Hello, everyone!
We had a follow-up call today with the person in charge of PEP at and some leaders of Home Education Instructional Programs (which I'll refer to here as HEIPs to save my fingers from typing it out every time).
Like the call 2 weeks ago, the purpose of this call was to get updates on what's being done behind the scenes in EMA in terms of getting HEIPs onboarded and approved--both in the drop-down lists for reimbursements and (if desired) in the Provider Marketplace so parents can submit payment for services directly through EMA.
We did also address some things relevant to parents, though!
Here's a summary of what was covered:
First, we spent some time addressing individual concerns for the specific HEIPs that were on the call, to verify they'd submitted everything and so the Step Up rep knew if there were any that he needed to personally follow up on to see why they weren't yet approved.
There was also some useful general information covered...
Important things for parents to know:
Re: Submitting reimbursements for HEIP tuition for this school year but that was paid for in advance PRIOR to July 1st of this year: If the purchase was for this school year, it will be reimbursable, even if you paid prior to July 1st, 2023. But the system is set not to allow invoice purchase dates prior to July 1st. So, to get around this: Upload your Reimbursement as usual, but put the first date of attendance as the purchase date. Then type in notes that it was a prepay but for this school year. (So, for example, if you pre-paid for your 2023-2024 classes at an HEIP and paid ahead-of-time in March or April 2023, but the first class session didn't meet until August 15th, 2023, you would put August 15, 2023 as your "Purchase Date," NOT the date from March or April when you actually paid. Then, in the notes area, type in that this was payed in advance in March but is for classes that run from August 15, 2023 to May 8, 2024--or whatever your specific dates for those classes are.) He said he is going to communicate with the process team and the reimbursement team to make sure everyone understands what's happening if they see a reimbursement come in this way.
Re: Spending caps on categories: Brenda and I communicated our concerns about the spending caps (especially for Learning Manipulatives, but also the caps in general) to the Step Up rep on the call, as well as the issue of items being miscategorized when purchased through MyScholarShop. He took notes and is going to address these with his team. He is also aware that the Recent Transactions tab is currently not showing--he is also going to mention this to his team. He believes it might be because they are working on tech/back-end stuff with that section right now, but he expects it to reappear within the next few days.
Re: Reimbursements on the cards, timeline to actually receive funds, parents being told by Step Up to call US Bank only to be told by US Bank to call Step Up, etc. -- He did not have any specific info on this but he's going to address this with the appropriate people to see what he can find out. He did acknowledge that there have been issues with the cards and that Step Up is still working on solutions. He also reiterated that they now have over 100,000 submitted reimbursements in EMA, which is why they are behind in processing, but they are working behind the scenes to streamline the reimbursement process (as we mentioned in our livestream last week) AND they have hired additional processors, so they hope the process will speed up soon.
GENERAL CONCERNS: He asked me to email him the list I've compiled of the recurring concerns I'm hearing from parents so he can follow up on them. I am going to do so this afternoon. We also invited him to join our forum here, so he can see some of your posts/concerns for himself.
Important things for HEIPs to know:
Once you are approved in the Provider Marketplace, parents can submit services for your HEIP directly through EMA, and then you will be able to approve them from your end. The process does not require additonal Step Up approval, at that point (because you/your services will have been pre-vetted), and is quick! You just have to be fully set up in the Provider Marketplace with all your services input and set up.
Payment turnaround: Once the service is submitted and the HEIP (provider) invoices/approves it, the money should be paid into the provider's account by the following Friday.
As of right now, you will not get notifications from EMA when a parent submits a service, so you may want to check regularly. (However, the head of PEP at Step Up is communicating the desire for notifications to his team, because that would make things a bit easier for HEIPs.)
Parents cannot cancel a service once the provider (in this case, the HEIP) has invoiced and approved it. Only the provider (or Step Up, after speaking with the provider) may cancel invoices at that point. This is to prevent parents from submitting a service, actually doing the service at your HEIP, and then going back in and cancelling in EMA to try to get their money back after the fact. It's a safeguard for the Providers.
When a service is purchased through the Provider Marketplace, their system does not allow the provider to invoice/get paid until the service is completed. For this reason, the Step Up rep/PEP director is encouraging HEIPs (as Providers) to input their services on a quarterly, monthly, weekly, or whatever other basis works best for them--so that they won't have parents purchasing "Yearly" services for which the HEIP cannot be paid until the end of the school year. (And also because parents get funds quarterly, so they may not have enough in their accounts to pay for yearly up front.)
We have another follow-up call scheduled in two weeks, so that we can get updates directly from the PEP director at Step Up and communicate any new/ongoing questions or concerns.
I also just want to acknowledge what a gift it is to have him personally engaging and communicating with us like this on an ongoing basis.
I know parents (and HEIP leaders!) are frustrated with many things related to PEP, and change is taking time. But--change and improvements are happening, and it's a massive benefit to have the head of the PEP program in direct communication with us and so willing to listen to our concerns. He is willingly taking his time every two weeks to do these lengthy calls with us to make sure he understands the needs of PEP parents and the HEIPs so that Step Up can work toward improvements and solutions. That's not to be taken lightly!
I was hoping you could shed some insight on this. I have been trying to stay current with all things PEP, but might have missed something along the way.
