CHOICE Scholarship Voucher
Effective June 29, 2023, the following requirements must be satisfied to qualify for a Choice Scholarship award:
Student must have legal settlement in Indiana;
Student must be at least five (5) years old and less than 22 years old by October 1 of the school year that the student is applying; and
Student is a member of a household with an annual income of not more than 400% of the amount to qualify for the federal free and reduced price lunch program.
The 2023-2024 Choice Scholarship student application will be available March 1, 2023 through September 1, 2023 for the first application period and November 1, 2023 through January 15, 2024, for the second application period.
a. Work with the Choice school to complete the Choice Scholarship application.
b. The application will be submitted by the school with information provided by you via a password-protected website that is only available to school administrators.
c. Applications submitted in the first period are full year awards, provided that the student is not withdrawn prior to the end of the school year.
d. Applications submitted in the second period are a half year award, provided that the student remains enrolled through the end of the school year.
Parent/guardian must provide eligibility information for enrollment, including 2022 household income documentation, to the Choice school so that they may submit the application.
a. The Choice school should not submit the student application without sufficient supporting documentation.
b. Any inaccurate, incorrect, or falsified information may result in a reduction or forfeiture of the student’s Choice Scholarship award.
If a student is approved for a Choice Scholarship, the school will provide the parent/guardian with a copy of the award letter at the time the student’s application is approved. This award letter will detail the estimated amount of the Choice Scholarship. Please save this letter for your records.
a. A student’s Choice Scholarship award is an estimate at the time of the application. The Choice school will provide you with an updated award letter detailing the final amount of the Choice Scholarship award.
b. Keep in mind as you plan for your student’s enrollment at a Choice school that the actual award amount for the 2023-2024 school year may increase, decrease, or remain unchanged after the final awards are calculated.
If a student is denied a Choice Scholarship, the school will provide the parent/guardian with a copy of the denial letter at the time the student’s application is processed. The denial letter outlines steps to follow if you believe that the application was denied in error
Education Scholarship Accounts (ESA’s) General Information:
The ESA program began in 2021 for eligible students who have special needs. The ESA provides parents with options for their child outside of a public school setting. Parents can personalize their child’s education by giving parents control of funds that would have been used in a public school to use on other approved educational expenses that better meet the child’s needs. ESA can be used on private school tuition; parents receive two separate funding amounts. The first is the tuition dollars (ADM), which is 90% of the tuition dollars that the state pays for your child to attend a public school. To clarify, this amount is not 90% of a school’s tuition but 90% of what the state allocates for this purpose. You may use this money to apply towards tuition at The Independence Academy. The second funding amount is the special education dollars (APC), which are 100% of what the state pays for your child to receive services while attending the public school and based on your school district to provide the special education services that your child needs according to their IEP. The APC amount is based on the primary and secondary disabilities listed in your child’s IEP. In order to attend The Independence Academy, this money must be transferred directly to the school. The Independence Academy is a specialized school that provides in-house special education services. These funds are not able to be applied towards tuition and are used to provide the many special education services and programming that make our school unique. These two pots of money make up the Education Scholarship Account.
I am planning on sending my child to The Independence Academy. How does ESA work?
The Independence Academy is in charge of providing special education services for your child if they attend our school. While we provide the services, you will need to reach out to your home district to establish an ESA service plan.
Many private schools utilize the local public school to deliver your child’s special education services; we, however, provide in-house services to our Choice and ESA students. Special education services are also integrated into our curriculum. You must agree to having the Treasurer of State direct your child’s tuition and special education service dollars to be sent directly to the private school on your behalf. The ESA program includes a form to read and sign to permit the treasurer to directly pay your school.
Can I have both ESA and a Choice/Voucher scholarship?
No, you must choose one program or the other. ESA and Choice are funded the same way, just in a different program. The money will be the same amount, whether you have Choice or ESA. The difference between Choice and ESA is that the APC funding amount is automatically directed to the school with Choice, and for the ESA program, parents must direct the state treasurer to release the funds directly to our school. Dollar for dollar, the programs are very similar. Additionally, the ESA program requires you to set up an ESA service plan with your home district.
SGO Scholarship
The state of Indiana established a tax-credit program to incentivize private donations to fund educational choice for families attending non-public schools. This tax savings opportunity is available to individuals and corporations that make a financial contribution to IA through the Sagamore Institute, a qualified scholarship granting organization (SGO). Funding for this scholarship depends solely on financial donations made to the school through the Sagamore Institute, whereby the award amount and number of granted scholarships is determined.
Eligibility criteria
Student's household must not have an annual income of more than 200% of the amount required to qualify for the federal free- or reduced-price lunch program.
