Hi, my name is Ronnie Daniel. I am the executive director of the Children First Education Fund. In this video, we’ll walk through how Carson Smith opportunity scholarship funds are dispersed to children who have been awarded a scholarship and what to expect depending on the type of award your student receives. There are two main ways a student can use their scholarship. First is private school tuition awards for students who will be attending an approved private school partner. To see a list of all our school partners, follow the link in the description. The second is ESA or education savings account awards for homeschool students and private school students whose scholarship amount is more than their tuition. The way funds are dispersed depends on which award your student receives. If your student is enrolled in a qualified private school, their scholarship award is sent directly to the school.
Payments are made quarterly throughout the school year. Schools receive these funds on behalf of your student and apply them to tuition costs. There’s no action required from you once the tuition award is approved. Your school handles everything on their end. If your student is using ESA funds for homeschool or for other qualified services, funds are also dispersed quarterly, but directly [music] to your child’s ESA account located in the parent portal. You can use ESA funds to pay for eligible educational services, purchase approved supplies and materials, or submit reimbursement requests for qualifying expenses. The exact dispersement schedule is outlined in the reimbursement guidelines, which you can find in the parent resource center.
Here are a few important things to remember. Funds do not roll over from one academic year to the next. So, it’s important to use all of your child’s scholarship funds before May 31st.
Funds are only dispersed if your student remains eligible and enrolled at the time of dispersement. You’ll receive a notification when ESA funds are deposited into your portal and you can begin submitting reimbursements once they’re available. Questions? If you’re not sure what type of award your student received or you need help understanding your dispersement schedule, reach out to our team. We’re happy to assist. Thanks for watching. Remember, you can find additional information about the program on our website or you can email or call our team directly.
