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How to renew the Florida PEP scholarship.

PEP doesn’t carry over on its own: returning families submit a renewal application each year and keep up the yearly requirements. Here’s who counts as a renewal student, what keeps that status, what to have ready, and what last year’s dates looked like, checked against Step Up’s own pages on October 22, 2026.

  • ProgramFlorida PEP, through Step Up for Students
  • Checked

For Florida PEP families whose scholarship is managed by Step Up for Students. AAA Scholarship Foundation publishes its own rules. Independent guide, not affiliated with Step Up; when anything here differs from Step Up’s current pages, Step Up is right. Step Up decides eligibility and renewal status.

Quick answers.

How do I renew the PEP scholarship?
Log in to your existing EMA account and submit a renewal application during the renewal season, then accept the scholarship by the acceptance deadline. Step Up’s handbook says that to keep renewal status, PEP students must also complete their participation requirements, including the Student Learning Plan and the annual assessment.
When is the PEP renewal deadline?
For 2026–27, renewal applications were due by April 30, 2026 and renewal families had to accept or decline by May 31, 2026. Step Up hadn’t posted 2027–28 renewal dates when we checked on October 22, 2026.
Who counts as a PEP renewal student?
Step Up’s handbook says a renewal student is one who was funded for Quarter 4 for the same scholarship and whose scholarship was not revoked in the prior school year. Step Up’s 2026-27 renewal checklist words it more broadly, as students who received scholarship funds during 2025-26, so ask Step Up if your student wasn’t funded in Quarter 4.
What documents do I need to renew PEP?
Step Up’s 2026-27 Renewal Student Application Checklist lists proof of Florida residency (two different document types from the same guardian, current and valid) and a Social Security number for you and your student. Military families with PCS orders into or out of Florida provide updated PCS orders and a recent Leave and Earnings Statement.
What happens if I miss the PEP renewal deadline?
Step Up’s FAQ says “Missing any renewal deadline causes the student to lose renewal status and be treated as new.” For PEP, new applications had the same April 30 deadline in 2026–27, and renewal students are funded first.

The short version.

  • Renewal is a yearly application. The handbook says that once a student’s scholarship has been funded, a parent or guardian “may submit a renewal application each year” while the student stays eligible.
  • Use the EMA account you already have. Don’t create a new one for the same child.
  • Keeping renewal status takes more than the application: the Student Learning Plan and the annual test results are part of it.
  • Last year’s dates (2026–27): renewal applications by April 30, 2026, accept or decline by May 31, 2026.
  • 2027–28 renewal dates aren’t posted yet (checked October 22, 2026). We’ll update this page when Step Up posts them.

New to PEP rather than returning? Start with how to apply for PEP instead; this page is for families renewing.

Who counts as a renewal student.

Step Up’s pages define a renewal student in two slightly different ways:

Step Up page What it says
PEP Family Handbook, Application Type Definitions A renewing student “was funded for Quarter 4 for the same scholarship they are applying to in the current school year and whose scholarship was not revoked in the prior school year.”
Step Up FAQ “A renewal student is one who received Quarter 4 funding for the same scholarship last year and did not have the scholarship revoked.”
2026-27 Renewal Student Application Checklist (PDF) “Returning students who received scholarship funds during the 2025-26 school year are considered renewal students.”

The handbook and the FAQ both tie renewal status to Quarter 4 funding. The checklist uses the broader wording. If your student was funded for only part of last year, ask Step Up which applies before you count on renewal priority.

The handbook also says a student applies as new if they don’t renew and sit out a year, or leave the program and later want to come back. Step Up’s FAQ adds two cases:

  • A student who didn’t receive 2026–27 PEP funding, or declined it, “will be considered a New student for 2027-28, not a Renewal Student.”
  • Students funded through another Scholarship Funding Organization, such as AAA, who later return to Step Up “would be considered new students, not renewal students.” More on moving between organizations is in do PEP funds roll over?

What keeps renewal status.

The handbook says: “To maintain renewal status, PEP students must complete and submit their scholarship participation requirements, including the Student Learning Plan (SLP) and annual assessment.”

Its table for students funded on PEP in 2026–27 who will continue on PEP in 2027–28 says to submit annual assessment results and complete a Student Learning Plan. Among the actions that may lead to loss of the scholarship, the handbook lists, for renewal students, not taking the required test and submitting the results “before being renewed for the program.”

For last year, Step Up’s FAQ said PEP funding consideration required a 2026–27 SLP submitted by May 31, 2026, and that renewal students had to submit prior-year assessments by the same date. Which tests count, the SLP template, and the testing exemption are explained in PEP testing and Student Learning Plan requirements.

