EdChoice Scholarship

Please follow the steps below exactly, and in the order listed.
If a time frame is specified, please adhere to that time frame.

Welcome to the process of RENEWING an EdChoice Scholarship to be used toward tuition at St. Hilary School. If your child was not the recipient of an EdChoice Scholarship in the 2024-2025 school year, please click here to begin the process as a new applicant.

Before you begin the renewal application process, your child must be re-registered as a returning student for the 2025-2026 school year.

🛑 STOP!
DO NOT BEGIN THE APPLICATION PROCESS
UNTIL THIS PREREQUISITE IS MET!

After the above prerequisite has been met,
you may immediately begin the process to apply for an EdChoice Scholarship.

If your child received the Traditional EdChoice Scholarship in 2024-2025, eligibility for that scholarship will continue regardless of any change in the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) designation of the assigned public school building or special situations by which your child may have received the Traditional EdChoice Scholarship in 2024-2025. The amount of the scholarship will remain at the maximum award amount. For 2024-2025, the maximum award amount was $6,166. The maximum award amount for 2025-2026 has not yet been released by the ODE, but is expected to be at or slightly higher than $6,166.

If your child received the EdChoice Expansion Scholarship in 2024-2025, eligibility for that scholarship will continue. You can use the two tables below to estimate the sliding scale award amount for which your child would be eligible under the EdChoice Expansion Scholarship based on your household income. Please also read the IMPORTANT NOTES below the tables.

• The EdChoice Expansion Award Amounts 2024-2025 Table will provide an estimate of the actual award amount for which your child would be eligible under the EdChoice Expansion Scholarship based on your household income. The EdChoice Expansion Award Amounts 2025-2026 Table will not be available until later in January / February.

• The actual EdChoice Scholarship award amount will be based on documentation submitted to the State of Ohio. This information is for estimation purposes only.

• The maximum available EdChoice Scholarship award may differ from the actual tuition rate. The State of Ohio will not issue awards for more than the amount of tuition.

• The EdChoice Scholarship may be used only toward tuition, not fees and expenses. Parents are responsible for fees and expenses.

• Even if your family does not "need" the EdChoice Scholarship, every child is eligible and even a comparatively smaller award amount will help offset your child's tuition and help support our school financially. For these reasons, all families are encouraged to apply regardless of "need".

After reviewing the tables and notes, please proceed to the "PRELIMINARY STEPS" section below.

⚠️ FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE PRELIMINARY STEPS PROPERLY

CAN JEOPARDIZE YOUR CHILD'S SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION!

COMPLETE BOTH OF THE FORMS BELOW.

⚠️ PLEASE BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL AS YOU COMPLETE THESE FORMS!
They must be legible and all information must be accurate and complete.

⚠️ FAILURE TO COMPLETE THESE FORMS PROPERLY
CAN JEOPARDIZE YOUR CHILD'S SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION!

⚠️ WHEN COMPLETED, PLEASE SET THESE FORMS ASIDE

IN A SAFE LOCATION AS YOU WILL NEED THEM FOR THE NEXT STEP,

AND PROCEED TO THE "COMPLETE AND SUBMIT APPLICATION FORM" SECTION.

⚠️ FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE APPLICATION PROCESS PROPERLY

CAN JEOPARDIZE YOUR CHILD'S SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION!

DOWNLOAD OR REQUEST THE APPLICATION FORM
("EDCHOICE SCHOLARSHIP RENEWAL FORM")

• After you have completed all preliminary steps above, you may download or obtain from the school office the prescribed form to apply for renewal of the EdChoice Scholarship.

• This form will be the same regardless of whether you will be applying for the Traditional EdChoice Scholarship (based on your child's designated public school) or the EdChoice Expansion Scholarship (based on your family's income).

• If you are unable to download and print the form, please email edchoice@st-hilary.org to request this form. Otherwise, please click below to download and print the form.

COMPLETE THE APPLICATION FORM

Complete the EdChoice Scholarship Renewal Form for 2025-2026 (application form).

⚠️ PLEASE BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL AS YOU COMPLETE THIS FORM!

It must be legible and all information must be accurate and complete.
Your child's name and birthdate must match the information on his or her birth certificate.
The address listed on the form must match the service and mailing address for the residence listed
on the proof of current address you will submit (see below).

⚠️ FAILURE TO COMPLETE THIS FORM PROPERLY
CAN JEOPARDIZE YOUR CHILD'S SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION!

