HOW TO USE THE PREAPPROVAL SYSTEM
Follow this link to the pre-approval form: EFA Expense Preapproval Request.
Fill out the form but keep your info complete but brief. More bullet point style not a whole conversation.
Provide any links to curriculum or the item itself that are relevant. And be certain to consider and add a line for it that accounts for shipping and tax. The price requested can be quite off if you do not request those. I would suggest stating in the request that your total includes all taxes and shipping to be accurate of the full amount the request needs to be made for. This means on any website you are looking at ordering from you need to follow the checkout to the payment area to make sure it calculated those in.
You will receive an email that is either approval, denial or a request for more information. SOMETIMES the denial will include notes if parts of what were requested can be approved or if something was missing that they need in order to approve it. SO do read those carefully.
If you receive preapproval, please put the normal information you always do. Preapproval does NOT mean they don’t still need your receipt and your other documentation. SO, check list — attach the preapproval AND all receipts and documentation.
All purchases will still be approved based on reasonable need and price criteria. Splitting between children does not automatically mean that you can spend double or triple for the item. In almost ALL cases you can NOT increase the reasonable price of an item simply because students will share it.
When submitting a preapproval, it is important that your requested amount is accurate. PLEASE CHECK that all shipping and taxes are totaled and that your numbers are correct.
When you get approval, and go to make the purchase, if there is a small change in the price, small increases that occur in product pricing will not invalidate your preapproval. Example of still ok are when a product went up $10 - $20 total - an increase of $150 in shipping is NOT going to go through.
If you were preapproved but had made an error and left off taxes and shipping, a large increase especially with current shipping rates will most likely need to be resubmitted with the correct amount requested for teh purchase.