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Scholarship Students Reported 
as Public School

Please note that Step Up does not oversee the public school survey crosscheck process. This is done by the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE). This page is provided to share information and updates with our families.

Full-time Equivalent Crosscheck – What Is It and What Happens Next?

To ensure that a student does not receive duplication of funding, Florida Statute requires the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) to confirm that scholarship students are not simultaneously enrolled in public school before scholarship payments are issued in October and February.

FLDOE does this through the public school FTE (full-time equivalent) crosscheck.

For 2024-25 and 2025-26 school year cross check updates, including more information on the "Standard Withdrawal Form for Students Entering K-12 Scholarship Programs, please click here. 

What is the public school FTE crosscheck?

Full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment in Florida public schools is calculated based on the number of days a student is in attendance and is used for funding and accountability purposes.

The crosscheck process verifies that scholarship students are not included in FTE enrollment.

What types of schooling are included in FTE enrollment?

Florida public school or its equivalent

Florida Virtual School, unless the family pays the tuition themselves

Florida charter school

What happens if your scholarship student is identified as a public school student in the FTE crosscheck process?

Following the FTE crosscheck process, the FLDOE will notify Step Up For Students of any scholarship students identified as public school students.

At that time, Step Up is required to temporarily suspend access to any remaining funds for that school year for the student and will immediately notify families by email of the next steps they need to take.

If your student was identified in the FTE Crosscheck, you will receive communication to your email registered in EMA with next steps.

If a student was identified as a public school student by their district in this crosscheck, the family received an email from Step Up starting mid-February 2025 advising that their student’s account was temporarily suspended.

Impacted families were advised that, if during the crosscheck period (October 7-11, 2024), their student:

Was in public school: In this case, no action was needed. These students would be withdrawn from their scholarship program and any remaining 2024-25 funds would be returned to the state for FES-UA and FES-EO and to Step Up For Students for FTC and PEP.

Was NOT in public school OR was in public school but HAD SINCE WITHDRAWN: In this case, the family needed to submit documentation to Step Up by a specified deadline.

Families who submitted documentation by the specified deadline have since received status updates from Step Up.

LATEST UPDATE FOR OCTOBER 2024 FTE CROSSCHECK

On June 11, 2025, a message from the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) was sent to schools and families for a population of resolved students.

If you received that communication, please continue to monitor your email for additional details.

On June 16, 2025, a message was sent to the families of any outstanding students advising that we are still waiting on information from the FLDOE for their student. These families should continue to monitor their email for an update on their student’s account.

As a reminder, access to remaining 2024-25 funds for impacted students will remain suspended until the FLDOE notifies Step Up that access can be reinstated. Additionally, Step Up will not receive Quarter 4 funding for these students until the FLDOE review of their account is complete.

We remain committed to providing updates to impacted families as we receive them and continue to do all we can to move this process forward.

If a student was identified as a public school student by their district in this crosscheck, the family would have received an email from Step Up starting mid-May 2025 advising that their student’s account was temporarily suspended.

For those students who were also showing as “enrolled” in a private school within EMA, the FLDOE advised Step Up For Students to work directly with the private school to validate the student’s enrollment. These families were notified that their student’s private school was asked to submit an attestation to Step Up by a specified deadline, validating that their student was, in fact, attending their private school.

For students who were NOT “enrolled” in a private school within EMA, the family was notified that they needed to submit documentation to Step Up by a specified deadline if their student was NOT in public school OR was in public school but HAD SINCE WITHDRAWN.

Please note: If a student WAS in public school during the February FTE crosscheck period (February 3-7, 2025), no action was needed. These students would be withdrawn from their scholarship program and any remaining 2024-25 funds would be returned to the state for FES-UA and FES-EO and to Step Up For Students for FTC and PEP.

LATEST UPDATE FOR FEBRUARY 2025 FTE CROSSCHECK

As of June 11, 2025, Step Up For Students is working with the FLDOE to review submitted documentation for any outstanding students and will provide updates to impacted families as they become available. Families should monitor their emails for updates.

School Year Updates

If we have notified you that documentation is needed for your student before their 2025-26 Quarter 1 funds can become available, please continue reading for important information. (If you have not been notified that documentation is needed for your student, please do not submit any documentation.)

We understand some families are having trouble obtaining the "Standard Withdrawal Form for Students Entering K-12 Scholarship Programs." 

In order to support our families, Step Up has worked with the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) to identify other options, which can be found below.   

IMPORTANT: The deadline for submitting approved documentation has been extended to Tuesday, September 30, 2025, at 5 p.m. ET. Failure to submit approved documentation may impact your student's scholarship.  

ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTATION: The following are the only acceptable documents. Please review each option closely and select the option that is best for your student.  

When ready, please use the "Upload Now" button below to submit your document.  

OPTION 1:  You may contact your school district to request that they complete the official "Standard Withdrawal Form for Students Entering K-12 Scholarship Programs" for your student. (Click here to see an example of the form.) 

The form must have your signature and must be completed and signed by the school district. 

OPTION 2:  If your student is enrolled in a private school, you may ask the school to prepare a letter on school letterhead addressed to the Florida Department of Education.  

The following information must be included in the letter:  

  • Your student's name and their Student ID number. Note: Your student's ID number is different than their Award Number. The school can find your student's Student ID within their EMA account. 
  • Attestation statement: "Under penalty of law, I attest that <INSERT STUDENT NAME AND STUDENT ID HERE> is enrolled full-time in our school since <INSERT FIRST DAY OF 2025-26 SCHOOL YEAR HERE>." 
  • Name of the principal/director and their personal signature. (Document should not be electronically signed.) 

OPTION 3:  If your student is homeschooled, you may submit the documentation that you were required to submit to the district last school year regarding testing, portfolio review, or other requirements. 

When did the FTE crosscheck happen?

The FTE crosscheck process occurs twice a year – once in October and once in February.

For the 2024-25 school year, the FTE crosscheck occurred the week of October 7, 2024, and the week of February 3, 2025.

What is the latest FTE crosscheck update?

On July 24, 2025, the following update was sent to impacted families:

We are committed to providing you with updates on the account status for your student(s) whose name(s) appeared on public school surveys in the 2024-25 school year. 

The timeline for funding review and release of payments is set by the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE). As of today, Step Up For Students has not received a funding update for your student(s). We cannot advise when we will receive an update, nor when funds will arrive.  

We are committed to depositing the funds into student accounts as soon as they arrive.

If a student is funded, the 2024-25 reimbursement deadline will be extended for them. Please disregard any general reminders you have received or may receive about the upcoming reimbursement deadline on July 31.

We will share an update, including the extended reimbursement deadline, as soon as possible. Please monitor your email for updates.

 

Questions?

If you have any questions, our team is here to help. We encourage impacted families to continue to monitor their email for further details or reach out to us for assistance.

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