How to Renew Your PEP Scholarship

A step-by-step guide for parents renewing PEP scholarships in Florida

If your student received a Personalized Education Program (PEP) scholarship for the 2024-2025 school year, you’ll need to complete the renewal process for 2025-2026! Don’t worry, it’s super easy, and we’ll walk you through the process step-by-step!

👉 Key Deadlines:

• Renewal application deadline: April 30, 2025
• Scholarship acceptance deadline: May 31, 2025

 

In this guide, we’ll walk you through:

•  How to renew your student’s PEP scholarship and accept their 25-26 award
• When and how funding is distributed
• What you need to do to enroll in a Prenda microschool and use PEP funds

Renewing your student’s PEP scholarship is a two-step process:

Step 1: Submit a renewal application
Step 2: Accept your student’s scholarship once it’s approved by Step Up for Students

 

---

Step 1: Submit Your Renewal Application

How to Submit Your Renewal Application

1️⃣ Log in to your EMA account and navigate to your dashboard.

 

2️⃣ Scroll to the "Available Scholarships" section and find the "Scholarships for Eligible Private Schools or Personalized Education Program" area. Click "Apply".

 

3️⃣ Click to turn on the blue toggle for each student you are renewing. If you need to add a student, click "Add a student" and include them in the application.

 

4️⃣ Double-check student details—make sure name, birthdate, and personal information are correct.

 

5️⃣ In the "Expected School Information" section, enter “Florida Home School” to qualify for PEP funding.

 

6️⃣ Confirm guardian information (primary and secondary, if applicable) and upload a proof of residence document.

• Must be: Less than two years old
• Must match: The name and address of the primary or secondary guardian

7️⃣ In the Household Members section, list everyone residing in your home (other children under 18 included).

8️⃣ Review your application carefully, enter your annual household income, agree to the terms, electronically sign, and submit.

📌 What Happens Next?

• After submission, your application status will show as “Pending” on your dashboard while it’s being processed.
• During this stage, all applications display as FTC—this will update to FTC-PEP once awarded.
• Processing takes approximately three weeks.

📽️ Need extra guidance? 

Watch this Step Up For Students video walkthrough:

---

Step 2: Accept Your Student’s Scholarship

Once your application is approved by Step Up for Students, you’ll receive an email with instructions for accepting the scholarship.

How to Accept Your Scholarship

1️⃣ Log in to your EMA account.

2️⃣ Navigate to “Action Items” and find the request to Accept or Decline the scholarship.

3️⃣ Click "Accept Scholarship" (yes, you’ll need to confirm twice).

---

New Requirements for Renewing Families

Heads up! Beginning in 2025-2026, renewal families will also need to submit:

• A Student Learning Plan
• End-of-year norm-referenced test results

💡 Good News: Prenda provides i-Ready testing, which meets the end-of-year testing requirements! Once the end-of-year assessments are completed, we’ll send results to parents for their EMA submission.

📢 Stay tuned! Step Up will send communications when it’s time to complete these final steps. While these steps don’t need to be completed by the application and acceptance deadlines mentioned in this guide, these will be additional required steps. Keep an eye on your email so your scholarship stays fully funded.

---

Funding Timelines, Amounts, and Distribution

PEP Scholarship funds are distributed in these windows:

• Quarter 1: August 15 – September 15
• Quarter 2: November 15 – December 1
• Quarter 3: January 15 – February 1
• Quarter 4: April 15 – May 1

How do I access my funds?

• PEP funds are managed in EMA, which acts as both a holding account and purchasing portal.
• You’ll use EMA to pay for educational services, including Prenda.

How much funding will my student receive?

• The average scholarship amount for 2025-2026 is projected to be ~$7,800
• Scholarship amounts depend on grade level and county.
• The 2024-2025 amounts can be found here, but updated figures for 2025-2026 won’t be available until after state budget approvals.

---

Using PEP Funds for Prenda Microschool Enrollment

Once your PEP application is submitted, reach out to your chosen microschool guide and ask them to invite your child to their microschool if you haven’t already been invited.

You must accept an invitation in order to be enrolled in their microschool.

If you are a parent using Prenda’s single family microschool option to homeschool, you can add your child now in your Prenda World account. 

---

Helpful Resources

📖 PEP Parent Handbook
🛍️ PEP Purchasing Guide
💵 2024-2025 Scholarship Award Amounts

Got questions? We’re here to help! Contact Prenda Support for assistance.