Hope Scholarship Resource Center

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What is the Hope Scholarship?

West Virginia parents now have more flexibility and choices to educate their children than ever before! The Hope Scholarship became law in 2021 and allows the state portion of West Virginia’s education funding formula to follow a student to various individualized educational environments outside of full-time enrollment in the traditional public school system. 

These funds can be used to pay tuition at a private school, to purchase curriculum for home education, to pay for educational therapies, to cover the costs of supplemental educational materials, and so much more! You can read the full list of qualifying expenses here.

The Hope Scholarship is a school choice program known as an Education Savings Account (ESA). The Hope Scholarship will allow parents and families of eligible students to use the money on qualifying educational expenses.

The Hope Scholarship is an exemption from compulsory education in West Virginia (exemption m), and it is an alternative to full-time enrollment in a public charter school or traditional public district school.

How much money will my family be eligible to receive?

The Hope Scholarship gives parents 100% of the state portion of the West Virginia educational aid formula each year.

The Hope Scholarship amount will vary annually depending on the amount of state aid funding per pupil provided to county boards of education for public school students. The award amount for the 2024-2025 academic year is $4,921.39.

The Hope Scholarship award amount is per child, per year to customize each child’s education. The Hope Scholarship will allow parents and families of eligible students to use the money on qualifying educational expenses.

I have more than one child. Are they all eligible?

Each child’s eligibility is evaluated individually. You will need to apply separately for each child. You can read more about Hope Scholarship eligibility requirements on the official Hope Scholarship website in their FAQ section.

The Cardinal Institute offers a free quiz to help you determine if your child may be eligible for the Hope Scholarship. This is not an official determination of eligibility and is for informational purposes only. However, it can help you decide if applying for the Hope Scholarship is right for your family.

You can take the quiz below.

Take our Hope Scholarship Quiz

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