PRINT THE CHECKLIST BELOW AND COLLECT ALL FOUR OF THE FOLLOWING:

• 1: Completed EdChoice Scholarship Renewal Form for 2025-2026 (renewal application form)

• 2: The Preliminary Info & Income Verification 2025-2026 Form you completed in the "PRELIMINARY STEPS" section above.

• 3: The Custody Form 2025-2026 you completed in the "PRELIMINARY STEPS" section above.

• 4: Proof of your child's current address in the form of copy of a current utility bill at the time of application. This cannot be a cell phone bill.
• 🛑 This MUST be dated as closely as possible to the date of the application (less than 90 days old).
• 🛑 This MUST show matching service and mailing addresses in the name of the parent/guardian for the residence. A P.O. Box address cannot be used.
• 🛑 The service and mailing addresses for the residence shown on the utility bill MUST match the address you listed on the EdChoice Scholarship Renewal Form for 2025-2026 (renewal application form).
  

⚠️ PLEASE MAKE SURE THESE DOCUMENTS ARE COMPLETE BEFORE SUBMITTING
OR THEY WILL BE RETURNED.

⚠️ SUBMIT ALL FOUR OF THESE DOCUMENTS TOGETHER
ALONG WITH THE CHECKLIST ABOVE
TO THE SCHOOL OFFICE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

⚠️TO PRESERVE THE IMPORTANCE AND CONFIDENTIALITY OF THESE DOCUMENTS,

PLEASE ENCLOSE ALL FOUR OF THEM IN ONE ENVELOPE LABELED "EDCHOICE APPLICATION"
AND BRING THEM TO THE SCHOOL OFFICE.

⚠️ PLEASE DO NOT SEND THESE DOCUMENTS AS LOOSE OR PAPERCLIPPED PAPERS.

⚠️ PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL THESE DOCUMENTS.

⚠️ PLEASE DO NOT SEND THESE DOCUMENTS VIA YOUR CHILD'S BACKPACK.

⚠️ FAILURE TO FOLLOW THIS PROCEDURE EXACTLY
CAN JEOPARDIZE YOUR CHILD'S SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION!
THE SCHOOL IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ITEMS
NOT SUBMITTED ACCORDING TO THIS PROCEDURE!

• THE SCHOOL WILL SUBMIT EVERYTHING FOR YOU. Once you submit your child's application, custody form, and proof of current address to the school, the school will submit everything for you through a secure Ohio Department of Education (ODE) portal accessible only to schools. You are not able to enter or upload this information yourself.

• SUBMIT EARLY AND ALLOW TIME FOR PROCESSING. Processing of the application form at the school level and state level takes time. Submitting the completed application form and accompanying required documentation as early as possible will help to facilitate a more timely turnaround of your child's EdChoice Scholarship award and total assistance package from the school.

• NEXT STEPS FOR TRADITIONAL EDCHOICE: If you are renewing the Traditional EdChoice Scholarship based on the ODE-designated public school to which your child is assigned or a special situation, you do not need to submit anything further at this time UNLESS your household income is at 200% or below of the Federal Poverty Level (which qualifies for low income status designation), in which case you must proceed to the "INCOME VERIFICATION" section. OTHERWISE, please proceed to the "FINAL STEPS" section.
  
  

• NEXT STEPS FOR EDCHOICE EXPANSION: If you are renewing the EdChoice Expansion Scholarship based on your household income, please proceed to the "INCOME VERIFICATION" section ONLY IF:

1. There has been a change in your household income and it would benefit you to update the Income Verification information you provided for 2024-2025; i.e., your child may receive a larger award based on the change in household income, or
2. Your household income is at 200% or below of the Federal Poverty Level (which qualifies for low income status designation).

• OTHERWISE, please proceed to the "FINAL STEPS" section.

⚠️ FAILURE TO COMPLETE INCOME VERIFICATION PROPERLY

CAN JEOPARDIZE YOUR CHILD'S SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION!

🛑 STOP!
YOU CANNOT COMPLETE INCOME VERIFICATION
UNTIL YOU HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED BY THE SCHOOL
THAT YOUR EDCHOICE SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION HAS BEEN SUBMITTED
TO THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.

YOU WILL RECEIVE AN EMAIL FROM THE SCHOOL WHEN THIS IS COMPLETED.
DOING SO PRIOR CAN PREVENT YOUR INCOME VERIFICATION FROM
PROPERLY LINKING WITH YOUR APPLICATION!

🛑 STOP!

FROM FEBRUARY THROUGH JUNE 2025,
THERE WILL BE TWO SCHOOL YEAR OPTIONS LISTED,
2024-2025 AND 2025-2026.

