No to tadpole purchases and yes to lunch boxes as Hope Scholarship continues to grow

Tadpoles no. Lunchboxes yes.

The board overseeing West Virginia’s Hope Scholarship for students outside the public school system had to make decisions today about whether to reimburse families for those purchases that could be used for educational reasons.

Families who opt to use the Hope Scholarship for non-public school expenses receive an amount that changes each year. Most recently, it’s been about $4,900. Families may use the money for supplies like textbooks, flashcards, whiteboards or even computers.

This can be especially challenging for homeschooling families, who have highly individualized needs.

On a regular basis, the Hope Scholarship board considers general categories of purchase requests and gives a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Earlier this summer, for example, the board d