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Full-award Hope Scholarship applicants double for next school year

In a press release Monday, State Treasurer Larry Pack, shown here in November, announced that 26,617 students have applied for the 100% Hope Scholarship award by a June 15 deadline. (File photo)

CHARLESTON – The number of children applying to take advantage of the full 100% Hope Scholarship award heading into the next school year has doubled, potentially eating up 67% of the allotted funding for the program for the next fiscal year.

According to information released Monday afternoon by the State Treasurer’s Office, 26,617 students applied for the 100% Hope Scholarship award by the June 15 deadline. Those students would receive $5,435.62 each for the 2026-27 school year.

“We are so excited to welcome thousands of new families into the Hope Scholarship Program,” said State Treasurer Larry Pack, chairman of the Hope Scholarship Board. “Seeing the Education Savings Account nearly double in participation is a true indicator of the impact and popularity of the program.”

The State Treasurer’s Office set a $155 million estimate for students taking advantage of the full Hope Scholarship award for the next school year. The application period for the full award opened on March 2.

The Hope Scholarship – which was passed by the Legislature in 2021 and went into effect at the beginning of 2023 – is an educational voucher program that gives parents the option to use an equivalent portion of the per-pupil expenditure for their children from the state School Aid Formula for educational expenses such as private or religious school tuition, home school, tutoring and learning aids.

The program was previously limited to children eligible to be enrolled in a county school system’s kindergarten program the year the parents are applying, public school students who were enrolled full-time during the school year prior to applying or public school students enrolled for at least 45 days during the current school year. But beginning July 1, eligibility opens to all children in the state.

The Hope Scholarship is funded in the fiscal year 2027 general revenue budget – beginning on July 1 – at $297 million. This includes $117 million from general revenue spending, $20 million in carryover funds already available through the State Treasurer’s Office, $100 million in supplemental appropriations and $60 million to be paid out from available surplus tax collections at the end of the current fiscal year on June 30.

The State Treasurer’s Office estimated it would cost $230 million for FY27, but the $297 million amount will fund five quarters of payments, covering all of the upcoming 2026-27 school year and the first quarter of 2027-28 school year, eliminating the need for future supplemental appropriations and expenditures from the surplus section of the budget. The $155 million estimated cost for full scholarship recipients represents 67% of the total $230 million estimate for the program.

The application period for children to use partial Hope Scholarship awards is open, with those seeking 75% of the $5,435.62 per-student award having until Sept. 15 to apply. Those wishing to be awarded a 50% scholarship have between Sept. 16 and Nov. 30 to apply, while those seeking a 25% scholarship have between Dec. 1 and Feb. 28, 2027, to apply.

“Now our team turns their attention to helping these students get the resources they need to tailor their education towards their unique needs,” Pack said. “Our goal is (that) West Virginia will continue to lead the nation in education innovation as we continue to build the program.”

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.

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