Helping Public and Charter Schools Access a New Federal K-12 Scholarship Program
Your Mission and Our Mission in Partnership
Public and charter schools educate more than 90% of American students and work every day to provide the best possible educational opportunities within limited resources.
The K-12 Scholarship Foundation helps bring additional resources directly to the students you serve; including tutoring, educational materials, technology, transportation, and specialized support services for students with additional learning needs, at no cost to your school or your families.
An Opportunity for Public and Charter Schools
Many public and charter schools initially assume that this scholarship program applies only to private schools. In fact, federal law specifically allows scholarships to support students attending public and charter schools through a wide range of educational services and programs.
While scholarships must be awarded on a student-by-student basis, the Foundation can award a large number of small scholarships that quickly add up to substantial financial support for your school community.
The K-12 Scholarship Foundation manages all fundraising, administration, and compliance requirements, so participating schools are not responsible for managing funds or program administration. Participation is designed to fit within existing school and district policies, and the Foundation works with each school to ensure full compliance with applicable requirements.
How the Program Works
Congress recently enacted a federal tax credit program that will make billions of dollars available to support public and private K-12 education nationwide. Supporters can redirect up to $1,700 of their federal taxes each year to fund K-12 scholarships.
Donors may earmark their contributions for scholarships supporting students attending your school, helping ensure that the funds raised through your school directly support your school community.
Federal law requires that at least 90% of all funds raised be awarded as scholarships, with no more than 10% used for administration and compliance.
Why Public and Charter Schools Participate
- Additional resources for students. Scholarships can fund tutoring, enrichment programs, and educational materials that might otherwise be unavailable.
- Support for entire programs. Scholarships can be structured to support groups of individual students participating in academic, athletic, or after-school programs.
- No financial cost to the school. Participation does not require financial contributions from the school or its families.
- Community engagement. Parents, alumni, local businesses, and community supporters can participate by redirecting a portion of their federal taxes to support students at your school.
- No administrative burden. The K-12 Scholarship Foundation handles fundraising, scholarship processing, payments, and compliance requirements.
What Scholarships Can Cover For Public School Students
Scholarships can support a wide range of educational services, programs, and equipment that enhance student learning, such as:
- Individual tutoring and academic support.
- Educational materials and supplies.
- Technology used for learning.
- Transportation related to educational activities.
- After-school programs and extracurricular activities.
- Sports equipment and participation costs.
Public school scholarships will often be awarded in smaller amounts and processed in bulk, allowing many individual scholarships to quickly add up to substantial support for your school community.
All scholarship payments are made directly to schools or approved service providers, ensuring that funds are used solely for educational purposes.
How Public Schools Can Use the Program
Public and charter schools often benefit most when scholarships support groups of students, rather than just a small number of students. Typically, all or almost all students will qualify. Many small scholarships quickly add up to provide substantial funding to your public-school community. For example:
- Every student in a music class may receive an instrument, theirs to keep.
- Every student on a sports team may receive new high-quality equipment.
- One-on-one tutoring can be provided to a large number of students.
- Participants in afterschool programs receive scholarships to cover program costs.
Students with special needs may qualify for individualized support or placement in a specialized school at no cost to the family, even when the school may not be legally required to cover these often very significant expenses.
Your Role
Participating public and charter schools help connect families and supporters with the scholarship program. In particular, participating schools may:
- Inform families and supporters about the scholarship opportunity.
- Encourage supporters to earmark donations to benefit students at your school.
- Identify educational programs or student needs that scholarships could support.
- Submit scholarship recommendations through the Foundation’s online platform.
Schools retain full control over all educational programming and participation decisions.
Our Role
The K-12 Scholarship Foundation administers all operational, administrative, and compliance aspects of the program. In particular, the Foundation will:
- Prepare information materials customized for your school community.
- Process and track all donations.
- Issue donors the required tax documentation.
- Earmark and safeguard scholarship funds.
- Receive and process scholarship applications.
- Verify student eligibility.
- Ensure compliance with federal and state requirements.
- Pay scholarships directly to schools or approved service providers.
All final scholarship decisions are made by the Foundation in accordance with applicable law and its charitable mission.
Whenever possible, scholarships are structured to cover all eligible students in a class or grade.
Scholarship funds are paid directly from the Foundation to the receiving vendor or service provider, ensuring that scholarships are applied directly to approved educational services and programs.
Step-by-Step Program Process
The following steps illustrate how the program operates in practice:
- The K-12 Scholarship Foundation provides customized information materials and an online platform that allows donors to participate easily and earmark donations to benefit students at your school.
- Your school shares this information with families and supporters and encourages their participation and earmarking of donations.
- The Foundation receives donations, issues the required tax receipts, safeguards the funds, and provides full transparency throughout the process.
- Your school identifies programs or student needs that scholarships can support and may submit scholarship recommendations through the online platform.
- The Foundation receives scholarship applications, verifies student eligibility, and ensures compliance with all federal and state program requirements.
- Scholarships are paid directly to schools or approved service providers for educational services, materials, programs, or activities.
- Through the Foundation's online platform, your school can monitor participation, funds raised, scholarship applications submitted, and scholarships awarded.
Legal and Compliance Considerations
Before the program begins in January 2027, a legally binding cooperation agreement will ensure that:
- All aspects of the program comply with your school's and district's policies.
- Your school’s donor and family information will not be shared with third parties.
- The Foundation’s online platform will implement appropriate data security safeguards to protect student information and the personal and financial information of donors and participating families.
- All donations and scholarships are processed in full compliance with IRS requirements.
- The K-12 Scholarship Foundation assumes full responsibility for compliance with all applicable federal and state regulations.
- Your school can monitor participation, funds raised, applications submitted, and scholarships awarded on the Foundation's online platform.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How does K-12 Scholarship Foundation fit into this process?
K-12 Scholarship Foundation serves as the scholarship granting organization and program administrator. We educate schools, coordinate participation, ensure compliance with federal and state regulations, and oversee how funds are allocated as scholarships to support participating schools and their students.
How can it be that there is no cost to the school or staff who participate?
Staff contributions qualify for a full federal tax credit in participating states. Because the contribution is offset by the tax credit, participation does not create a net financial cost, and there is no cost to the school to implement the program.
How are the contributions offset so staff do not face a financial burden?
Participation is facilitated through payroll and managed by a third party financial processor. Tax withholdings are adjusted to account for the federal tax credit, allowing contributions to be made in a structured and manageable way.
Are our staff’s contributions used to support scholarships at our school?
Yes. K-12 Scholarship Foundation allocates scholarship funding in a way that prioritizes the participating school community, so funds generated through your school are used to support scholarships that benefit your students.
How does the Education Freedom Tax Credit work?
The Education Freedom Tax Credit allows individuals to contribute to qualified scholarship granting organizations and receive a federal tax credit for their contribution. These funds are then used to provide scholarships for eligible students.
Who decides how scholarship funds are awarded?
K-12 Scholarship Foundation oversees the scholarship process and allocates funds in accordance with program guidelines, with the goal of supporting participating school communities while maintaining full compliance with all regulations.
How do I know if my state is participating?
The program is available in states that choose to participate. We can help you determine your state’s status and guide your school through the next steps if the program is available in your state.
Why should I take action now if the tax credit does not begin until 2027?
The period before 2027 is the preparation phase. Schools that engage early can educate their staff, complete onboarding, and ensure they are positioned to participate as soon as the program begins. Early participation also helps ensure your school is included in the initial rollout, allowing scholarship funding generated through your community to be directed to your students rather than going unused or benefiting other institutions.