Questions to Ask an ESA Private School or Provider

Confirm approval and admission

Is the school currently participating for this program and year? Is the particular service approved? Does the school have a place for the student? Texas and Iowa have different school-approval/accreditation requirements, so approval in one state or program is not enough.

Request the full cost and payment schedule

Ask for tuition, required fees, deposits, refund terms, transport and any cost above the award. Ask when the school expects payment relative to account installments. West Virginia prohibits a provider from charging extra simply because a student receives Hope funds.

Ask about services and assessments

Ask what services the school will provide, how progress is measured and who receives results. Alabama participating schools have assessment and reporting duties with a specified disability exception. West Virginia IIP families may use the statutory testing or certified-teacher review pathway. A scholarship does not itself promise the same services as a student's public-school plan.

Check receipts, safety and exit terms

Request itemized receipts and written refund procedures. Verify credentials and background-check requirements applicable to the provider. Ask what happens if the student withdraws, the school closes or an account is suspended. Keep the current parent agreement and the school's terms together.

Use related rights resources

School-choice funding is separate from student-record access, privacy and religious-liberty questions. Read the site's parental-notification and student-privacy tracker for those distinct issues; confirm the law governing the student's actual school setting.

Official instructions behind this guide

• TEFA family guidance — Agency FAQ. Award, uses, priority and payment guidance reviewed. Its March 17 date conflicts with the newer home page extension to March 31; the latter controls this calendar. Checked 2026-10-10.
• Iowa Administrative Code 281—Chapter 20 — Administrative rule. Reviewed for the October 10, 2026 baseline. Live pages may change. Checked 2026-10-10.
• Hope Scholarship providers §18-31-11 — Current statute. Reviewed for the October 10, 2026 baseline. Live pages may change. Checked 2026-10-10.
• Alabama HB129 enrolled / CHOOSE Act — Enacted session law. Reviewed for the October 10, 2026 baseline. Live pages may change. Checked 2026-10-10.
• Hope Scholarship continuation §18-31-8 — Current statute. Reviewed for the October 10, 2026 baseline. Live pages may change. Checked 2026-10-10.

Update log

October 10, 2026 — Initial audited release. Added current Iowa half-year window, West Virginia prorated application bands and Wyoming preliminary-injunction reversal. Texas and Tennessee calendar conflicts are documented in their source notes. No automatic future-update claim is made.