Quick answers.
- Does the PEP scholarship require testing?
- Yes. Step Up’s PEP Family Handbook says PEP students must take a nationally norm-referenced test identified by the Florida Department of Education, or the statewide assessment under s. 1008.22, Florida Statutes, every year and submit the results to Step Up before being funded in later years or switching scholarships.
- Do kindergarten, first, and second grade PEP students have to test?
- Step Up’s FAQ says “all PEP students in grades K–12 are required to take a state-approved norm-referenced test each year.” Another FAQ answer says students funded with PEP the previous year must test during the year they use PEP. If your young child is new to PEP, ask Step Up which year’s results it expects.
- When are PEP test scores due?
- For 2026–27 funding, the handbook said renewal students had to submit their 2025–26 results in EMA by May 31, 2026. Step Up hasn’t posted the date for results that count toward 2027–28 funding yet; Florida law says results are due before the student’s program renewal.
- What is the PEP Student Learning Plan?
- A customized plan the parent builds from Step Up’s template in EMA and updates every year. The handbook says it guides instruction and “does not determine or limit what the parent or guardian can purchase with scholarship funds,” but it must be submitted to receive funding.
- Can a PEP student be exempt from testing?
- Yes, in one case. The handbook says students with disabilities for whom a physician, psychologist, or IEP team determines standardized testing isn’t appropriate are exempt, and must submit Step Up’s Standardized Testing Exemption Form.
The short version.
- Student Learning Plan (SLP): fill it out in EMA every year. For 2026–27, it was due May 31, 2026, and the handbook says an initial SLP submitted after that date makes the student ineligible for funding that year.
- Annual test: a norm-referenced test on the Florida Department of Education’s approved list, or Florida’s statewide assessment. Upload the results in EMA before the student is renewed.
- Step Up’s FAQ says all PEP students in grades K–12 test each year. A different FAQ answer ties testing to students funded the year before. Ask Step Up if your child is new.
- Testing fees can be paid with PEP funds. Both the handbook and Florida law list them as an eligible expense.
- These steps are separate from home education. PEP students don’t need a home education evaluation; see how PEP differs from home education.
The Student Learning Plan.
The handbook describes the SLP as “a customized plan developed by parents or guardians and updated annually to guide instruction and address a student’s academic needs, including any remaining instructional time.” Florida law puts it the same way: PEP parents submit a student learning plan and revise it at least annually before program renewal.
What the handbook says about it:
- Where it is: Step Up built an SLP template in EMA. Open it from the My Students tab, or from the Parent and Guardian Dashboard through View Student and the SLP Section. (New to EMA? See what EMA is.)
- What you do: choose academic and personal learning priorities from the template, then rate the student’s progress.
- What it doesn’t do: it “does not determine or limit what the parent or guardian can purchase with scholarship funds.”
- Why it matters: “The SLP must be submitted in order to receive scholarship funding,” and it must “remain complete for each funding cycle.”
- Hybrid schools: if the student attends a Hybrid eligible private school, the SLP has to explain how learning time is spent off campus.
| SLP rule for 2026–27 | From the handbook |
|---|---|
| Due date | By May 31, 2026 |
| Submitted late | “If the initial SLP is submitted after May 31, 2026, the student will be ineligible for funding for the school year.” |
| Deadline-exception students (military, foster care) | Accept the scholarship and submit the SLP, plus prior-year test scores if applicable, no later than May 15, 2027 |
The annual PEP test.
From the handbook’s Annual Assessment Requirements:
- PEP students must take, every year, “a nationally norm-referenced test identified by the Florida Department of Education or the statewide assessment described in Florida Statute 1008.22.”
- The results go to Step Up in EMA “before receiving FTC-PEP scholarship funding in subsequent years or switching to a different scholarship program.”
- The list of approved assessments is published by the Florida Department of Education; the handbook links to it.
- For 2026–27 funding, “renewal students must have their 2025-26 assessment results submitted in EMA by May 31, 2026.”
Who has to test? Step Up’s pages answer this in slightly different ways:
| Step Up page | What it says |
|---|---|
| FAQ: “My student is on PEP. Will they need to take a test and submit scores to Step Up?” | “All PEP students in grades K–12 are required to take a state-approved norm-referenced test each year.” |
| FAQ: renewal and evaluation question | Students “who were funded with a PEP scholarship in the previous school year” must take an approved norm-referenced test “during the year they use PEP.” |
| Handbook: participation requirements | Complete an annual assessment “as a renewal student” and provide results “before renewal for the next school year.” |
All three agree that a student continuing on PEP needs results in before the next renewal. They differ on whether a brand-new student, or a kindergartner, must also test in the first year. Step Up decides, so ask before you skip a test.
