Miami-Dade mother says scholarship delays threatened daughter's private school tuition

Luna withdrew from Miami-Dade County Public Schools in October and started at Primer K-8 in Kendall just days later. Jackie Ramirez, a teacher’s aide, was stuck in months of delays, unanswered emails and uncertainty over whether a state scholarship meant to help her youngest daughter attend private school would cover tuition. Ramirez’s daughter had struggled in public school after being retained in kindergarten because she was not at grade level.

Ramirez applied through Step Up for Students, was approved and was awarded $8,553. Luna settled in quickly and began making academic progress, including reading at a third-grade level while still working at a second-grade level, but the financial trouble began when the school had not received the money from Step Up.

Ramirez entered a cycle of calls, emails and chat support trying to learn why the scholarship payment was stalled. Step Up asked for an official withdrawal form confirming the date Luna left public school, along with identifying information such as her name and date of birth. Ramirez sent the form and thought the problem had been fixed, but the scholarship was split into two payments and the second installment was placed on hold.

The Florida Department of Education uses a standard withdrawal form for students entering K-12 scholarship programs, and district or charter schools must complete it at a parent or guardian’s request if the student was enrolled in the prior school year or is currently enrolled. Step Up for Students crosschecks to confirm a student is not currently enrolled in public school, and only students who pass that check can be submitted for possible funding. Scholarship money is deposited into a student’s EMA account four times a year before Step Up proposes funding to the department.

Step Up for Students’ collaboration with the Florida Department of Education and all 67 school districts has cut the number of students facing funding delays from crosscheck problems during the 2025-26 school year. Step Up for Students serves more than 500,000 students across six scholarship programs, and it had more than 400,000 applicants for Florida education choice scholarships for the 2026-27 school year by late February 2026. The State Board of Education approved the standard withdrawal form on June 4, 2025, in Miami, making the paperwork a formal part of the state’s scholarship process.