The children of West Virginia are guaranteed a thorough and efficient system of free schools by our state constitution. However, due to the growing Hope Scholarship, declining state revenues, and disruptions to federal funding and support, this guarantee is at risk for the nearly 90 percent of school-aged children in the Mountain State that are educated in public schools.
The Hope Scholarship is a school voucher-style program that diverts taxpayer funds to families to cover private school or homeschool-related costs. Research shows that these types of programs harm public schools by siphoning public funds that could otherwise be used for supporting and improving public schools while simultaneously benefiting wealthy families and those whose children already attend private schools or homeschool. Voucher programs often begin with limited restrictions that broaden over time leading to ballooning costs, increased diversion of public funds, and reduced investments into public education and other public services.
The Hope Scholarship started with almost no restrictions, no public accountability mechanisms, and broad allowances for spending and overall program costs. This has allowed for more than $80 million in public funds to go to private schools and homeschool settings both within and outside of the state. Notably, many of these schools are not accredited and are not required to admit students of all backgrounds or to ensure that all students receive the accommodations and support necessary for their well-being and success.
Now, in the fourth year of this expanding program, costs have risen from just under $10 million in the first year to over $100 million. How did we get here? What’s in store for public schools? What can lawmakers do to support them?
Click the white boxes to toggle through the timeline below to learn further details about the growth of the Hope Scholarship, its impact on public schools in our state, and opportunities for lawmakers to take action.
[1] HB 2013, 2021 West Virginia Legislative Session.
[2] “West Virginia Supreme Court Deems Education Savings Accounts Constitutional,” Harvard Law Review, May 2023, https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-136/state-v-beaver/.
[3] West Virginia State Treasurer, “Hope Scholarship Annual Report: 2022-2023 Academic Year,” December 2023, https://hopescholarshipwv.gov/Home/About/Annual-Reports.
[4] Tamaya Browder, “Hope Scholarship Expansion Threatens Public Education, Communities Already Under Strain,” West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, September 2024.
[5] “Hope Scholarship Board Approves Year-Round Applications, Prorated Funding Proposals to Expand Program Access,“ West Virginia State Treasurer, December 13, 2023, https://wvtreasury.gov/About/Press-Releases/details/Hope-Scholarship-Board-Approves-Year-Round-Applications-Prorated-Funding-Proposals-to-Expand-Program-Access.
[6] Tamaya Browder, “The Perfect Storm: Limited Oversight and Accountability Contribute to Growing Costs of the Hope Scholarship,” West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, January 2025.
[7] Kelly Allen and Sean O’ Leary, “Hope Scholarship-driven Enrollment Decline has Major Impacts on Public Schools and Students,” West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, May 2024.
[8] “Treasurer Moore Announces Hope Scholarship to Expand to All West Virginia School Children in Coming Years,” West Virginia State Treasurer, July 2, 2024, https://wvtreasury.gov/About/Press-Releases/details/treasurer-moore-announces-hope-scholarship-to-expand-to-all-west-virginia-school-children-in-coming-years.
[9] Tamaya Browder, “WV must increase funding of public schools (Opinion),”, Charleston Gazette-Mail, September 13, 2024, https://www.wvgazettemail.com/opinion/op_ed_commentaries/tamaya-browder-wv-must-increase-funding-of-public-schools-opinion/article_2cee9358-7137-11ef-8b16-c7a793544117.html.
[10] Amelia Ferrell Knisely, “WV School Board Approved More School Closures, Counties Struggling to Fund Public Education,” West Virginia Watch, December 11, 2024, https://westvirginiawatch.com/2024/12/11/wv-school-board-approves-more-school-closures-counties-struggling-to-fund-public-education/.
[11] Amelia Ferrell Knisely, “Hope Scholarship’s accelerating price tag sparks debate in WV House, $97M in funding approved,” West Virginia Watch, April 11, 2025, https://westvirginiawatch.com/2025/04/11/hope-scholarships-accelerating-price-tag-sparks-debate-in-wv-house-97m-in-funding-approved/.
[12] Katleyn Aluise, “Cabell County BOE approves nearly all RIF, transfer recommendations,” Huntington Herald-Dispatch, April 22, 2025, https://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/cabell-county-boe-approves-nearly-all-rif-transfer-recommendations/article_b88fce94-fdc4-4d7f-ae50-6a0715b6b556.html.
[13] Joey Rather and Barbara Ron, “Randolph County Board of Education votes to fire 33 staff members,” WBOY, April 22, 2025, https://www.wboy.com/news/randolph/randolph-county-board-of-education-votes-to-fire-33-staff-members/.
[14] “Treasurer pack Announces Nearly 15,000 Students to Receive 100% Hope Scholarship Funding for 2025-2026 School Year,” West Virginia State Treasurer, July 8, 2025, https://wvtreasury.gov/About/Press-Releases/details/treasurer-pack-announces-nearly-15-000-students-to-receive-100-hope-scholarship-funding-for-2025-2026-school-year.
[15] Shelby Burrough “Cabell County Board of Education approves $226 million budget amid enrollment decline,” WCHS, May 22, 2025, https://wchstv.com/news/local/cabell-county-board-of-education-approves-228-million-budget-amid-enrollment-decline.
[16] Joselyn King, “Ohio County Schools Expects to Lose $2 Million Next Year Because of Hope Scholarship,” Wheeling Intelligencer, May 14, 2025, https://www.theintelligencer.net/news/top-headlines/2025/05/ohio-county-schools-expects-to-lose-2-million-next-year-because-of-hope-scholarship/.
[17] Tamaya Browder, “Wood County: The Case for Reversing Course on the Hope Scholarship Expansion,” West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, March 2025.
[18] Jeff Jenkins “Kanawha County Schools end school year of change,” West Virginia Metro News, June 2, 2025, https://wvmetronews.com/2025/06/02/kanawha-county-schools-ends-school-year-of-change/.
[19] Steven Allen Adams, “West Virginia Board of Education takes action against Randolph County Schools,” Parkersburg News and Sentinel, June 12, 2025, https://www.newsandsentinel.com/news/local-news/2025/06/west-virginia-board-of-education-takes-action-against-randolph-county-schools/.
[20] Addie Smith and Charlie Roth, “West Virginia Department of Education declares State of Emergency in Roane County Schools,” WSAZ, July 9, 2025, https://www.wsaz.com/2025/07/09/west-virginia-department-education-declares-state-emergency-roane-county-schools-2/.
[21] Kelly Allen, “Opinion: Pack admitted Hope Scholarship mostly goes to families who already have chosen private schools,” Legal Newsline, July 17, 2025, https://www.legalnewsline.com/west-virginia-record/opinion-pack-admitted-hope-scholarship-mostly-goes-to-families-who-already-have-chosen-private-schools/article_1f70bd4b-bdab-4327-b1d9-66a2226fb764.html.
[22] Tamaya Browder, “Six Funding Alternatives to Strengthen Public Schools for the Cost of the Hope Scholarship,” West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, February 2025.
[23] Samuel Abrams and Steven Koutsavlis, “The Fiscal Consequences of Private School Vouchers,” Southern Poverty Law Center, March 2023, https://pfps.org/assets/uploads/SPLC_ELC_PFPS_2023Report_Final.pdf.
[24] Duncan Slade, “Hope Scholarship costs could balloon to $315 million next year to fund private schools, homeschooling,” Mountain State Spotlight, May 13, 2025, https://mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/03/13/hope-scholarship-rising-cost-millions/.
[25] HB 2013 Fiscal Note 2560, 2021 West Virginia Legislative Session.