The handbook also says a student stays eligible to renew while the family meets residency requirements and the student remains eligible to enroll in a Florida public school: “The student will remain eligible until they return to public school, graduate high school, or turn twenty-one (21) years old.” For other reasons a scholarship can end, see can you lose the PEP scholarship?

Documents to have ready.

From Step Up’s 2026-27 Renewal Student Application Checklist:

Document What the checklist says
Proof of Florida residency Two different document types, provided by the primary or secondary guardian, both from the same guardian. All documents must be current and valid; recurring bills or statements must be dated within two months of the application submission date, and must match the guardian’s full name and current physical street address on the application.
Social Security number Entered for you and your student.
Military families with PCS orders If you or the secondary guardian have PCS orders to move into or out of Florida, provide updated PCS orders and a recent Leave and Earnings Statement. Military families living in Florida provide any two other document types.

Step Up’s FAQ adds a reminder: “Renewal students (received funds in 2025–26) still need valid documentation.” The full list of accepted residency documents is on the checklist and in how to apply for PEP. Military families’ PCS rules are covered in PEP for military families.

How to renew, step by step.

  1. Log in to your existing EMA account. The handbook says “Parents of renewal applicants must log in to their existing EMA account” and not create a new account for the same child. (New to the name? See what EMA is.)
  2. Submit the renewal application during the renewal season, with current proof of residency.
  3. Accept the scholarship in EMA by the acceptance deadline. Step Up’s FAQ says: “If a renewal student accepts after the indicated renewal deadline for their program, they will be considered a new student.”
  4. Complete the Student Learning Plan and upload test results in EMA by the date Step Up sets for the year.
  5. Watch your status. What each status in EMA means is in PEP application statuses.

Renewal dates.

These are the 2026–27 dates, which have passed. Step Up hadn’t posted 2027–28 renewal dates when we checked on October 22, 2026. Its PEP page says applications for 2026–27 are closed and offers a sign-up to be notified when applications become available for the 2027-28 school year.

2026–27 renewal step Date
Renewal application season February 1 to April 30, 2026
Accept or decline the scholarship May 31, 2026
SLP and prior-year test results for funding consideration May 31, 2026
Last day for PEP renewal students to switch to FES-EO June 15, 2026
Quarter 1 funds to Step Up (renewal students) August 1, 2026
Quarter 1 funds to Step Up (new students and late renewals) September 1, 2026

If you miss a renewal deadline.

Step Up’s pages agree that a late renewal is treated as a new application:

  • The FAQ: “Missing any renewal deadline causes the student to lose renewal status and be treated as new.”
  • The 2026-27 Scholarship Application Dates PDF: “Applications submitted after the renewal deadline will be processed as a new application.”
  • The handbook: “All applications submitted or accepted after the renewal application deadline will have the same priority as new applications.”

That matters because renewal applications receive first priority, and for 2026–27 the PEP new-application season closed on the same April 30 date. Why that can leave eligible new students waiting is explained in is the PEP scholarship full? Questions about a specific student go to Step Up at (877) 735-7837.

Renewal season comes with its own deadlines.
The Florida PEP Tracker keeps each student’s purchases, statuses, and balance together, checks receipts before you upload them, and can add any deadline to your calendar.
One payment, no subscription: $49 for one student or $69 for a family. See pricing.

Try the demo

Sources.

All read on October 22, 2026. We re-check them when new editions are published.

  • PEP Family Handbook (2026–27)

    Step Up for Students web page, last modified September 16, 2026, read October 22, 2026: Applying for a Scholarship timeline, renewal and new applicant definitions, Creating Your EMA Account, Application Deadlines, acceptance timeline, Funding Prioritization, Continuing Program Eligibility, Scholarship Participation Requirements, the assessment and SLP table by student status, and switching deadlines.

    stepupforstudents.org
  • Step Up for Students FAQs

    Read October 22, 2026: who counts as a renewal student, missed renewal deadlines, late acceptance, Quarter 1 funding for renewal and late-renewal students, renewal documentation, and returning from AAA or after not being funded.

    stepupforstudents.org
  • Personalized Education Program (PEP Scholarship)

    Step Up for Students web page, read October 22, 2026: 2026–27 applications closed, the April 30, 2026 deadline for renewing and new students, and the sign-up for 2027–28 notifications.

    stepupforstudents.org
  • 2026-27 Scholarship Application Dates (PDF)

    Step Up for Students PDF, read October 22, 2026: renewal and new application seasons by scholarship, and late renewal applications processed as new.

    go.stepupforstudents.org
  • 2026-27 Scholarship Application Checklist (PDF)

    Step Up for Students PDF, read October 22, 2026: the Renewal Student Application Checklist (who is a renewal student, proof of residency documents, Social Security number, military PCS documents).

    go.stepupforstudents.org