-right corner.
2. Review the details for your items, then select Check out.
3. Review the items in your cart, confirm the shipping address, fill in any policy and pre-authorization fields, then select Submit.

Before you submit, the handbook asks you to check two things:

• Enough available funds in the student’s account to cover the entire purchase.
• Your mailing address in EMA. Orders ship to the mailing address in the guardian profile. If you update it, allow 2–3 business days for the new address to reach MyScholarShop.

From Step Up’s FAQ:

The handbook says orders “remain subject to review and may take up to two (2) weeks for processing,” and that Step Up “reserves the right to deny purchase requests.”

Step Up’s MyScholarShop page gives these steps:

1. Open MyScholarShop from your EMA portal.
2. Select the “Your requests” tab, or “See all” under Recent requests. Adjust the filters if you don’t see the request.
3. Select the Purchase Order number. There’s a separate purchase order for each vendor in the request.
4. The top of the screen shows the order status, including whether the vendor confirmed it and, if provided, whether it shipped. Step Up notes: “Not all vendors provide shipping information.”
5. Under “Related documents,” the Confirmation notice shows how many items the vendor confirmed or rejected, and the Ship notice (when included) shows the expected shipment date, carrier, and tracking number if available.

Digital subscriptions: Step Up’s FAQ says the supplier should email you at the primary email address on file with access details. If you don’t hear back, contact the supplier using the details in MyScholarShop or on Step Up’s Vendor and Product Information page.

Shipping. The handbook and the purchasing guide both say MyScholarShop purchases must ship to the Florida mailing address on the student’s scholarship account, and that MyScholarShop orders may not be shipped outside Florida. This applies even to the military families who can have reimbursed purchases shipped out of state; see PEP for military families.

Returns. The handbook says returns “must be completed directly through the vendor from whom the item was purchased, not through Step Up For Students,” and items may not be returned to a store location. Each vendor lists its return policy in MyScholarShop. Once the vendor receives the item, the handbook says it may take up to a few weeks for the funds to be credited back to the student’s account.

Cancelled or rejected orders. Step Up’s FAQ says it reviews orders fully cancelled or rejected by suppliers weekly and closes them to return the funds. When a supplier cancels or rejects only part of an order, Step Up waits until all approved items are invoiced; orders “should be closed and funds returned within 90 days.”

Step Up’s MyScholarShop page says “You are not obligated to use MyScholarShop,” and its FAQ says families are welcome to “shop around” for the best price. One handbook rule matters if you do: if you pay out of pocket for an item identical to one in MyScholarShop and pay a lower amount, “the parent must be reimbursed for that item if it is eligible for their scholarship program.”

Two notes from the handbook: MyScholarShop’s guidelines don’t apply to in-store purchases or purchases from vendor websites, and reimbursement requests follow their own rules and deadlines, covered in the PEP reimbursement deadline checklist.