Application for Idaho “Empowering Parents” Program to Help Families Pay for Tutoring and Other Education Needs Now Open

Tens of 1000’s of Idaho households are eligible to obtain state grants of $1,000 per pupil to buy academic provides, tutoring and different assets to assist their kids’s training.

BOISE, Idaho, Oct. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Purposes for Idaho’s $50 million Empowering Mother and father grant program at the moment are obtainable for Idaho households with college students in grades Ok-12. Within the first few weeks that the appliance has been open, over 18,000 dad and mom have already utilized. Mother and father fascinated with making use of can accomplish that by way of the Idaho State Board of Training (SBOE) software, developed in partnership with Ok-12 microgrant platform Odyssey.

“Empowering Mother and father displays our dedication to Idaho households. By making certain our college students have a powerful academic begin, we’re extra more likely to retain them in Idaho as they thrive and contribute to the success of our state for generations to come back,” Governor Brad Little mentioned. “Important to that sturdy begin is giving households the choices and academic assist they discover finest for his or her kids. We encourage dad and mom to benefit from this excellent useful resource for college kids and households.”

Created earlier this yr by Governor Little and the Idaho Legislature, the Empowering Mother and father program offers eligible dad and mom or guardians with $1,000 per pupil, as much as $3,000 per family, over a two-year interval to buy web connectivity, pc {hardware} and software program, tutorial supplies, tutoring companies and different training assets. Any household with Ok-12 college students attending Idaho public, constitution or personal colleges, or who’re homeschooled, is eligible.

Grants might be prioritized and awarded first to Idaho households with an Adjusted Gross Earnings (AGI) at or under $60,000 per yr. As soon as the primary part of awards are made, the AGI restrict might be expanded to households incomes as much as $75,000 per yr. After that part, if grant funds are nonetheless obtainable, this system will broaden to households incomes greater than $75,000 per yr. The Idaho State Tax Fee will work with the State Board of Training to confirm household revenue ranges.

Final month, the State Board of Training introduced the collection of Main Class, developer of the Odyssey platform, to manage this system. Odyssey was chosen by the State Division of Buying after a evaluation of 4 aggressive proposals. In its proposal to Idaho, Odyssey demonstrated its distinctive strategy to program administration and an emphasis on collaboration with Idaho companies, enabling state funds to assist each Idaho households and small enterprise homeowners.

“Governor Little and the state are deeply dedicated to creating positive households have all obtainable assets to assist their kids entry the absolute best academic alternatives,” mentioned Matt Freeman, State Board Govt Director. “We chosen Odyssey due to their willingness to construct and customise their platform for our distinctive wants. The platform additionally offers a seamless market that identifies and highlights Idaho-based suppliers, and makes it straightforward and intuitive for households to search out the appropriate assets, shortly.”

For extra info on the Empowering Mother and father program or to submit an software, go to https://boardofed.idaho.gov/empowering-parents-program/.

SOURCE Odyssey