West Virginia SB 600: Limiting family income for Hope Scholarship eligibility

Bill Text

WEST virginia legislature

2026 regular session

FISCAL NOTE

Introduced

Senate Bill 600

By Senator Garcia

[Introduced January 27, 2026; referredto the Select Committee on School Choice; and then to the Committee on Finance]

A BILL to amend and reenact §18-31-2, §18-31-5, §18-31-6, §18-31-7, §18-31-8, and §18-31-11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the Hope Scholarship Program; providing that an eligible recipient of a Hope Scholarship must be a child of a parent or parents with a federal adjusted gross income of less than $100,000; providing that any funds remaining in a Hope Scholarship account at the end of a fiscal year are to be transferred to the county school system in which the student resides; and requiring that Hope Scholarship students be provided an education in the state of West Virginia and that Hope Scholarship funds be spent on education services and education service providers located in the state.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

Article 31. Hope Scholarship Program.



§18-31-2. Definitions.

The following words have the meanings ascribed to them unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

(1) "Account" or "scholarship" means a Hope Scholarship account, awarded pursuant to this article, to which funds are allocated by the board to the parent or parents of an eligible Hope Scholarship student in order to pay qualifying elementary and secondary education expenses to educate the student pursuant to the requirements and conditions of this article;

(2) "Board" means the Hope Scholarship Board created pursuant to §18-31-3 of this code;

(3) "Curriculum" means a complete course of study for a particular elementary or secondary education content area or grade level including, but not limited to, textbooks; workbooks; student and teacher curriculum kits; activity, learning, or study guides; or any supplemental materials required by the curriculum;

(4) "Education service provider" means a person or organization physically located in this state that receives payments from Hope Scholarship accounts to provide educational goods and services to Hope Scholarship students in this state;

(5) "Eligible recipient" means a child who:

(A) Is a resident of this state; and

(B) Is the child of a parent or parents whose combined federal adjusted gross income is less than $100,000 for the taxable year in which the parent or parents apply to participate in the Hope Scholarship program; and

(B)(C) Is enrolled full-time and attending a public elementary or secondary school program in this state for at least 45 calendar days during an instructional term at the time of application and until an award letter is issued by the board under §18-31-5(c) of this code, or enrolled full-time in a public elementary or secondary school program in this state for the entire instructional term the previous year, or is eligible at the time of application to enroll in a kindergarten program in this state pursuant to §18-8-1a of this code, except that if on July 1, 2024, the participation rate of the combined number of students in the Hope Scholarship Program and students eligible who have applied to participate in the Hope Scholarship program during the previous school year is less than five percent of net public school enrollment adjusted for state aid purposes for the previous school year, then, effective July 1, 2026, a child is considered to meet the requirements of this paragraph if he or she is enrolled, eligible to be enrolled, or required to be enrolled in a kindergarten program or public elementary or secondary school program in this state at the time of application;

(6) "Hope scholarship funds" means the moneys deposited in a Hope Scholarship student's account in accordance with the requirements of this article:

(7) "Hope scholarship student" means a student who receives a scholarship pursuant to this article;

(8) "Individualized Instructional Program (IIP)" means a customized educational experience that takes place either at home or another location. Hope Scholarship students participating in an IIP are not enrolled in a participating school and shall be governed by the requirements of this article, unless otherwise stated, and not any other compulsory school attendance exemption requirements;

(9) "Parent" means a biological parent, legal guardian, custodian, or other person with legal authority to act on behalf of an eligible recipient or Hope Scholarship student;

(10) "Participating school" means any private school physically located in this state that provides education to elementary and/or secondary students and has notified the board of its intention to participate in the program and comply with the program's requirements;

(11) "Resident school district" means the county school district in which the student resides; and

(12) "Treasurer" means the West Virginia State Treasurer. 



§18-31-5. Award of Hope Scholarships.

(a) The Hope Scholarship