Paying for the test: the handbook lists “standardized testing fees, including test proctoring and administration” as an eligible PEP expense, and Florida law lists fees for nationally standardized, norm-referenced achievement tests. For how to get those fees reimbursed, see the PEP reimbursement guide.
Exemption: students with disabilities for whom a physician, psychologist, or IEP team determines that standardized testing isn’t appropriate are exempt. They must submit Step Up’s Standardized Testing Exemption Form.
What to submit, by situation.
The handbook’s table for students funded on PEP in 2026–27:
| Your situation | What the handbook says to submit |
|---|---|
| Staying on PEP for 2027–28 | Annual assessment results and a Student Learning Plan |
| Switched mid-year and was funded on another scholarship for the rest of 2026–27 | Nothing for PEP; meet the new scholarship’s requirements |
| Moving to FTC, FES-EO, or FES-UA for 2027–28 | Annual assessment results |
The handbook also says families who want a different scholarship later “must complete the FTC-PEP scholarship participation requirements for the prior participated school year, including submitting annual assessment results and a Student Learning Plan.” For how PEP compares with FES-UA, see PEP vs FES-UA.
If something is missed.
The handbook’s list of actions that may lead to loss of the scholarship includes:
- “Failure to submit or annually update a Student Learning Plan for the student.”
- For renewal students, failing to take the required test and submit the results before being renewed.
Missing the SLP or test results also affects funding timing; see PEP payment dates. For other reasons a student can lose PEP, see can you lose the PEP scholarship?
Keep every date in one place.
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.
More Florida PEP guides.
Eligibility and yearly rules
- Is PEP full?
How many Florida PEP scholarships the law allows, when the cap ends, what Step Up’s pages say about capacity, and why they don’t all match.
- Can you lose PEP?
The reasons Step Up lists for losing a Florida PEP scholarship, including public school enrollment and moving, what happens to the money, and whether you repay it.
- PEP vs FES-UA
What the FES-UA scholarship is, who qualifies, and how it differs from Florida PEP: diagnosis, ages, home education, therapies, devices, and deadlines.
- PEP and homeschooling
Is Florida PEP for homeschoolers? How PEP differs from a home education program: registration, letter of intent, testing, and when to end home education.
- What’s new for PEP in 2026–27
Florida PEP 2026–27 changes: new public school attestation and withdrawal deadlines, deposit dates, switching rules, and purchasing guide updates.
Payments, balances, and deadlines
- Do PEP funds roll over?
What Step Up for Students and Florida law say about unused PEP money: rollover, the $24,000 balance limit, inactive accounts, and switching programs.
- PEP payment dates for 2026–27
Step Up for Students PEP payment dates for 2026–27: the quarterly funding schedule, how long deposits take to post, and what can hold a payment back.
- Is PEP free? Income and funding
Is Florida PEP free or income based? What Step Up and Florida law say about application fees, income priority, and where PEP scholarship money comes from.
- PEP deadline checklist (Oct 31)
Florida PEP families have until October 31, 2026 to request reimbursement for 2025–26 purchases. A step-by-step checklist to find, check, and submit every receipt in EMA.
Spending and reimbursements
- What is EMA?
What EMA (Education Market Assistant) is for Florida PEP families: what you can do in it, account setup, MyScholarShop, and the account rules.
- PEP for private school, college, VPK
Can Florida PEP pay for private school, college classes, VPK, or preschool? What Step Up’s PEP pages and Florida law say, and which program fits instead.
- PEP for tutoring
Can Florida PEP pay for a tutor? Step Up’s credential rules for part-time and full-time tutors, what a tutoring invoice needs, and how tutors get paid.
- Does PEP cover it?
Does Florida PEP cover swim lessons, summer camp, sports, printers, headphones, transportation, or uniforms? Answers in the words of Step Up’s purchasing guide.
- PEP reimbursement guide
How Step Up reimburses Florida PEP purchases: receipt rules, proof of payment, EMA steps, the Educational Benefit form, review time, holds, and appeals.
Sources.
All read on October 11, 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 11, 2026: Scholarship Participation Requirements, Student Learning Plans, Annual Assessment Requirements, the requirements table by student status, Scholarship Funding Requirements, deadline exceptions, and actions that may lead to loss of the scholarship.
stepupforstudents.org - Step Up for Students FAQs
Read October 11, 2026: which PEP students must test, renewal and evaluation questions, and when PEP enrollment requirements are satisfied.
stepupforstudents.org - PEP: Fund
Step Up for Students web page, read October 11, 2026: funding requirements, the Student Learning Plan, and the Annual Assessment Requirement.
stepupforstudents.org - Section 1002.395, Florida Statutes (2026)
The Florida Senate, read October 11, 2026: PEP parents submit a student learning plan and revise it at least annually, and provide nationally norm-referenced or statewide assessment results before program renewal; testing fees as an authorized use of funds.
flsenate.gov