West Virginia Hope Scholarship Awards Jump 37% in 2025-26

The West Virginia Hope Scholarship program awarded 14,486 scholarships for the 2025-26 academic year, marking a 37.6% increase over the previous school year. The program’s annual report, released on Monday, shows that nearly 4,000 more students participated than in 2024-25, when 10,530 scholarships were distributed. Each award was valued at $5,267.38 per pupil, an increase from the $4,921.39 amount in the prior year.

Funding distribution indicates that the majority of recipients continued to attend nonpublic schools, which accounted for 62.36% of usage. The remaining 37.59% of recipients used their funds for Individualized Instruction Plans, often through homeschooling or microschools. This split shifted in 2025-26, with usage of Individualized Instruction Plans rising by 6.5 percentage points.

A total of $75,023,367.76 in scholarship funds was transferred into student accounts during the reporting period. Of that total, $68,549,544.10 was spent. More than 94% of payments to nonpublic schools and over 99% of payments to microschools remained within West Virginia. Smaller portions of the funding went to institutions in Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and ten other states.

Kanawha County recorded the highest number of Hope Scholarship recipients at 1,688 students. Berkeley County followed with 1,424 recipients, making it the only other county with four-digit enrollment. At the other end of the spectrum, Doddridge County had the fewest recipients in the state, with only 13 students receiving funds. Faith Christian Academy in Martinsburg received the largest share of Hope funds, totaling $1,501,738.38. City on a Hill Christian Academy in Fairmont was the top microschool recipient, taking in $674,478.68.

The program also allocated more than $4.6 million to Education Service Providers for direct educational services. These providers include gymnastics centers, martial arts studios, and dance schools. Flip N Cheer, a gymnastics training center in Kearneysville, received $62,925 in funding. Over 62% of these service provider payments were made within West Virginia, while the remainder went to entities in 34 states and Puerto Rico.

According to the program’s parent satisfaction survey, 96% of respondents reported being satisfied with the scholarship. Parents cited religious-based education, concerns about public school curriculum, and greater flexibility as the primary reasons for choosing the program. Top expenses funded by the scholarship included curriculum materials, nonpublic school tuition, technology, and digital course subscriptions.

The 2026-27 school year will be the first year of universal eligibility for the Hope Scholarship. This expansion makes the program available to all students, including those already attending nonpublic schools or participating in homeschooling, rather than limiting eligibility to specific groups.