Hope Scholarship Program

Beginning with the 2026–2027 school year, all West Virginia school-age children will be eligible for Hope Scholarships. Until then, students must have attended public elementary or secondary schools for at least 45 full-time instruction days of the school year in which they apply or have been enrolled in public school for the entirety of the previous school year. All kindergarten students are eligible for a Hope Scholarship regardless of previous public school attendance. Parents may renew their child’s Hope Scholarships each year after initial approval, up to a student’s high school graduation or when they turn 21 years old. _(Last updated July 31, 2024)_

Qualifying expenses include classes and extracurriculars at a public school district; tuition and fees; tutoring; testing; programs of study/curriculum of courses that lead to an industry-recognized credential satisfying a workforce need; online learning programs; alternative education programs; after-school/ summer programs; therapies; instruments required by music education course; transportation; and other qualifying expenses approved by the board. _(Last updated July 17, 2024)_

An annual legislative appropriation funds the program. Each year’s appropriation comes from the WV State Treasury, in a special revenue fund designated as the West Virginia Hope Scholarship Program Expense Fund. The State Treasurer may request additional appropriation if the number of Hope scholarships increases significantly after any fiscal year. Each West Virginia Hope Scholarship is equal to the statewide average of the per-pupil amount of net state aid allotted the prior year for public school students. The scholarship is based on net enrollment adjusted for state aid purposes (roughly $4,900 in 2024–2025). If a student is awarded a Hope Scholarship for less than the full school year, they receive a prorated share of that amount. Unused funds carry over to the next school year. _(Last updated July 17, 2024)_

On November 17, 2022, the West Virginia Supreme Court released its written opinion in _State v. Beaver_ permanently overturning the Circuit Court of Kanawha County’s injunction against the Hope Scholarship Program and ordering a judgement in the defendants’ favor. _State v. Beaver_ , Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, Case No. 22-616. Notice of this litigation was first delivered on August 11, 2021, when Mountain State Justice, a nonprofit legal services firm, served notice on state leaders that it intended to file litigation against the nation’s largest education savings account program. They did not do so. Instead, on November 1, 2021, Hendrickson & Long Attorneys at Law, a private law firm in Charleston, served notice on state leaders that it intended to file litigation against the West Virginia Hope Scholarship. On January 19, 2022, Hendrickson & Long, in partnership with national attorneys from Los Angeles; New York City; Washington, D.C.; Newark, New Jersey; and Montgomery, Alabama filed litigation against the Hope Scholarship. The firm alleged the program competes with the legislature’s duty to provide a thorough and efficient system of free schools, decreases funding for public schools without a compelling state interest, uses School Fund monies dedicated to free schools, violates the authority of the state board of education, and is an impermissible special law because it treats scholarship students differently than public school students regarding antidiscrimination. _Beaver v. Moore_ , Circuit Court of Kanawha County, Civil Action No. 22-P-24, 25, and 26. On July 22, 2022, the Circuit Court of Kanawha County issued a preliminary injunction against the program, agreeing with all five of the plaintiffs’ arguments against the Hope Scholarship. In particular, the Circuit Court stated that the legislature can only fund a system of public schools; the state cannot have “a separate system of education . . . funded by West Virginia taxpayer money” and not under control of the West Virginia Board of Education._Beaver v. Moore_ , Circuit Court of Kanawha County, Civil Action No. 22-P-24, 25, and 26. The injunction was dissolved by the Supreme Court of Appeals on October 6, 2022, prior to their final decision. In its final ruling, the Court declared that the Hope Scholarship does not interfere with the legislature’s obligation to provide a thorough and efficient system of public schools. The Court noted that while the West Virginia Constitution requires the legislature to establish a system of public schools, this mandate does not require the legislature to “only” fund public schools and thus the legislature can provide for additional forms of schooling. The Court also ruled that a child’s fundamental right to public education is not infringed by the Hope Scholarship because participation is voluntary; a child’s access to public education is unaffected by the program. All other grounds for the Circuit Court’s prior decision are explicitly rejected by the Supreme Court of Appeals. _State v. Beaver_ , Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, Case No. 22-616. _(Last updated July 9, 2024)_