West Virginia ESA and voucher money for homeschoolers
Hope Scholarship: what taking the money does to your homeschool status, then the amount, who can apply, what it buys and how vendors are approved.
This is general information, not legal advice; check your state's own page. Laws change, and West Virginia's own statute and education department are the final word. The links below go straight to them.
Deadlines, forms and amounts checked on against the sources linked on this page.
What taking the money does to your homeschool status
A program exists, and taking the money changes your homeschool status. Hope students taught at home are a separate route from traditional homeschooling: you file a Hope Notice of Intent with the county superintendent instead of a homeschool notice, and a family moving from traditional homeschool to Hope sends the county board a Notice of Termination. Each year, by June 8, you show the county superintendent your child's academic progress.
Source: Hope Scholarship Program: FAQ (Office of the State Treasurer)
- How much
- Expected to be $5,435.62 for 2026–27. A new student's first-year share depends on when the application comes in: all of it for March 2 to June 15, 2026, then 75%, 50% and 25%.Source: Hope Scholarship Program: FAQ (Office of the State Treasurer)
- Who can apply
- From 2026–27, every student eligible to enroll in a West Virginia public school in K–12, including traditional homeschool students.Source: Hope Scholarship Program: FAQ (Office of the State Treasurer); Hope Scholarship Program (West Virginia State Treasurer)
- What it can pay for
- Tuition, homeschool curriculum, tutoring (not by immediate family), test fees and therapies, among others.Source: Hope Scholarship Program (West Virginia State Treasurer); W.Va. Code 18-31-7, Hope Scholarship qualifying expenses (WV Legislature)
- How vendors and providers are approved
- Providers ask to join with the program's New Provider Request Form, accounts run on the Theo platform (TheoPay), and every provider in contact with students needs a criminal background check.Source: Hope Scholarship Program: FAQ (Office of the State Treasurer)
- How and when to apply
- Applications are taken year round, but the date of the first application sets the first year's amount.Source: Hope Scholarship Program (West Virginia State Treasurer)
The program's own page: Hope Scholarship. Programs change their amounts, dates and rules every year, so read the current handbook before you apply or spend.
Before you decide
- Read what the money changes first. In some states taking it means you are no longer homeschooling under the homeschool law, and the program's own rules (an agreement, tests, a learning plan) apply instead.
- Keep every receipt and the program's approval emails; programs ask for them.
- Peabody Teach is free and sells nothing, so it is not a vendor in any program and has no stake in what you buy. There are no affiliate links on this page.
West Virginia checklist for this year · ESA and voucher money in every state
Where this comes from
- W.Va. Code 18-8-1, compulsory school attendance exemptions (WV Legislature) (the law)
- W.Va. Code 18-8-1a, commencement and termination of compulsory attendance (WV Legislature) (the law)
- W.Va. Code 18-5-45, school calendar (WV Legislature) (the law)
- WV Department of Education: Homeschool State Code (state agency)
- Hope Scholarship Program: FAQ (Office of the State Treasurer) (state agency)
- Hope Scholarship Program (West Virginia State Treasurer) (state agency)
- W.Va. Code 18-31-7, Hope Scholarship qualifying expenses (WV Legislature) (the law)
Checked on October 29, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Laws and forms change; confirm a date with your school district or the state agency before you rely on it. For legal advice, ask a lawyer licensed in West Virginia; homeschool legal-help organizations and your state's homeschool groups can also point you to help. Something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.