By West Virginia State Treasurer Larry Pack

We have now passed the June 15 deadline marking the end of the application period for 100% funding of the Hope Scholarship program for the 2026-2027 school year. This year’s application closure is distinct from the rest because it is the first year of universal eligibility, meaning that every school-aged child is eligible to apply for the program. Access for all students was an intentional final step of the program’s implementation, providing ample time for developing a structure that would best serve nearly 30,000 students. It’s proven to be good foresight by lawmakers who ushered in this program and the school freedom movement to West Virginia five years ago. 

Since the beginning, our team at the West Virginia Treasury has worked diligently to ensure we established common sense guardrails that protect taxpayers’ interest while simultaneously providing the greatest freedom and flexibility possible to parents for customization of their child’s education. As the current State Treasurer, I thank former Treasurer, now Congressman, Riley Moore for showing the rest of the country how to lead on school choice. Despite over a dozen states following West Virginia’s lead, the Hope Scholarship remains that nation’s gold standard for educational freedom.

We can tell you, firsthand, from our statewide travel and parent engagement, this program is working as intended. Parents have been provided more autonomy over their student’s education and those students are uncovering innovative models that fit their unique needs and pathways to newfound success. Stories from parents and grandparents that highlight the tremendous impact Hope has had on their student makes me proud to be a staunch advocate for this program. West Virginia has become a beacon of educational opportunity, no matter the need or desire of the children within it.

With the program’s obvious success and growth, longstanding opponents of school freedom have been forced to shift gears. Their original message–systems over students–no longer resonates. They’ve repackaged their opposition to the Hope Scholarships around “good government” and “transparency” by pointing to minuscule amount of funds used for physical education programming like golf, gyms or virtual reality—all of which are, rightly so, allowed under our law. These left-leaning policy wonks call it “rampant fraud,” all while refusing to acknowledge the very thing that makes Hope so successful: flexibility. What they really object to is that parents and students can finally customize an education to fit the child, not a top-down system.

The reality is that the Hope Scholarship is the most transparent, scrutinized program in this state. We regularly show policymakers and the public exactly where every cent of the $67 million was spent, which is reflected in our 2024-2025 Hope Scholarship Annual Report. We can even take it a step further by justifying how each dollar advances a child’s individual education. No other government program in West Virginia, or the country, offers that level of accountability. If anything, Hope should be the model for how government programs are run, especially at the federal level.

What I can tell you is that flexibility in education paths should be the norm and Hope is working exactly as intended under the law. We met with a grandmother in Princeton, overwhelmed with joy when she found out about the program. She was able to send her grandkids to a school that aligned with her beliefs and without Hope that would not have been possible. A mother in Greenbrier County spoke to us about her two daughters coming out of their shells both personally and academically after being able to use Hope Scholarship funding on different forms of education. They have learned unique skills that will help them as they grow up. We have had great discussions with the Wheeling-Charleston Diocese about the impact the program is having on their schools, and we are seeing new private school options expand across the state. Having more educational options is a great thing for West Virginia because at the end of the day, education is about a parent choosing the best pathway for their child. Next to their faith journey, there is no more important effort.

At the end of the day, parents deserve flexibility, and that is exactly why Hope is so popular. It lets families direct their own tax dollars toward what their child actually needs. As a father of six, I know that every child learns differently and that no single system can serve them all the same way. An update on the Hope Satisfaction Survey in the coming months will show just how much families value that freedom.

Our job as parents, education providers, and public servants is to prepare the next generation to lead. Those who favor systems over students will do anything to derail this movement, but the public and lawmakers aren’t with them. And that is very good news for every student that Hope is helping.