The Hope Scholarship Annual Report is Now Available. Here’s What to Know About the School Voucher Program Putting Public Education at Risk

What is the Hope Scholarship?

The Hope Scholarship is a school voucher program that diverts public taxpayer dollars to cover private school and other non-public school expenses like tuition and fees, uniforms, supplies, technology, and even extracurricular costs like dance lessons and zoo tickets.

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The program is currently open to any school-aged child in West Virginia that has attended a public school for at least 45 days or is entering kindergarten. This will change drastically in 2026 when the program becomes “universal” and opens to all school-aged children in the state, including current private school students who have never attended a public school.

How is the Hope Scholarship Different From Other School Voucher Programs?

When the Hope Scholarship was enacted by lawmakers in 2021, it was the broadest school voucher program in the country at the time.

Unlike programs in other states, the Hope Scholarship has:

• No caps on overall program cost or enrollment;
• No requirements for schools to be in West Virginia or to be accredited;
• No requirements for schools to provide disability accommodations;
• No income limits for participants;
• No current requirement for data collection or publication; and
• Year round program enrollment.

Who Benefits from the Hope Scholarship?

The Hope Scholarship, like all school voucher programs, benefits families that can already access and afford private education. This is made abundantly clear in the Treasurer’s Office most recent annual report on the program.

• Kanawha, Monongalia, Wood, and Berkeley counties account for one in three school voucher program participants while boasting some of the highest availability of private schools in the state.  
• Even with the Hope Scholarship there is a gap in cost to be paid by families. The average private school tuition in West Virginia is almost $6,500, which is more than the maximum amount provided by the Hope Scholarship.

Of all the non-public education options, private schools benefit the most under this school voucher program. Nearly $32 million (7 in 10 dollars spent) went to private schools last school year, almost half ($13.9 million) of which went to unaccredited schools.

While private schools benefit the most, there is a growing contingent of participants using the school voucher to fund homeschooling. About 3 out of 10 Hope Scholarship participants are in homeschool.

• Homeschool students may have their work reviewed by a certified teacher or take a nationally normed achievement test to show academic progress for the year. Last year, most chose a certified teacher portfolio review which is accepted as long as the teacher determines that the student has made progress. Over $31,500 went towards covering this service for participants.

Does the Hope Scholarship Expand Options?

Currently, the Hope Scholarship does not collect or report the disability status of participants. As a result, there is no evidence to support an increase in opportunities for children with disabilities or their families.

• Notably, participants waive their Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) protections and are not guaranteed accommodations or even admission at private schools.

Most participants are in kindergarten or first grade, with little to no previous public school education. These families likely would have attended private schools without assistance from the Hope Scholarship.

How Does the Hope Scholarship Hurt West Virginia?

The Hope Scholarship continues to grow from year to year. From 2022 to 2026, county-level participation in the program grew by more than 10 times on average. There is still even more room to grow as applications are open for the current school year through February 2026.

• Tucker County’s participation has grown by 40 times from just 2 participants in 2022 to 80 in 2026.

Every dollar that goes to the Hope Scholarship is a dollar that doesn’t go to a public school. To date, this school voucher program has diverted about $85 million in public taxpayer dollars.

• Starting at $9.2 million in 2023, annual costs have since grown to $26.9 million in 2024 and $48.9 million in 2025.
• In 2026, the cost will double to over $100 million then double again in 2027 to almost $250 million.

What is the Amount of Money Given Per Student?

Depending on when they applied, families will receive between $1,300 (25 percent) and $5,300 (100 percent) per student this year.

• Applications for the current school year are open through February 2026. This makes it difficult for lawmakers to accurately budget for the Hope Scholarship while maintaining funding for essential, publicly-funded programs like public schools and child care assistance.

Why is This Important?

Public schools are the only education option that is available and accountable to the public at large. By accepting public dollars, private schools and homeschoolers should at minimum be held accountable to the public. These education options already have little oversight and accountability in West Virginia and there have been efforts in recent years to further weaken that.

• About half of the private schools that get public dollars through the Hope Scholarship are unaccredited and one-third aren’t even based in West Virginia.

What Can We Do? A Simple Message for Lawmakers:

Stop the expansion of the Hope Scholarship to all school-aged kids in the state set for the 2026-2027 school year.

• This expansion will only give families that are already in private school more access to public money to cover costs that they are already paying out of pocket themselves.

Implement reasonable guardrails for the Hope Scholarship including:

• Cost and enrollment caps;
• Income limits for participants;
• Location and accreditation requirements for schools; and
• Comprehensive public reporting.

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