YOU MUST BE CERTAIN TO CLICK 2025-2026
TO LINK YOUR INCOME VERIFICATION WITH YOUR CHILD'S
EDCHOICE SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION FOR 2025-2026.

PREPARE TO SUBMIT INCOME VERIFICATION

• Before you can submit your income verification information, you must first create an OHID account if you did not already do so in the "PRELIMINARY STEPS" section above.

• You must use a desktop or laptop computer, not a phone or other mobile device.

• Please call the OHID Help Desk at 877-644-6338 if you need assistance. School staff will not be able to assist you with income verification.

• You must have available the following information, as applicable, to verify your household income:
• Most recent income tax return (1040)
  (This is the preferred form of verification. If your 2024 income taxes are not complete, you may use your 2023 income tax return until "Tax Day" - April 15, 2025 - after which you must use your 2024 income tax return.)
• Line 11 of your tax return will show your ADJUSTED Gross Income
• Alternatively, you can submit your most recent W-2 Form, which will show your Gross Income
• You can choose to submit whichever of these is lower
• Alternatively, you can submit 4 most recent pay stubs (if paid weekly) or 2 most recent pay stubs (if paid bi-weekly)
• Most recent 1099 Form
• Proof of child support payment
• Correspondence from Bureau of Workers Compensation
• Correspondence from Department of Job and Family Services
• Proof of food stamps

• Proof of retirement benefits
• Correspondence from Social Security Administration
• Proof of unemployment benefits

• Not all of these items will be required, but you will need one or more of them depending on your situation.

• These items need to be saved on your computer or laptop, or on a flash drive if you will be using a school computer, as one of the following allowable file extensions: doc, docx, gif, jpeg, jpg, mht, mp3, msg, pdf, pjpg, png, txt, wav, x-png, xls, xlsb, xlsm, xlsx, zip (ECE)

ENTER AND UPLOAD YOUR INCOME VERIFICATION INFORMATION
TO THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (ODE)

🛑 STOP!

FROM FEBRUARY THROUGH JUNE 2025,

THERE WILL BE TWO SCHOOL YEAR OPTIONS LISTED,

2024-2025 AND 2025-2026.

YOU MUST BE CERTAIN TO CLICK 2025-2026

TO LINK YOUR INCOME VERIFICATION WITH YOUR CHILD'S

EDCHOICE SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION FOR 2025-2026.

You must use a desktop or laptop computer, not a phone or other mobile device.

⚠️ FAILURE TO COMPLETE THESE STEPS PROPERLY

CAN JEOPARDIZE YOUR CHILD'S SCHOLARSHIP AWARD!

• Please regularly log into your OHID account to check the status of your child's application. This is where you will be notified of any issues that must be corrected to complete processing. Please call the OHID Help Desk at 877-644-6338 if you need assistance. School staff will not be able to assist you with your OHID account.

• Please note that the St. Hilary School EdChoice Scholarship staff processes all applications in a timely manner, but has no control over the processing timing and speed of the Ohio Department of Education.

• If, by August 1, you do not see AWARDED as the status of your child's application, action (most likely submitting income verification) is required on your part.

• After the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) processes and, hopefully, approves your child's application for an EdChoice Scholarship, you will receive a letter from ODE with your child's award amount, as well as an acceptance form.

• You must immediately sign the acceptance form.

• Once signed, you must immediately provide this acceptance form to Mrs. Hamlin or Mrs. Smith in the school office. Failure to provide this acceptance form immediately may reduce the amount of your child's scholarship. If you have questions, please email edchoice@st-hilary.org.

• We must have the original, signed hard copy of the acceptance form. Please do not email a scanned or photographed copy of the form or submit a photocopy.

• Please keep your child's award letter for your records.

Our business office will notify you in the spring
as to the status of tuition and fees due
and what the procedure will be
for applying EdChoice and other scholarship and assistance funds
toward your child's tuition.

With most of our students receiving some amount of EdChoice Scholarship funding, it is imperative that everyone follow the appropriate guidelines for reporting and documenting absences from school.

If your child will be absent, tardy or picked up early for any reason, please report this using one of the following options.

We have ONLY TWO OPTIONS:

1. Call our school attendance line at 330-867-8720, ext. 350 and leave a message 24/7 OR
2. Email attendance@st-hilary.org.

⚠️ THESE ARE THE ONLY TWO OPTIONS ⚠️
⚠️ TO REPORT AN ABSENCE! ⚠️

DUE TO THE NEED TO MAINTAIN ACCURATE
ATTENDANCE RECORDS:

DO NOT TEXT, CALL OR EMAIL STAFF MEMBERS REGARDING AN ABSENCE
EVEN IF YOU HAVE DONE SO IN THE PAST.

