Student Qualifications

October 21, 2024
From: Application Guide, Parent Handbook

The Utah state law governing the CSOS program requires that CFEF verify each applicant’s eligibility in key areas. The scholarship application will request a variety of information from the parent or guardian that must verify eligibility for a scholarship and determine the amount of a scholarship. The criteria below will be included in the application.

Scholarship Applicant Verification

As part of the application process, a child and family must meet all of the criteria below in order to be considered for a scholarship:

The applicant is able to participate in preschool, kindergarten or grades 1-12 in public school.

A copy of the child’s birth certificate must be attached. This is used to verify that a child is at least 3 years of age before September 2nd of the current school year and less than 19 years of age on the last day of the school year, or, if the student has not graduated from high school, less than 22 years of age on the last day of the school year. CFEF will also accept a valid passport or valid state ID.

The applicant and parental guardian are residents of the state of Utah.

The applicant must attach proof of residency. The following documents may be used to offer proof of residency, and must show the same address that is listed for the student in the application:

Bank statement (dated within 60 days)
Court documents(dated within 60 days)
Current mortgage or rental contract
Major credit card bill (dated within 60 days)
Property tax notice (statement or receipt dated within one year)
School transcript (dated within 60 days)
Utility bill, excluding cell phone bills (billing date within 60 days)
Valid Utah drivers license

The applicant must have a qualified disability.

The applicant must have a qualified disability as defined by the Individual with Disability Education Act (IDEA), §§Section 300.8, which states that a child’s school performance must be adversely affected by a disability in one of the following categories of disabilities:

Specific learning disability (SLD). The SLD category covers a specific group of learning challenges. These conditions affect a child’s ability to read, write, listen, speak, reason, or do math. Some examples include dyslexia, dyscalculia, or written expression disorder (dysgraphia).
Other health impairments. This category covers conditions that limit a child’s strength, energy, or alertness which adversely affect a child’s education. Examples include ADD, ADHD which impacts attention and executive function, diabetes, epilepsy, heart conditions, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia and Tourette syndrome.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD is a developmental disability. It involves a wide range of symptoms, but it mainly affects a child’s social and communication skills. It can also impact behavior.
Emotional disturbance. Various mental health issues can fall under this category including anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or depression.
Speech or language impairment. This category covers difficulties in speech or language. A common example is stuttering. Other examples are trouble pronouncing words or making sounds with the voice. It also covers language problems that make it hard for kids to understand words or express themselves.
Visual impairment, including blindness. A child who has eyesight problems is considered to have visual impairment. This category includes both partial sight and blindness. If eyewear can correct a vision problem, then it doesn’t qualify.
Deafness. Kids with a diagnosis of deafness fall under this category. These are kids who can’t hear most or all sounds, even with a hearing aid.
Hearing impairment. This refers to a hearing loss not covered by the definition of deafness. This type of loss can change over time. Being hard of hearing is not the same thing as having trouble with auditory or language processing.
Deaf Blindness. Kids with a diagnosis of deaf blindness have both severe hearing and vision loss. Their communication and other needs are so unique that programs for just the deaf or blind can’t meet them.
Orthopedic impairment. This includes a lack of function or ability in their bodies. An example is cerebral palsy.
Intellectual disability. Kids with this type of disability have below-average intellectual ability. They may also have poor communication, self-care, and social skills. Downs Syndrome is one example of this category.
Traumatic brain injury. This is a brain injury caused by an accident or some kind of physical force.
Multiple disabilities. A child with multiple disabilities has more than one of these conditions. Having multiple issues creates educational needs that can’t be met in a program designed for any one disability.

The applicant must provide proof of a qualified disability.

The applicant must provide proof of a qualified disability that is verified by one of the following documents:

