Hope Scholarship Program Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Applications Now Open For Hope Scholarship

Applications are now open for new families seeking to receive the Hope Scholarship for the 2024-2025 school year.

The online application process for new families in the program opened March 1, and the deadline to receive 100 percent of the funding for next school year is June 15.

The Hope Scholarship Program is an education savings account program available for kindergarten through 12th grade students.

Last year, the board received more than 6,300 applications during the initial enrollment period.

Existing Hope Scholarship students are required to reapply each year, and the renewal application period for those students began in January. The deadline for existing Hope Scholarship students to submit renewal applications is also June 15.

The scholarship amount for the 2024-25 school year will be $4,921.39.

In December, board members approved a new year-round application model that will allow families to apply for the program throughout the school year featuring prorated scholarship award amounts depending on when they apply.

Under this new timetable, a student application submitted within the following dates will receive the associated level of Hope Scholarship funding:

March 1-June 15: 100 percent of Hope Scholarship annual award amount.
June 16-Sept. 15: 75 percent of Hope Scholarship annual award amount.
Sept. 16-Nov. 30: 50 percent of Hope Scholarship annual award amount.
Dec. 1-Feb. 28: 25 percent of Hope Scholarship annual award amount.

“We’ve seen tremendous interest and participation in the Hope Scholarship over the past school year, and we’re excited to start the application process for new students for the upcoming year,” West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore said. Moore is the chairman of the Hope Scholarship Board.

“This will be the first full academic year to feature our year-round application and prorated funding model, which will offer greater access and flexibility for the program and the families who choose to participate in it,” he said.

To qualify for the Hope Scholarship, a student must be a West Virginia resident and be either:

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) 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.

In addition to filling out the application, state law also requires participating families to fill out a notice of intent to participate in the program with their local county superintendent.

Applications are available online at www.HopeScholarshipWV.com.

Hope Scholarship Program On The Rise, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, the Hope Scholarship program allows West Virginia students to apply state money toward private and parochial school tuition. And state officials say the program is growing.

On this West Virginia Morning, more than 6,000 West Virginia students have signed up for a $4,500 Hope Scholarship savings account that allows them to take state money and apply it to tuition in private schools.

Randy Yohe spoke with state Treasurer Riley Moore, whose office administers the school choice program, on the growing numbers who want to opt out of the public school system.

Also, in this show, one of the places struck by the floods last July was the Hindman Settlement School, home to the Appalachian Writers Workshop. Musician, poet and West Virginia Wesleyan professor Doug Van Gundy was there and wrote a poem about it.

Inside Appalachia Producer Bill Lynch spoke with Van Gundy about the poem and writing about tragedy.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.

Eric Douglas is our news director and produced this episode.

Chuck Anziulewicz hosted this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Public Schools Sports Director Says Hope Play-Transfer Law Needs Legislative Revisit

Bernie Dolan said the one time transfer rule for upperclassmen and women has already prompted the beginnings of a recruiting portal system.

Gov. Jim Justice struggled with House Bill 2820. He didn’t sign the bill that becomes law 90 days from passage. lt allows Hope Scholarship recipients, along with those enrolled in private schools, home school, microschools and learning pods to participate on public school sports teams. The new law also allows student-athletes to transfer schools at least one time and keep their athletic eligibility.

Justice had no problem with the first part, but had serious concerns about the new, liberalized transfer rules.

Bernie Dolan, executive director for the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission (WVSSAC), said he sees many inconsistencies throughout the legislation.

Dolan said removing the provision that the incoming student take one class at the school they are playing for weakens personal and academic ties.

“Now, kids will play for a school that they have no association with,” Dolan said. “We spoke loudly that we were opposed to that. We think that you should have that class – you should be enrolled in the school you’re playing for.”

Dolan said an academic component that requires a 2.0 GPA for public school students to play, but not private schoolers, creates an unfair playing field.

“Somebody may have to relook at the 2.0,” Dolan said. “They will say why is somebody allowed to participate with no academic standard, or limited academic standard, when the member school students all have a 2.0 that they have to achieve.”

He said incoming students will have to take a nationally normed test once a year, but said there are no comparisons offered to the academic qualifications required for public school students.

“There’s not really a standard test that they have to take,” He said. “It just has to be a nationally normed test, so we’re not even sure which test each student will be presenting.”

As to the one-time sports eligible transfer rule for any student, Dolan said the 13 or 14-year-old rule in place for underclassmen was a fair offer.

“You get to go anywhere you want in sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth grade,” Dolan said. “As long as you go to the beginning of the school year it doesn’t matter where you live. But you have to make that decision by your ninth grade year. You have a one-time transfer to come back and it has to be for academic reasons.”

Dolan said with the existing rule, students transfer as freshmen and they’re not already developed. He said it doesn’t become a feeder program for the bigger schools. Now, he said the one time transfer rule for upperclassmen and women has already prompted the beginnings of a recruiting portal system.

“As soon as it passed the legislature, before the governor even got it, there was a school, or somebody associated with the school, who was putting out ‘Hey, we lost this many people, these positions, that’s what we’re looking for.’ And somebody else has identified themselves as a recruiting coordinator,” Dolan said.

During a media briefing earlier this week, Justice addressed both aspects of this new law.

“I fully support the ability of our HOPE scholarship recipients, students in microschools or learning pods, homeschooled students, or our private school students to participate in extracurricular activities at their school or at their local public school,” Justice said. “However, allowing student athletes to transfer to any school, whatsoever, with no purpose other than jumping to a better athletic team, will do nothing but make a few teams better at the expense of all the others.”

Both Dolan and Justice are asking the West Virginia Legislature to revamp the law in a special session later this year.

