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
A student awarded an FES-UA or FES-EO Scholarship may not enroll full-time in any public school, including:
- A charter school
- A developmental research school
- Any other Florida public school
- Florida Virtual School or any other online public school as a non private-pay student
- The College-Preparatory Boarding Academy
- The Florida Scholars Academy
- The Florida School for Competitive Academics
- The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind
- Voluntary Prekindergarten Education’s Specialized Instructional Services (VPK-SIS)
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.
School Year Updates
This is an official form from the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) that records a student’s withdrawal from public school and intent to use a K–12 scholarship. It’s used when a student was previously reported as enrolled full-time in a Florida public school. Click here to view the form.
At this time, families should ONLY submit the form to Step Up if we or the FLDOE have notified the family by email that it is needed for their student.
In the future, any family will be able to submit this form within EMA. We will share an update once that is available.
Step Up will notify families by email if the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) notifies us that a student appears to be in attendance in a public school. If notified, the family will need to submit an acceptable document to Step Up by the deadline specified in their email.
Following is an overview of what is acceptable and how documentation should be submitted. IMPORTANT: Families should only submit documentation for a student if it is requested.
ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTATION
At this time, the FLDOE mandates that ONLY the following documents will be accepted.
Only one document is needed per student. Documentation is only needed for any students listed above. If you have a student who is not listed, no documentation is needed for them, and we kindly ask that you not submit it.
OPTION 1: “Standard Withdrawal Form for Students Entering K-12 Scholarship Programs” Click here to view the form.
The form must be fully completed. This includes a parent/guardian signature, as well as completion and signature by the school district, and a date of withdrawal.
Note: If your student was never enrolled in a public school, please use option 2 or 3.
OPTION 2: Letter or email from the student's assigned school district stating the student is not enrolled in public school.
OPTION 3: Letter or email from the student's assigned public school or selected charter school stating the student is not enrolled in public school.
STEPS TO TAKE
- Contact your school district, assigned public school, or selected charter school to request the appropriate document listed above.
- Upload the document to your Student Profile in EMA. Please click here for helpful instructions on where to submit the form in EMA.
You will receive an update on your student's funding status once the form is reviewed. Please allow up to two weeks for review and monitor your email for updates.
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?
Funding has been disbursed for any students who were deemed eligible to receive 2024-25 funding.
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.