Welcome to the West Virginia Hope Scholarship Program!

Hope Scholarship is the state’s education savings account program that gives parents an opportunity to build an individual learning experience that works best for their child. The scholarship allows K-12 students to receive financial assistance that can be used for tuition, fees and other expenses.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION for the 2023-24 academic year!

Mar. 1, 2023 -- Application period opens for NEW Hope Scholarship students for the 2023-24 academic year. To qualify, a student must be a West Virginia resident and be one of the following:

  • Eligible to be enrolled in kindergarten for the 2023-24 school year
  • Enrolled full-time in public elementary or secondary school in West Virginia for an entire instructional term of the 2022-23 academic year
  • Enrolled full-time and attending a public elementary or secondary school in West Virginia for at least 45 consecutive calendar days during the current instructional term at the time of application.

Note: Please enter the grade level that your child will be in for the 23-24 school year on your application in the EMA portal.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

If you entered the current year grade level in error, please email the EMA Service Center at wvhope@emaportal.org with your student’s name, student ID#, and the correct grade level for the 23-24 school year. The application processors at EMA will make the requested correction to the application.
The deadline to apply for the 23-24 school year is May 15, 2023


Notices for Current Hope Scholarship Students

Students who were awarded the Hope Scholarship for 2022-23 school year must renew their applications annually to receive the Hope Scholarship. The renewal application period for the 23-24 school year is expected to open up in late February 2023. Please note that existing Hope Scholarship students do not have to re-enroll in public school to receive the scholarship for future years but must annually submit all required private school enrollment or individualized instructional plan academic progress information to their county board of education by June 8th. Check back here for more updates.

Distributions for the 2022-23 academic year are currently underway. If a family has questions about a current academic year distribution, please email Hope Scholarship staff at hopescholarshipwv@wvsto.com.

 


Hope Scholarship students that have been awarded the scholarship, please utilize the link below to access your Hope account:

Click here to login

The 2022-2023 Hope Scholarship Application window closed May 16, 2022. The Hope Scholarship Board voted on October 12, 2022 to suspend acceptance of application requests for the 2022-23 school year except for those students newly eligible for the Hope Scholarship Program pursuant to W.Va. CSR §112-18-3.1.4.c. If you are newly eligible for the Hope Scholarship Program and wish to apply, please complete the Hope Scholarship Application Request form below and return it to hopescholarshipwv@wvsto.com. Application request forms for the 2022-23 school year will only be accepted through April 15, 2023 to allow time to process the applications, calculate the prorated funding amounts, and fund the student accounts in EMA. There is no need to complete this form for applications for the 2023-24 school year – simply use the “Click Here to Apply” button above.

Hope Scholarship Application Request Form



IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO APPLY FOR THE HOPE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM:

  • Parents/guardians must complete a letter of intent to participate in the Hope Scholarship Program. You are responsible for sending it to the county superintendent in your county of residence. CLICK HERE for a sample Notice of Intent letter that may be used. For incoming kindergarten students who do not yet have a WVEIS ID#, please mark “Incoming Kindergarten Student” in WVEIS ID# field. This will help county boards of education assign WVEIS ID#s to such students. Please note that the Notice of Intent to Participate in the Hope Scholarship Program is different from the traditional Notice of Intent to Homeschool. It is important to utilize the correct Notice of Intent language depending on which educational choice you are making for your child. See our Hope Scholarship FAQs for additional clarification regarding this issue.
  • You must create an account through the Education Market Assistant (EMA) portal before applying.
  • You will need your child’s WVEIS ID#. This is assigned by your County Board of Education. (For incoming kindergarten students, assignment of the WVEIS ID# will generally be triggered by submission of your Notice of Intent letter. See above for more information.)
  • For helpful tips regarding the Hope Scholarship application process, CLICK HERE.
  • For access to the Hope Scholarship Parent Handbook for the 2022-23 School year, CLICK HERE.
  • For a video tutorial regarding the Hope Scholarship application process, CLICK HERE.

The Hope Scholarship Program is mandated by W.Va. State Code §18-31-1 et seq. and operating under the administrative law rule W.Va. Code St. R. 112-18-1 et seq. It was created by the W.Va. State Legislature in 2021 and is administered by the West Virginia Hope Scholarship Board with staffing provided by the State Treasurer’s Office. Account processing and administration is contracted through a third-party vendor.

Hope


November 1, 2022

It has been brought to our attention that another unknown entity has also been sending out a survey to families regarding the Hope Scholarship Program with a different deadline than the official survey being sent on behalf of the Hope Scholarship Board. Please ensure that you are responding to the official survey being sent from wvhope@emaportal.org. If you have any concerns that the survey to which you are responding is the official survey from the Hope Scholarship Board, please contact us at 304-340-5058. Be alert for potential scams asking for sensitive banking or other information.


