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A family attends a meeting of the House Finance Committee in at the West Virginia Capitol, in Charleston, on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, to oppose proposed changes to the Hope Scholarship.
A family attends a meeting of the House Finance Committee in at the West Virginia Capitol, in Charleston, on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, to oppose proposed changes to the Hope Scholarship.
PERRY BENNETT | W.Va. Legislative Photography
Applications for the Hope Scholarship, the state’s education voucher program, have opened up to all West Virginia children in grades K-12 for the first time.
The potential massive expansion of the program is impacting lawmakers’ budget making right now, as they are trying to allocate enough money for an undetermined number of students who may now choose to use the Hope Scholarship.
The Senate has proposed $300 million for the Hope Scholarship; the House of Delegates said they’d like to allocate around $211 million.
The state Treasurer’s Office, which oversees the program, estimated they’d need around $230 million for the program for the 2026-2027 school year.
Beginning Tuesday, students can apply for the program for the next school year.
“What a great day to welcome thousands of new families to the Hope Scholarship Program,” State Treasurer Larry Pack said. His office held a news conference Tuesday to announce the program’s expansion.
“Our goal has always been to continue to lead the nation in education freedom and innovation. Today is another step to providing more options to parents that best suits their child’s unique needs,” Pack said.
There are more than 14,000 students using the Hope Scholarship, which gives students roughly $5,200 to use for private school tuition, homeschooling and more. It can also be used at qualifying out-of-state schools and on allowable extracurricular activities, like dance classes and jiu jitsu.
Since its launch in 2021, the program has been restricted to incoming kindergarten students or public-school students enrolled for at least 45 days during the current school year.
The projected scholarship amount for the 2026-2027 school year is $5,435.62 per student.
The $230 million predicted total cost for the Hope Scholarship is an increase from its current $100 million price tag.
Earlier this year, members of the House Finance Committee toyed with the idea of putting restrictions on how the money could be spent in an effort to shave millions of dollars off Hope Scholarship’s estimated cost. They considered banning the use of Hope funds at out-of-state schools or for tutoring services, fees for examinations related to college admissions, fees for after school and summer programs.
A bill that ultimately was advanced by committee members would change payments to Hope participants from bi-annual to quarterly but didn’t include any program restrictions. The proposal won’t reduce the price tag of the program.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey has said he doesn’t support changes to the Hope Scholarship.
In a news release Tuesday, the governor said universal access to the program “ensures fairness, promotes transparency and allows education funding to follow the student rather than being tied to a system.”
“I will continue to defend this program and ensure that every family in our state has the freedom to choose the best educational option for their children,” Morrisey said.
West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
