West Virginia’s Hope Scholarship Program to expand

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WBOY) — The Hope Scholarship Program has met the required enrollment numbers to expand to all West Virginia schoolchildren in the coming years.

The prrgram allows West Virginia families to put vouchers toward private, parochial or homeschooling expenses. When it passed in the State Legislature in 2021, it was only available to students who were either entering kindergarten or enrolled in public school for a qualifying period of time.

Now, State Treasurer and Chairman of the Hope Scholarship Board Riley Moore said with the total number of Hope Scholarship students and applicants (9,980 as of Monday, July 1) “well below” 5% of the net public school enrollment threshold for the previous school year (12,416), the program can be expanded to all West Virginia schoolchildren starting in fall 2026.

“We believe, based on Department of Education estimates, that this will open up Hope Scholarship eligibility to an additional 30,000 to 40,000 West Virginia students in 2026,” Treasurer Moore said in a press release. “This expansion will allow all West Virginia families to use this program as they pursue the educational opportunities they believe work best for their children.”

For the upcoming 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years, Hope Scholarship applicants must still meet the current eligibility criteria:

• Eligible to be enrolled in a kindergarten program.
• Enrolled full-time in a public elementary or secondary school program in this state for the entire instructional term during the current academic year (2023-2024 for the upcoming school 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 and remain enrolled and attending public school until a decision is reached on the student’s Hope Scholarship application.

Click here for more information about the Hope Scholarship Program.

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