The state of Ohio implemented the EdChoice Scholarship Program to give students and families the chance to choose the school that is right for them. All Ohio families with children entering grades K-8 are eligible for up to $6,166 per child per year.
EdChoice Scholarship, EdChoice Expansion Scholarship, and Cleveland Scholarship
The main difference between the Traditional and Expansion EdChoice scholarships is that the Traditional scholarship is awarded to families in qualifying school districts, while the Expansion scholarship is awarded to families who don't live in those districts:
- Traditional EdChoice
Awarded to families who live in qualifying public school districts, or to certified foster families. The full scholarship amount is available to these families. Click this link for EdChoice Scholarship Program Fact Sheet. If your child is assigned to a public school district considered to be underperforming based on state requirements, you may be eligible for a Traditional EdChoice Scholarship. Look up your address HERE to determine if your residence qualifies.
- Expansion EdChoice
Awarded to families who don't live in qualifying school districts, and is based on a family's income level and household size. The full scholarship amount is available to families with an income at or below 450% of the federal poverty level. Families with a higher income receive a prorated amount. Click this link for EdChoice Expansion Fact Sheet.
- The Cleveland Scholarship Program (CSP)
Provides educational choices for children in kindergarten through twelfth grade who live within the boundaries of the Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD) to attend private schools. Students currently attending private schools may be eligible to apply for the program. Only students who reside within the boundaries of the Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD) and will be entering kindergarten through twelfth grade in the 2024-2025 school year are eligible to apply. Click this link for Cleveland Scholarship Fact Sheet.
Use the address tool to search your address. You will get one of three results:
1) If it lists the schools in your school district, you are eligible for Traditional EdChoice,
2) If it says “There are no EdChoice designated schools in this district”, you are eligible for EdChoice Expansion, Or
3) If is says “Students residing in Cleveland Municipal School District are not eligible for the EdChoice Scholarship. Please visit our website for information on the Cleveland Scholarship”, you are eligible for the Cleveland Scholarship.
No. Families should first apply to the school. Scholarship applications are initiated at the participating private school in which a student is enrolled before the family/student secures a scholarship.
The poverty guidelines are a simplified version of the statistical thresholds used by U.S. Census Bureau for calculating the number of people in poverty. Poverty guidelines are issued each year in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services to determine financial eligibility for certain programs and vary by family size. Click this link for Income Eligibility Requirements.
Please see this link for income above 450% of FPL.
Once awarded, EdChoice/Cleveland scholarships follow the student through grade 12.
The application/renewal process opened Feb. 1, 2024. However, a student must be enrolled at the school of their choice and the participating private school must first submit a scholarship application on behalf of the student.
No. It is up to each family, however, applying for an EdChoice scholarship is highly encouraged.
An application needs to be completed for each child enrolled in grades K- 8 in Ummah Center School. However, income verification only needs to be completed once for the family.
In the section of “School Information” Check the box “Attending a Private School.
Most common is a current (less than 90 days old) utility bill. The utility (electric, gas, water, sewer, cable/internet) bill MUST SHOW MATCHING SERVICE AND MAILING ADDRESS in the name of the parent/guardian. Post office boxes (except in rural areas where residents only have a PO Box) and cell phone bill have no service address and therefore are not accepted. Check this link for a more uncommon proof of address situations.
Most of the time these come up blurry when zoomed in. We encourage you submit a pdf copy (which you can download even on your phone) or scan or take a picture of a physical bill.
No, the birth certificate must be in English. If the original is in another language, it must be translated by a certified agent, notarized, and submitted together with the original.
Yes, parents need to submit copies of their student's birth certificate and proof of address to the school so it can be submitted with the application on their behalf.
Household size includes the scholarship student, the birth mother, or the legal guardian of the scholarship student, the spouse (also includes birth father of any child in the household), all children under the age of 18 which the legal guardian or spouse also has legal custody, children under the age of 22 who are fulltime students, disabled or blind adults or children related to the parent/legal guardian of the student, and relatives who are 65 or over and claimed as a dependent for federal income tax purposes. All sources of income for the family must be included on the income verification.
Schools can – and should – charge the difference in tuition for families equal to or above 201% of the Federal Poverty Guideline, regardless of whether the family is on a Traditional or Expansion scholarship. For Traditional EdChoice, the family must submit income verification to receive low-income status and, therefore, would not be charged the difference between tuition and the scholarship.
Not unless the family wants to claim low-income status. To qualify for low-income status, the family must be at or below 200% Federal Poverty Level.
All families should continue tuition payments as planned until EdChoice applications are processed and payments begin to be received from the state so there are no cash flow issues. We will then provide reimbursements to parents or prorate any final amount due later in the school year.
There has been no discussion on direct deposit as of this time. Paper checks will be issued for each scholarship student on a monthly basis, provided attendance is submitted by the 10th of the previous month. Check deposit forms can be utilized by schools so schools can sign checks on a parent’s behalf.
Ummah Center School will continue honoring our current admission policies as written in our student handbook.
Students at Ummah Center School take the same state tests as public school students, so there is no change over what has previously been done. There is no minimum score required for EdChoice scholarship eligibility.