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:
- Any student that was approved
for the Hope Scholarship Program will remain approved for the Program and
does NOT need to re-apply.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- Beginning on
March 1, 2023, the Hope Scholarship Board will accept applications for the
2023-2024 school year.
- 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.
- 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.