House Bill Enables Athletic Participation For Hope Scholarship Students

Hope Scholarship recipients and other non-traditional students would be able to participate in athletics and other extracurricular activities at their local public schools under a House bill.

Hope Scholarship recipients and other non-traditional students would be able to participate in athletics and other extracurricular activities at their local public schools under House Bill 2820.

The bill, which was considered in the House Education Committee Tuesday, would amend state code to allow these types of students to participate in public school programs if they’ve shown “satisfactory evidence of academic progress,” similar to how homeschooled students in the state already enroll.

The bill also includes students enrolled in microschools and learning pods, though there are no microschools in the state.

“I think the question or the element of fairness comes to mind when we know those kids who are not academically finding success in the public school system find a way to improve their academic success elsewhere,” said Del. Todd Longanacre, R-Greenbrier, who spoke in favor of the bill. “When they leave that public school system, they’re not taking all of their parents’ tax money from that county, they’re leaving some in that county. They still have skin in the game. So that’s fair that they would have the opportunity if their school that they go to doesn’t offer sports.”

Del. Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, the minority chair of the House Education Committee, expressed concerns over how it would potentially affect other students.

“On one hand, I obviously want to help the kid to be able to participate,” said Hornbuckle. “But on the other one, I want to also make sure that it doesn’t cause a disparate impact of other private school students.”

That came among other questions on how academic progress and discipline would be measured from other lawmakers.

“If a student is in a learning pod, or microschool, how do we know that that discipline is equivalent [to a public school]?” Del. Danielle Walker, D-Monongalia, asked early during the proceedings.

Legislators discussed HB 2820 for more than an hour, with an eventual amendment clarifying that private school students would not be able to play on a public school team if the sport is already offered at their school.

The bill passed the committee and is on its way to the House floor.

Other bills discussed during the meeting included House Bill 3293, which establishes requirements for educational agencies to help identify and support students with dyslexia and dyscalculia, and House Bill 3273, which establishes a commission that would negotiate dealings with entities interested in utilizing intellectual properties owned by institutions of higher education.

Both bills were approved in committee. HB 3293 is expected to be on second reading Wednesday, while HB 3273 was sent to the House Judiciary Committee for further consideration.

First Round Of Hope Scholarship Money Awarded To Students

The first round of Hope Scholarship money was awarded to families on Friday, following months of legal battles.

Nearly 1,800 students and their families received vouchers to cover educational expenses for non-public schools. Of that number, 1,610 were granted the full annual amount of nearly $4,298.60.

Other applicants are still waiting for their payments, including 466 that are waiting for inconsistencies in the West Virginia Education Informational System of when students transferred schools to be dealt with.

A remaining 619 have not had payments issued – a statement from the state treasurer’s office says these families haven’t responded to a questionnaire from Hope Scholarship Board staff asking about their child’s status. They believe most of these cases come from families that decided to keep their children in public schools during the injunction.

“I know the injunction and the uncertainty it caused created a tremendous hardship on families, and we appreciate the patience they have displayed as we continue to work through the litany of issues it produced,” state treasurer Riley Moore said in the release. Moore is also the chairman of the Hope Scholarship Board.

In total, nearly 3,000 families applied for Hope Scholarship funds before an injunction in Kanawha Circuit Court halted the program last May. It was lifted in October by the state’s Supreme Court of Appeals.

Advocates of the Hope Scholarship program call it a victory for school choice, while opponents say it’s taking away needed money from the state’s public school systems.

The period to apply for next school year’s round of Hope Scholarship funding begins March 1, with current applicants eligible to reapply on Feb. 15.

W.Va. Supreme Court Issues Opinion In Scholarship Ruling

West Virginia’s Supreme Court released a full opinion Thursday in an order it issued last month that allowed a non-public school scholarship program to continue.

The five-member court on Oct. 6 reversed a lower court’s ruling that had blocked the Hope Scholarship Program. The program was supposed to start this school year and is one of the most far-reaching school choice programs in the country. It incentivizes West Virginia families to pull their children out of K-12 public schools by offering them state-funded scholarships.

A Charleston-area judge in July ruled the program violated the state’s constitutional mandate to provide “a thorough and efficient system of free schools.”

Writing for the majority, Justice Tim Armstead said in a 49-page opinion that the state Constitution “does not prohibit the Legislature from enacting the Hope Scholarship Act in addition to providing for a thorough and efficient system of free schools.”

“The Constitution allows the Legislature to do both of these things,” Armstead said. “Therefore, we find that the circuit court abused its discretion by permanently enjoining the State from implementing the Hope Scholarship Act.”

The higher court’s decision was not unanimous. In a dissenting opinion, Chief Justice John Hutchison argued that the state Constitution provides “that the Legislature’s obligation to provide a through and efficient education is limited to doing so only by a system of free schools, not through subsidizing private educational systems.

“As such, the Hope Scholarship Act and its subsidization of private education is prohibited by the West Virginia Constitution. I would, therefore, have affirmed the circuit court,” he wrote.

Passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature last year, the law that created the Hope Scholarship Program allows families to apply for state funding to support private school tuition, homeschooling fees and a wide range of other expenses.

More than 3,000 students were approved to receive around $4,300 each during the program’s inaugural cycle, according to the West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office. The first payments were supposed to go out in August but were put on hold while the lower court’s block on the program was in place.

Families can’t receive the money if their children were already homeschooled or attending private school. To qualify, students have to have been enrolled in a West Virginia public school last year or had to be set to begin kindergarten this school year.

In January, three parents of special education students sued the state, saying the scholarship program takes money away from already underfunded public schools. The lawsuit was supported by the West Virginia Board of Education. One family later withdrew from the case.