K-12 Scholarships: What Families Should Know

Who may qualify under the federal rules

• Age and grade: the student must be eligible to enroll in a public elementary or secondary school.[source]
• Household income: no greater than 300 percent of area median gross income for the calendar year before the application. The SGO must verify household income and family size.[source]
• Residence: the student must reside in the state where the SGO is listed. For an Ohio-listed SGO, that means Ohio.[source]
• Priority: SGOs must give priority to students who received a scholarship the previous year, and then to their siblings.[source]

Treasury and the IRS estimate that about 96 percent of children in participating states would be eligible under the proposed rules.[source] Eligibility does not guarantee a scholarship; awards depend on available funds and the SGO's policies.

What scholarships can pay for

Federal scholarships can pay only for qualified elementary and secondary education expenses, as defined in IRC 530(b)(3)(A):[source]

• Tuition, fees, academic tutoring, special-needs services, books, supplies, and equipment
• Room and board, uniforms, transportation, and supplementary services such as extended-day programs, when required or provided by the school
• Computer technology, equipment, or internet access used by the student and family during school years

These expenses can be at a public, private, or religious school.[source] Participating states may not limit the type of school a recipient attends.[source]

Ohio families

Ohio's scholarship donation credit rewards donors who give to certified SGOs; it is not a scholarship application. Ohio also runs separate state-funded scholarship programs, such as the EdChoice Scholarship, which have their own rules and applications through the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.

Questions families ask

Can a donor pay for my child's scholarship?

No. SGOs may not earmark donations for a particular student.[source] A donor can support an SGO, and the SGO decides awards.

Does my child have to attend a private school?

Not under the federal definition of qualified expenses, which includes expenses at public schools.[source] An individual SGO's program may focus on particular expenses; check its policies.