DO NOT REPORT AN ABSENCE IN ANY WAY
OTHER THAN TO THE DESIGNATED
PHONE NUMBER OR EMAIL ADDRESS PROVIDED ABOVE.

PLEASE NOTE:

• Whether calling or emailing, please state your child's name, grade, and the reason for the absence, tardy or early pick-up, including specific symptoms if due to an illness.

• Absences must be reported to the school office by 9:00 am on the day of the absence. We are required by law to follow up with families who do not do so.

• Although not necessary, you may also notify your child's teacher and / or Latchkey of an absence as a courtesy.

• If you do notify your child’s teacher and / or Latchkey as a courtesy, you MUST still properly report the absence using one of the ONLY TWO OPTIONS listed above.

• NOTIFYING YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER AND / OR LATCHKEY OR CALLING, TEXTING OR EMAILING A STAFF MEMBER DOES NOT CONSTITUTE REPORTING THE ABSENCE FOR LEGAL PURPOSES.

• NOTIFYING THE SCHOOL OF AN ABSENCE DOES NOT CONSITUTE AN EXCUSED ABSENCE. PLEASE REFER TO THE INFORMATION BELOW FROM THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.
  

• If your child is absent from school or tardy to school due to a medical or dental appointment, you MUST provide documentation of the appointment upon your child’s return to school.

Per the Ohio Department of Education:

To maintain EdChoice Scholarship eligibility for future school years, a scholarship recipient student may not have more than twenty unexcused absences during a single school year. Any absence from school is unexcused unless it is for one of the following approved reasons. All excused absences must be documented as stipulated below. Documentation for excused absences must be maintained in the student’s school file.

As adopted by the State Board of Education from Rule 3301-69-02(B)(2) of the Administrative Code, an excused absence from school may be approved on the basis of one or more of the following conditions:

• Illness or injury of the child. The parent/guardian must provide documentation to the chartered nonpublic school. Any absence for illness or injury of the child which exceeds three days absent from school must be certified in writing by a physician or appropriate health professional.
• Illness in the family necessitating the presence of the child. The parent/guardian must provide documentation to the chartered nonpublic school stating the nature of the illness and the circumstances which require the presence of the child. Any such absence which exceeds three days absent from school must be certified in writing by a physician or appropriate health professional.
• Quarantine of the home. The absence of a child from school under this condition is limited to the length of quarantine as determined and certified in writing by the proper health professionals.
• Death of a relative. The absence arising from this condition is limited to a period of three days and must be documented in writing by the parent/guardian of the student. Any absence for this reason in excess of three days must be approved by the Chief Program Officer of the Ohio Educational Choice Scholarship Program.
• Medical or dental appointment. The parent/guardian must provide documentation to the chartered nonpublic school. The chartered nonpublic school may require a written statement from the physician or dentist upon request.
• Observance of religious holidays. A child shall be excused for absences for the purpose of observing a religious holiday consistent with his/her truly held religious beliefs. The parent/guardian must provide documentation to the chartered nonpublic school detailing dates of all absences for religious holidays.
• College visitation. The parent/guardian must provide documentation from the college, university, or technical college verifying the date and time of the visitation.
• Emergency or other set of circumstances. The parent or guardian must provide documentation to the chartered nonpublic school detailing the emergency circumstances. Any absence for this reason in excess of three days must be approved by the Chief Program Officer of the Ohio Educational Choice Scholarship Program.

In addition, as passed by the Ohio General Assembly (Ohio Revised Code 3321.041), the following is also an excused absence:

• Out-of-state enrichment activities or extracurricular activities. A student who is absent from school for the sole purpose of traveling out of state to participate in an enrichment activity approved by the district or school governing body or in an extracurricular activity can have up to four days per school year excused. The parent/guardian must provide documentation to the chartered nonpublic school detailing the dates and reasons for these absences.

Your cooperation is appreciated! Questions? Please contact edchoice@st-hilary.org.

If you have questions about the Edchoice Scholarship, please email edchoice@st-hilary.org.

Our mission is to keep Christ at the center of all that we do. In solidarity with our parish and school community, we will inspire our students through inclusive, innovative, and challenging academic and spiritual experiences, to be leaders capable of making a positive change in the world.

Email: dsinopoli@st-hilary.org
Website: www.st-hilaryschool.org
Location: 645 Moorfield Road, Fairlawn, OH, USA
Phone: 330-867-8720
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StHilarySchoolFairlawnOhio/

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