The PEP Purchasing Guide, section by section.

• Where it is: Step Up’s PEP Purchasing Guide is a web page with a Print Handbook option. The copy we read showed “Last Modified: October 7, 2026.”
• What it is: Florida law requires scholarship funding organizations like Step Up to publish a purchasing handbook that describes authorized uses of the money, with a list of prohibited items and a list of items that need pre-authorization.
• Three lists matter most: the authorized expense categories (what you can buy), Appendix A (what you can’t), and Appendix B (what needs approval first).
• Not on any list? Then it needs pre-authorization before you buy.

Before you pay out of pocket: the guide says parents “should verify with their SFO that a purchase is eligible for reimbursement before paying out-of-pocket for the item or service.” Step Up’s Customer Engagement Center is at (877) 735-7837.

Looking for a specific item like swim lessons, summer camp, or a printer? See what PEP covers, item by item.

The General Purchasing Provisions section sets rules that sit on top of every category:

• Cash to private sellers: “Cash payments to private sellers are not eligible for reimbursement.”
• Frequency limits: some items can be bought only once every two years, and the guide says the limit applies across all scholarship programs, even if a student switches programs. Buying several of the same item in one order doesn’t get around it.
• Shared items: items other family members use are prorated to cover only the scholarship student’s cost. In-home internet is the guide’s stated exception.
• Age: items must meet the manufacturer’s minimum age requirement.
• No money back: parents may not receive any payment, refund, or rebate of scholarship funds from a vendor or provider.
• Shipping: MyScholarShop orders ship to the mailing address on the student’s scholarship account. Items you submit for reimbursement must ship to a Florida address or a Florida P.O. Box, with an exception for qualifying military families.
• Services: services must be delivered in Florida, except credentialed providers such as tutors and Choice Navigators who may work virtually.

If you’ll be paying first and asking to be paid back, the PEP reimbursement guide covers receipts and EMA steps.

The guide says PEP funds can be used in “legislatively defined categories outlined in Florida Statute 1002.394.” Its main headings are:

• Instructional Materials: at-home classroom furnishings, books, digital materials, educational subscription kits, field trips, internet, lab fees, learning manipulatives, musical instruments, Physical Education (P.E.), school supplies, and sensory materials.
• Electives: lessons, equipment, and supplies for non-core subjects such as art, music, cooking, gardening, and foreign language, plus how to tell whether an elective provider is eligible.
• Curriculum & Curriculum Materials: a complete course of study. Self-paced, pre-recorded online courses go here; live online instruction goes under approved online or virtual providers.
• Tuition & Fees: part-time enrollment at an eligible private school, PEP Hybrid schools, home education instructional programs, postsecondary institutions, dual enrollment, pre-apprenticeship programs, full-time private tutoring, approved online providers, and private-pay Florida Virtual School.
• Testing and Assessment Fees: standardized tests, AP exams, and industry certification exams. For what PEP requires each year, see PEP testing and the Student Learning Plan.
• Contracted Services Provided By A Public School or School District: classes or services bought from a public school on a private-pay basis.
• Part-Time Tutoring & Choice Navigator Services: with a list of accepted tutor credentials.

Field trips have their own detail. The guide allows one Florida theme park reimbursement per student per school year, up to $299 before tax, and lists the eligible parks.

Appendix A is the “Summary of Prohibited or Ineligible Items.” The groups parents ask about most:

• Digital devices: cell phones, desktop computers, laptops (including Chromebooks and Surface tablets), e-readers, and smart watches.
• Digital periphery devices: monitors, keyboards, mice, headsets, speakers, scanners, external drives, and printers, including 3D printers.
• Travel costs: transportation (gas, mileage, or public transportation), lodging, and meals.
• Home and household: household items and home improvements, pools and Jacuzzis, large appliances.
• Events and tickets: concerts, sporting event tickets, arcade visits, and secondary-market or resale tickets.
• Other: food and beverage, live animals, medical items (one pair of prescription eyeglasses a year is the exception), and toy weapons.

The guide says Step Up “will not consider or approve pre-authorization requests for items that are prohibited,” so an Appendix A item stays off-limits even with a request.

Appendix B lists the items that need pre-authorization before you buy:

1. Curriculum that is not publicly available.
2. Items that fall outside the frequency-of-purchase limits in P.E., Electives, or At-Home Classroom Furnishings.
3. Field trips not affiliated with a school that take place outside Florida but inside the United States.
4. P.E. activities outside Florida.

Military families approved by Step Up and living outside Florida are exempt from the last two. Appendix C breaks the out-of-state items down further.

A few rules from the guide’s pre-authorization section:

• “An approved pre-authorization is valid for purchases in the school year in which it was approved.”
• “An approved pre-authorization request is not confirmation of the provider’s eligibility or the funding available for the reimbursement.”
• “Pre-authorizations are accepted until May 28, 2027.”

For the other dates that matter this year, see what changed in the 2026–27 handbook.

1. Look for the item’s category in the Authorized Expense Categories. If it’s listed, check for a frequency limit or a single-user rule.
2. Check Appendix A. If it’s prohibited, stop there.
3. Check Appendix B. If it’s listed, or if it isn’t listed anywhere in the guide, request pre-authorization in EMA before you buy.
4. Keep the receipt details Step Up asks for before you submit. Our reimbursement guide lists them.

The guide changes during the year. Check the Last Modified date at the top of Step Up’s page before relying on any list, including this one.