IMPORTANT UPDATE ON THE WEST VIRGINIA HOPE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore is pleased to announce that the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals entered an Order on October 6, 2022, dissolving the July Circuit Court injunction that prevented the Hope Scholarship Program from moving forward. Treasurer Moore commends the Court for its quick action, restoring the ability for West Virginia families to choose the educational opportunities that best suit their children. The Hope Scholarship Board will meet as soon as possible to resolve various implementation issues to resume all program operations.

It is important to understand that Hope Scholarship families will not immediately be able to access program funds, and likely will not be able to use Hope Scholarship accounts until the spring semester of the current school year. This delay is beyond the control of the Hope Scholarship Board and the Treasurer’s Office. Unfortunately, the July injunction prevented all state agencies from working on or transferring any funds for the Hope Scholarship Program.

Rest assured that the Hope Scholarship Board is working as quickly as possible to make program funds available to Hope Scholarship students and to resume the education service provider registration process.

For up-to-date information on the Board’s decisions during its upcoming meeting and news about the Program, parents of Hope Scholarship students are encouraged to frequently visit this page. Information will be posted to this page as soon as it becomes available.

October 25, 2022 Update    

Beginning at approximately 2:30 p.m. on October 25, 2022, the parents of students previously approved for the Hope Scholarship for the 2022-23 school year will receive an email with a survey to assist the Hope Scholarship Board in determining the appropriate Hope Scholarship funding amount for the 2022-23 year. This will be based on the student’s educational choices during the injunction against the Hope Scholarship Program.   The responses to the survey will not impact the student’s eligibility for the program; however, to receive Hope Scholarship funding for the 2022-23 year, a response to the survey is required.   Failure to respond to the survey by December 2, 2022 will indicate that you no longer wish for your child to participate in the Hope Scholarship Program for the 2022-23 school year.  

Please note that parents with more than one student awarded a Hope Scholarship will receive a unique survey link for each student; however, the emails will not all be sent at the same time.   The emails for such families may come over the span of a few hours.   Parents must provide a response for each student.  Please pay particular attention to the specific child referenced in the unique survey link.  

The survey will be sent from wvhope@emaportal.org. 

October 12, 2022 Update

The Hope Scholarship Board held an emergency meeting on October 12, 2022 and approved an emergency amendment to clarify issues relating to the implementation of the Program:

  1. Any student that was approved for the Hope Scholarship Program will remain approved for the Program and does NOT need to re-apply.
  2. Any student that applied for the Program or was authorized by the Hope Scholarship Board to apply for the Program after the application deadline does NOT need to re-apply.  If additional information is needed for your student’s application, you will be contacted. 
  3. The Hope Scholarship Board will disburse the full amount of Hope Scholarship funds to the student’s account if a student meets the following criteria:
  • The student’s application was approved or, at the time the student’s application or application request was submitted to the Board, the student was eligible to participate in the Program according to W.Va. Code §18-31-2(B) and this rule; and
  • The student is enrolled full-time in a non-public school or participating in an individualized instructional program and was enrolled in said school or program for the entire period during which the injunction was in place.
  1. The Hope Scholarship Board will disburse a pro-rated amount of Hope Scholarship funds to the student’s account if a student meets the following criteria:
  • The student’s application was approved or, at the time the student’s application or application request was submitted to the Board, the student was eligible to participate in the Program according to W.Va. Code §18-31-2(B) and this rule; and
  • The student was enrolled full-time in public school for any period of time while the injunction was in place.
  • The Board will calculate the prorated amount of a disbursement by reducing the full amount by a percentage amount equal to the number of the county board of education’s instructional days in the instructional term during which the student was enrolled full-time in public school in said county, divided by 180.
  1. Any student that was approved for the Hope Scholarship and is currently enrolled full-time in public school must withdraw from public school prior to receiving any disbursement of Hope Scholarship funds. Students who wish to remain in public school for the remainder of the 2022-2023 school year are electing to decline the Hope Scholarship for the school year and must re-apply for the Hope Scholarship to be eligible for future years.  If a student wishes to withdraw from public school at the semester break to minimize disruption to the student’s education, the student will receive a prorated amount of funding for the 2022-23 school year. 
  2. Due to the programming delays to the online portal as a result of the injunction, the Board may disburse the 2022-2023 Hope Scholarship funds in one payment no later than January 15, 2023.
  3. The Hope Scholarship Board has suspended acceptance of application requests for the 2022-2023 school year except for those students newly eligible for the Hope Scholarship Program pursuant to W.Va. CSR §112-18-3.1.4.c. (i.e. under the 45-day rule).
  4. Beginning on March 1, 2023, the Hope Scholarship Board will accept applications for the 2023-2024 school year.
  5. All families with approved or pending applications will be contacted via email to complete a survey to help the Board determine the amount of Hope Scholarship funding that the student will be entitled to receive for the 2022-23 school year.  Responses are required from all families.  More information about the survey will be forthcoming.
  6. The Board may authorize reimbursement of purchases for qualified expenses made during the injunction period.  Details about the specific reimbursement process are anticipated to become available by the end of November 2022.