Hope Scholarship education savings account makes West Virginia a national leader in education choice

 

A West Virginia Supreme Court ruling will allow the state’s Hope Scholarship to move forward will make it possible for families like Katie Switzer’s to choose the best education options for their children.

Editor’s note: Post author Amanda Kieffer is the communications director for the Cardinal Institute For West Virginia Policy. The institute supported the establishment of the state’s Hope Scholarship education savings account program.

Parents across the Mountain State shouted for joy as news of the West Virginia Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of the Hope Scholarship was announced Oct. 6, —just two days after the State Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case. 

The battle for education freedom in West Virginia has been long and hard-fought. West Virginia went from virtually no education freedom in early 2019 to having charter schools, open enrollment, learning pods, micro-schools, and the Hope Scholarship (a near universal education savings account) now available to families in 2022. The change is dramatic and brings new opportunity for children in a state that has historically underserved its children in the education system and has limited opportunities for economic advancement in adulthood. 

The Hope Scholarship has been aptly named—representing hope and new opportunity for many families who have struggled to meet the educational needs of their children. 

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BY Special to NextSteps