Outschool, a California-based company offering online classes, is now eligible to receive Hope Scholarship funds. (Stock photo by FG Trade via Getty Images)
A California-based company offering online classes is now eligible to receive West Virginia’s school voucher program, the Hope Scholarship.
The state Treasurer’s Office, which oversees the program, approved Outschool to provide online classes to students receiving the Hope Scholarship. Outschool offers small class sizes for first through 12th grade students in English, math, social studies and more. Courses in music, coding and world languages are available as electives.
“This is a big deal for our Individualized Instructional Plan students, especially as we see a record number of students from the homeschool community coming into the program and we prepare to welcome thousands more once the program goes truly universal for the 2025-2026 school year,” State Treasurer Larry Pack said in a news release Wednesday.
West Virginia’s Hope Scholarship is one of the nation’s broadest school voucher programs, allowing parents to use the funds for homeschooling materials or to pay for private schools and microschools in- and out-of-state. Most families in West Virginia use the Hope Scholarship to help pay for tuition at private religious schools in the state.
Right now, program eligibility includes students entering kindergarten or who are already enrolled in the public school system. Around 19,000 students are expected to use the program this year. Next school year, eligibility opens up to all West Virginia students.
The scholarship amount is expected to be around $5,200 for the 2025-2026 school year.
Outschool’s recommended pricing plan is $70 a month, which pays for an average of two group classes per week.
According to the Treasurer’s Office, eligible families can use their Hope Scholarship funds to purchase Learning Passports, which are Outschool credit bundles, through the Hope Scholarship online portal.
“I am proud my office is partnering with Outschool so Hope Scholarship funds can easily be utilized to access high-quality educational experiences that support a child’s individualized goals. It is crucial we continue to empower students and parents to find the right education that fits their unique needs,” Pack said.
The board overseeing the Hope Scholarship recently voted to allow families to purchase lunchboxes with the Hope Scholarship, but clarified that the money can’t be used to purchase tadpoles for science education, MetroNews reported.
The state’s overall price tag for the Hope Scholarship is around $100 million for the coming year, and it was the largest funding increase requested by Gov. Patrick Morrisey in his first budget proposal. The price is expected to grow to $300 million by 2027 as the Hope Scholarship opens up to all students.
While the GOP-led Legislature has been generally supportive of education choice and the Hope Scholarship, some members have voiced concerns about the program’s rapidly increasing price tag while public schools are dealing with funding woes. The state’s public employee’s insurance program, which insures teachers, is also struggling financially.
Earlier this year, Democratic lawmakers in the House proposed a bill banning the use of Hope Scholarship funds at out-of-state schools, but the measure wasn’t taken up for consideration.
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