GHENT, WV (WVNS) — State Treasurer Riley Moore announced the first payments from the Hope Scholarship were made on Monday, January 16, 2023.

The Hope Scholarship Program initially launched for applications last March and was scheduled to issue its first payments in August. However, a legal injunction handed down last July by a Kanawha County Circuit Court judge halted all activity with the program.

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia however lifted that injunction last October, declaring, in a later opinion, the program was indeed constitutional. The Hope Scholarship Board then met to pass emergency rules that would ensure families could then receive the appropriate amount of funds to which they were entitled for the full academic year.

“This is a great day for school choice in West Virginia. After a tumultuous year of uncertainties and obstacles, families are finally able to put the Hope Scholarship to work for their children.”

Riley Moore, Hope Scholarship Board Chairman

1,610 students received the full-year scholarship amount of $4,298.60. An additional 187 students received prorated payments of varying amounts, depending on when the student transitioned from a public to nonpublic education environment. The funds are available for use in the program’s Education Market Assistant online portal.

If a family still intended to use their child’s awarded Hope Scholarship for the current academic year and did not receive a payment or did not respond to their updated status survey, they are encouraged to email Hope Scholarship staff at hopescholarshipwv@wvsto.com. Families are asked to include their child’s WVEIS ID number so staff can begin processing that account.