CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia students in grades K-12 can now apply for the Hope Scholarship for the 2022-2023 school year.
The program establishes an education savings account for each scholar.
Registration opened Tuesday. Applications for the program will be accepted through the State Treasurer’s office website through May 15.
State Treasurer Riley Moore told MetroNews they’ve already seen a strong response so far.
“We’ve had 500 applications started on the first day. Of those, we’ve had 259 completed submissions. We’ve already awarded and approved 44,” he said.
The scholarship provides parents with up to $4,600 each school year that can be used for education-related expenses including classes or courses, tuition, tutoring, learning devices and other materials.
“The first disbursement is no later than Aug. 15 and the second disbursement will be later than Jan. 15, so it’s broken up into two,” Moore said.
Moore said the program is designed to allow parents and families to use the funding to tailor an individualized learning experience that works best for their child.
“It really opens up a lot of educational opportunities. It could also go to charter schools or any other kind of private institution that is out there that would charge tuition,” he said. “It’s really educational freedom.”
The state Legislature passed the Hope Scholarship Act last year in an effort to expand school choice options for West Virginia students and families.
To qualify for the Hope Scholarship, a student must be a West Virginia resident and be either:
- Eligible or required to be enrolled in a kindergarten program.
- Enrolled full-time in a public elementary or secondary school program in the state for the entire instructional term during the academic year immediately preceding the academic year for which the student is applying to participate in the Hope Scholarship Program.
- Or, enrolled full-time and attending a public elementary or secondary school program in this state for at least 45 calendar days during an instructional term at the time of application.
Participating families are also required to fill out a notice of intent to participate in the program with their local county superintendent.
All application materials are available at HopeScholarshipWV.com.