An Individualized Education Plan (IEP). The IEP must be current and not expired (within 3 years of origin of the IEP). An IEP is a plan or program developed to ensure that a child who has a disability under the law, and is attending public school, receives specialized instruction or related services in a public-school setting. If the IEP is submitted with the application, this document must indicate whether the student would qualify as Level 1 (needing less than 180 minutes per day of special education resources) or Level 2 (needing more than 180 minutes per day of special education resources), and be signed by all parties involved in the creation of the IEP document.
Assessment Team Meeting Record (ATMR). Students switching from the legacy Carson Smith Scholarship program to the new CSOS program, may submit a valid ATMR(received within the 3 years from the date on the form) from a local school district to verify disability. This document must indicate whether the student 5would qualify as Level 1 (needing less than 180 minutes per day of special education resources) or Level 2 (needing more than 180 minutes per day of special education resources), and be signed by all parties involved in the creation of the ATMR document.
Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team (MDT) evaluation. The MDT is defined as an evaluation of a child’s qualified disability by two or more qualified and credentialed individuals from two or more separate disciplines or professions. The MDT form can be downloaded here. The MDT must indicate if the child’s disability adversely affects the child’s school performance. Qualified individuals can be from one of the following disciplines (this is not an exhaustive list, contact us with questions):
- Medical Professional
  - MD (Medical doctor)
  - PA (Physician assistant)
  - APRN (Advanced practice registered nurse)
  - DO (Doctor of osteopathic medicine)
- Education Professional
  - Licensed teacher
  - Licensed special education teacher or counselor
  - School administrator
- Mental Health Professional
  - PsyD (Doctor of Psychology)
  - LCSW (Licensed clinical social worker)
  - LPC/LCPC (Licensed professional counselor)
  - NCSP (Nationally certified school psychologist)
  - (Clinical mental health counselor)
  - MSC (Master of Science in school counseling)
  - ACMHC (Associate clinical mental health counselor)
- Other
  - Speech language therapist
  - Occupational therapist
  - Behavioral therapist
  - Audiologist
  - CALT (Certified academic language therapist)
  - A/AOGPE (Certified dyslexia specialist)
The MDT evaluation must consider all data and relevant information, involve the parent(s), determine the student has a qualifying disability, and is eligible to 6receive special education services as determined by IDEA. In interpreting evaluation data for the purpose of determining that the child has a qualifying disability and determining the educational needs of the child, the MDT must draw upon information from a variety of sources, including aptitude and achievement tests, parent input, teacher recommendations, physical condition, social or cultural background, and adaptive behavior; and ensure that information obtained from all of these sources was documented and carefully considered. With the submission of an MDT evaluation the parent or guardian must acknowledge the following:
- Eligibility for a scholarship as determined by a multidisciplinary evaluation team under this program does not establish eligibility for an IEP under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Subchapter II, 20 U.S.C. Secs. 1400 to 1419 and is not binding on any LEA that is required to provide an IEP under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
The MDT evaluation cannot be used to indicate whether a student is qualified as Level 1 (needing less than 180 minutes per day of special education resources) or Level 2 (needing more than 180 minutes per day of special education resources). This designation may only be made by a public school district.

The applicant has a verified enrollment or intent to enroll at a qualifying school or has been identified to be a homeschool student.

If the student plans to attend a private school, a qualified private school must verify this information with CFEF before scholarship funds will be paid.
If the student plans to be homeschooled, the applicant’s parent or guardian must indicate such on the application, and verify that the student has been or will be withdrawn from public school at the time the scholarship is awarded.
The applicant cannot be a student who receives a scholarship under the legacy Carson-Smith Scholarship Program nor the Utah Fits All program in the same school year as the scholarship award. This will be verified with the Utah State School Board office who administers the Carson-Smith Scholarship Program and ACE Scholarships who administers the Utah Fits All scholarship program. If verification shows that the CSOS scholarship student has been awarded funds from one of these other two sources, the student will not be eligible to receive the CSOS scholarship in that school year.

Applicants cannot be a public-school student at the time the scholarship is received. The student must be unenrolled from public school.

Students may apply for the scholarship while still enrolled in public school. If awarded, and before the payment of the ward can be made, a verification of withdrawal from public school is required. USBE will check all scholarship students to verify that they are not enrolled in public school or a public charter school.

Scholarship awards are based on gross income of the scholarship recipient’s family

Scholarship awards are based on gross income of the scholarship recipient’s family measured against the Federal poverty level as defined by the most recently revised poverty income guidelines published by the United States Department of Health and HumanServices in the Federal Register, and the household size of the scholarship recipient.

Family income consists of the total adjusted gross annual income received by the parent(s) or legal guardian(s) with whom the scholarship student resides. This figure comprises the earnings of the parent(s) or legal guardian(s) with whom the scholarship student resides. Sources of income are those which are included on standard IRS tax forms, including: wages, tips, bonuses, salaries, retirement income, investment income, Social Security benefits, and earnings from other income sources.
Household size is determined by the number of individuals listed on the IRS 1040 tax return document.
A scholarship applicant’s parent(s), or legal guardian(s) with whom the applicant lives must submit proof of their annual income. The most recent year IRS form 1040 tax form is the primary option to verify the family’s adjusted gross income . CFEF requires only the first page of the tax return (all personal information like social security numbers should be redacted) that shows the adjusted gross income and the number of dependents. All income that is required to be reported on the federal tax return must be considered for scholarship awards. If the most current year tax form is not available, a second option would be to submit the previous year IRS form 1040 along with the current year W2 or 1099 forms. If no tax return is available, other income verification documents can include:
- Two paystubs dated within the past 60 days
- Recent W2 Form
- Recent 1099 Form
- Profit/loss statement from a CPA for self-employed parents
- Unemployment documentation dated within the past 60 days
If one of the above options is used, the family will need to provide a statement verifying the number of dependents.