Understanding Hope
A Parent's Guide to getting the most from Hope
If you are looking for information regarding using the Hope Scholarship, our homeschool group, HOPEschoolers in West Virginia put together this informative guide to help you.
We invite you to join.
If you are here to get information on pursuing eligibility for the current school year, the best place to start is the Hope website and the FAQs. You can also search our group, there are many posts that can provide information!
New Students: https://hopescholarshipwv.gov/Home/Parents-Students/New-Students?
FAQs: https://hopescholarshipwv.gov/Home/About/FAQ
New Families Applying for the 2026 - 2027 School Year
The 2026 - 2027 school year is the first year of universal eligibility for Hope in West Virginia. This means that your child DOES NOT have to attend public school for 45 days or be an incoming kindergartener to be eligible for Hope.
We are so excited for all the kids who will be able to benefit from the program expansion!
- The first thing you will want to do is fill out a WVEIS request form or get your child's WVEIS number from their public school.
You'll want to do this in January/February to give the county BOEs plenty of time to process the WVEIS requests prior to the application window opening.
The WVEIS ID Request form can be found here:
https://hopescholarshipwv.gov/.../Parents-Students-Forms
- Once you have your child's WVEIS number, you will wait until the 2026 - 2027 school year application window opens on March 2nd, 2026 to apply.
After applying, if your child's application is accepted into Hope it will go to "eligible," status. This essentially means they are cleared to get the first funding on August 15, 2026.
- Next, you will submit your child's Hope Scholarship NOI to your county's school choice email. MAKE SURE YOU USE THE HOPE NOI FROM THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE. DO NOT USE ANY OTHER NOI.
The Notice of Intent letter can be found here:
https://hopescholarshipwv.gov/.../Parents-Students-Forms
The list of county school choice emails can be found here:
https://hopescholarshipwv.gov/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=B-gCW6dkOCc%3d&tabid=512&portalid=7
- In July and early August, the State Treasurer's Office will work with the county BOEs to confirm receipt of Hope NOIs. Once your NOI is confirmed, you will be asked to choose your Hope track (IIP, Microschool, or Private School) in the portal.
- Then, you will simply wait until August 15, 2026 for your child's first funding. You will not be able to access, view or do much in the Hope Scholarship Portal until funding. This is totally normal.
In the meantime, feel free to check out the list of participating service providers, which can be found here:
https://hopescholarshipwv.gov/.../Participating-Schools
Or, you can search in the group to see if anyone has asked/used a particular provider. Please only post questions about participating providers unless you have already searched on the website and the group.
Important Resources
The Parent/Students section of the website is your best friend!
https://hopescholarshipwv.gov/Home/Parents-Students
Here you can find:
The Parent Handbook: Pages 14 & 15 list the qualified/allowed items that are covered by the Hope Scholarship. The two-year technology policy can be found on page 17.
The Non-Qualified Expense List (NQEL): This is where you will find a list of items that are NOT qualified/allowed and price limits on certain items.
The Reimbursement Policy: You should review this before making ANY purchases for reimbursement.
Parent/Guardian Portal Guide: This is the place to start if you don’t yet know how to use the portal for purchasing.
How to Ask for Help
If you make an order through the closed marketplace and aren’t sure how it is getting fulfilled, especially for digital/subscription orders, contact the vendor directly and tell them you ordered through Hope.
For difficulties with ordering, problems with shipping, missing items, and Theopay issues, you should contact the Hope Engagement Center.
681-999-HOPE (4673)
For problems with order denials, reimbursement, policy issues/questions, applications, you should contact the Hope Board Staff.
304-340-5058
Four Ways to Spend Your Child’s Hope Funding
1. Private school tuition through the portal.
2. Theopay: Click on Marketplace and look for provider tiles that are labeled, “TheoPay Enabled.” Clicking on those tiles will bring you to the vendor’s website. From there, you can use the TheoPay chrome extension to make purchases. Use the TheoPay tile on your portal homepage to install the chrome extension (it can only be found here, it will not come up in a public search). TheoPay can ONLY be used on a computer using Chrome on TheoPay Enabled vendor websites - it will not work on a phone.
3. Closed marketplace: This is where you click on the marketplace and you use tiles NOT labeled “TheoPay Enabled.” Clicking on these tiles will show you the vendor’s closed marketplace offerings, which are somewhat limited. Most service providers are found in the Closed Marketplace. You may need to contact a provider directly after you order to initiate fulfillment.
4. Reimbursement: The reimbursement policy is very limited. It mainly covers curriculum, books, and online academic subscriptions with a few exceptions. Get to know the reimbursement policy! Reimbursements usually occur within 3 - 5 business days, but may take up to 14 days. You cannot be reimbursed for purchases made before your child's account is funded.
For more information go to HOPEschoolers in West Virginia and become part of the group
Katie Switzer
I am an engineer by education, worked for Elon Musk for a time and now am a home school mom by choice because I want the best education for my children – just like you do for your children. Many of you don’t know me but if you're reading this, then you may have heard about the Hope scholarship. I am the homeschool mom who was the plaintiff in the West Virginia case that went to the WV Supreme Court which ruled in our favor that the Hope Scholarship is legal and constitutional.
