Program Stats
-
100%
Students Eligible -
100%
Funded Eligibility -
14,221
Participating Students (2025-26) -
$5,267
Average Account Value (year) -
35%
Public School Funding
Program Summary
All West Virginia school-age children will be eligible for Hope Scholarships as of the 2026-2027 school year. Until then, eligibility is limited to students who either attended public school for at least 45 days during the current school year or for the entirety of the previous year. All kindergarteners qualify. Scholarships can be renewed annually until the student graduates from high school or reaches age 21. The program is funded through an annual appropriation to the West Virginia Hope Scholarship Program Expense Fund, with the state treasurer authorized to request more funds if demand rises. Scholarship amounts equal the statewide average per-pupil net state aid from the prior year and are prorated for partial-year awards. Unused funds roll over.
Funding Mechanism: Annual appropriation from the Special Dedicated Revenue Fund
Universal Eligibility: ✅
Universal Usage: ✅
Universal Funding: ✅
Truly Universal: ✅
(Last updated December 16, 2025)
Use of Funds
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 courses, transportation, and other qualifying expenses approved by the board.
(Last updated December 16, 2025)
Program Guidelines
View program requirements for parents, schools, and scholarship granting organizations by clicking on each hyperlink.
(Last updated December 16, 2025)
Governing Statutes
West Virginia §18-8-1, §18-9A-25, §18-31
(Last updated July 9, 2024)
Legal History
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)