Spend
From tuition, academic services and individual classes to sports, clubs, extracurriculars and testing, your scholarship can cover a wide range of eligible expenses to support your child’s growth in and beyond the classroom.
Four Spending Options
Private School Tuition
Families may use scholarship funds to pay eligible, participating private schools directly through EMA or pay eligible educational expenses out of pocket and submit a reimbursement request. The steps below will help you understand your payment options and guide you through the process that best fits your family's needs.
Direct Payment
For families paying private schools directly through EMA, the steps below explain the direct payment process from enrollment to payment approval.
Step 1
Accept Your Child's Scholarship
Once eligibility has been confirmed, you’ll be asked by email to log back in to your EMA account and either accept or decline your student’s scholarship as listed under “Action Items” on your dashboard.
Step 2
Share Your Student’s Scholarship ID
Step 3
Review and Approve the Enrollment
Enrollment Deadlines
2026-27 School Year Enrollment Deadline Dates | Funds Delivered To Step Up |
June 15* | August 1* |
July 15* | September 1* |
September 15 | November 1 |
December 15 | February 1 |
February 15 | April 1 |
* There are two funding dates for the first quarter
Out-of-Pocket Payments
If your family chooses to pay the private school from out of pocket, you can submit a reimbursement request through EMA.
The approved amount will be reimbursed right from your child’s scholarship account, as long as the school you choose is an eligible, participating private school.
Providers on EMA Marketplace
Need a tutor, therapist, part-time private school, or another approved provider? Go to “Marketplace” on your EMA dashboard and select “Find Providers” to search for approved providers who can bill your scholarship account directly.
Paying out of pocket? See Reimbursements for Out-Of-Pocket Expenses.
Products through MyScholarShop®
Shop pre-approved instructional materials, curriculum, recorded online courses, and more, with no out-of-pocket costs.
If you’re new to Step Up, MyScholarShop® (MSS) might not appear in your dashboard until about a week after funding.
Reimbursements for Out-Of-Pocket Expenses
If you’ve paid out of pocket for a qualifying educational expense and your child has available scholarship funds, you can request a reimbursement directly through EMA.
Before making a purchase, we encourage you to review the Unique Abilities Scholarship Family Handbook as well as the Unique Abilities Purchasing Guide to ensure your expense is eligible.
Ready to get started?
Let’s walk through everything you need to know about reimbursements so you can submit a request with confidence and receive your payment quickly.