We are excited to announce that this year the Utah Legislature implemented a new scholarship program covering private school tuition and clinical services for children with disabilities. This new scholarship is called the Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship and is managed by the Children First Education Fund nonprofit organization.
See our recent segment on Studio 5.
This will help families who struggle to afford private school tuition or services their child can benefit from. Award amounts up to $9,362 per calendar year are based on family income.
To be eligible for a scholarship, services or educational materials, the student must meet all of the following requirements:
1) The student must be outside of the public school system (attending K-12 private school or homeschool) in the school year of the award. 2) The student must eitherhave a recent IEP or be determined by a multidisciplinary evaluation team to be eligible for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act3) The student’s custodial parent or legal guardian must reside within the State of Utah.
Parents may apply here for a private school tuition scholarship at a participating private school.
This fund also offers a non tuition scholarship that can be used to pay for clinical services for conditions covered under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and includes emotional and behavioral issues that are found to impact their learning.
Payments for services will be through reimbursements for qualifying individuals, and for this first year of the program, reimbursements can be retroactive to the beginning of the year. Parents will apply online for the program to receive pre-approval. They may then submit their statements for reimbursement of qualifying services that are not covered by insurance.
Here is a short service announcement on our scholarship fund.
Homeschool students are also eligible to participate in this exciting scholarship opportunity.
Please let us know how we can provide more information to your organization and get this amazing scholarship listed as a resource on your website/social media pages.
Thank you,
Bridget Wintle, Operations Assistant, 80 1-979-2576
Becky Pirente
Program Director
801-362-7392