We have a large number of students who are all experiencing the same challenge because we attend the same HEIP so I am hoping to relay some information to other families. In April of this year (2024) we all paid an enrollment and registration fee for our home education instructional program that will start weekly classes in September 2024 that runs through April 2025. We have two tuition payments, but they aren’t due until after July 1. I made sure to mention all these details in my submission to Step Up. We have all been submitting reimbursements recently and getting denied based on the following, “unable to review expenses for future school year.” It definitely makes sense though as to why they would deny it, but what has me questioning things is when they would actually approve this reimbursement because it would still fall under not being a purchase that is “on or after July 1, 2024.” I see from the notes you made above that for HEIP they will approve payments PRIOR to July 1. Has there been any confirmation from Step Up this will be the same case for next academic year?
I hope this makes sense. Thank you for your insight and help with this. I am very thankful for your help this past year as we navigated PEP for the first time.
I've been combing all the forums/live videos/ posts and am not finding the answers. I'm confused on what businesses qualify as an HEIP. Does the business have to provide classes exclusively to homeschoolers? Or Can the business offer homeschool class options in addition to other classes open to all? I didn't read this requirement within the guide but keep seeing it mentioned.
I'm confused because when I read the purchasing guide it seems many classes would meet the listed requirements and criteria. Thus far nothing has been approved as an HEIP and all gets moved to electives and ask for creditials. If it has to be an exclusive homeschool program why isn't that very clear in the guide? For example, my daughter takes drama classes through a drama business and meets all 6 of the listed requirements. It's selected by myself the parent as an activity that enhances her learning,, all info is available online for review including class descriptions, fee schedules, etc, they meet in public locations, and you pay the business. They have put all reimbursement request on hold saying that I need to provide credentials for the instructor as they've moved it to an elective. Can you please help me understand how to deferintiate which programs are meeting the home educational instructional program and which ones are not because I keep rereading the guide and don't see why these programs are not HEIP and what it is that I'm missing. I would like clarification so that I know if this is processor error or if HEIP are being held to a stricter set of requirements that aren't clearly stated in the guide.
(A second example I have is art classes held at a art studio/gallery, again from the list in the guide the business should be meeting the HEIP but gets moved to in review as an elective)
I want to just say that I have more understanding of what SUFS is dealing with after watching that. Thank you for taking the initiative to have these meetings, and I'm grateful that Everett is taking things seriously. It is easy to be angry when there is no face associated with the company. I could see that he had already been corresponding with those on the call and that he was taking a personal interest in making things right. I'm not excusing the shortcomings, but I'm glad to see at least some of it being actively addressed by someone with power at SUFS. It has softened my frustration somewhat. :)
Where can we find the replay link to the call from wednesday 11/29 regarding HEIPs?
Can we submit receipts that have a prior date than 7/1 as long as the service we purchased was to start during the school year, or do we need to wait for SUFS to add the "date of service" drop down?
With the processors making so many errors right now, I don't know if I'm setting myself up for a straight up denial if I submit it now before they add the drop down you mentioned during one of your live chats.
Hi! I really appreciate all the work you have been doing! My question is how to correctly categorize my PEP student's reimburement. I've read over the guidelines and we seem to fall into a grey area. Both my boys are taking classes at a private school that has been approved by StepUp (the school is not taking money directly, thus the reimbursement). The school calls this a "homeschool partnership program" on their website and they are allowed to pay to take 2 or 3 classes (daily). They are not full-time students and were taking classes last year while under the home education department. The bill/receipt marks it as "tuition" along with other "curriculum fees". Do I categorize this as Private School (which the guidelines say are not eligible for PEP) or does it qualifity for HEIP (though the guidelines specifify no private schools). I just wanted to try to clarify before I submit to lessen the chance of rejection. It seems like the guidelines have provisions for college class (as dual enrollment) from private institutions but not for high school classes from private institutions. Thank you so much!
We are a part of an HEIP, it meets all of the requirements outlined in the purchasing guide, and I have provided all documentation. I have been dilegent in providing everything asked, and making sure the program i selected was qualified. I have asked for reimbursements for 6 kid, for August, Sept, Oct, and November (24 total), and so far, all of the ones that have been reviewed thus far are being put "on hold" because they are not an "approved provider." My program is currently trying to get approved, but in the meantime my reimbursements should still be approved based off of the purchasing guidelines- being an approved provider is not a requirement. What can I do to help the reviewers understand this and who can be contacted to get the decisions reversed? I would love if this could be escalated as I am still waiting on a large sum** of reimbursements and it is putting us in a difficult spot on whether we can continue this program, which covers a large portion of our children's education. Thank you!
Thank you Crystal.
I had sent an email using the HEF contact link, about my issue of not having MSS access for one of my children. Apparently it's not just my problem but over 200 tickets are currently open with the IT dept. Mine has been open since Oct 9th.
Was this topic discussed by any chance?
Between not having access to MSS and reimbursements taking longer we cannot access our funds.
Thank YOU for your time as well!
Thank you so much for the information! I wonder, would Abeka Academy (dvd classes and books) be submitted as HEIP or curriculum? Abeka calls it tuition, though we work independently and don't send in any work or grades, and the dvd classes are returned after one year. If it's considered curriculum because it takes place in my home and not at a business location, would I still be able to submit the reimbursement for this year (which started July 10th) that I paid for in February? Thanks for any thoughts on the this.
The fact that programs will not be paid until the end of their year long program is devastating to small homeschool programs and microschools. They need commitment for the entire term (not just a week or month) but if they ask for that they will not be paid until the term while
Putting out money for staff, supplies, location, etc. This will make it impossible for many programs to offer direct bill. Is anything being done to address this?