Indiana Choice Scholarship Program: Eligibility, Amounts, and Applying

The Indiana Choice Scholarship is a state-funded voucher that pays a portion of private school tuition for eligible K-12 students. It covers up to 90% of what the state would have spent to educate the student in their local public school, and the money goes straight to the participating private school.¹ Starting with the 2026-2027 school year, every Indiana resident in grades K-12 can qualify: Governor Braun signed House Bill 1001 in May 2025, eliminating the income cap and the prior eligibility tracks.²

Who Qualifies Starting in 2026-2027

The new rules take effect July 1, 2026. To qualify, a student must have legal settlement in Indiana and be at least five years old but younger than 22 on October 1 of the school year.³ There is no income ceiling. There is no requirement to have attended a public school first. Any Indiana family can apply.

The student has to enroll in a participating nonpublic school that meets the state’s accreditation and assessment rules. Charter schools and the family’s own public school corporation are not options under this program.⁴

2025-2026 Income Limits and Eligibility Tracks

If you are applying for the current school year, the older rules still apply. Household income cannot exceed 400% of the federal free or reduced-price lunch threshold, which scales with household size.⁵ The 2025-2026 caps:

1 person: $115,810
2 people: $156,510
3 people: $197,210
4 people: $237,910
5 people: $278,610
6 people: $319,310
7 people: $360,010
8 people: $400,710

Add $40,700 for each additional household member beyond eight. Indiana counts a household as everyone living together as a single economic unit and sharing expenses, related or not.⁵

Under 2025-2026 rules the student must also qualify through at least one eligibility track. The most common is having attended an Indiana public or charter school for at least two consecutive semesters immediately before applying.⁶ Other tracks: being the sibling of a current or previous scholarship recipient; living in the attendance boundary of a public school that received a failing grade from the state; receiving special education services under an IEP; being in foster care; or having previously received a scholarship from a certified scholarship-granting organization. All of these track requirements go away for 2026-2027.²

How Much the Scholarship Pays

Your award is the lower of two figures: the actual tuition and fees the school charges, or 90% of the state’s per-student funding allocation tied to your home public school district.¹ Because per-pupil funding varies by district, the same family can receive different amounts depending on where they live. A family in a higher-funded district generally sees a larger scholarship than one in a lower-funded district. If the private school’s tuition is lower than the 90% number, the scholarship simply pays full tuition and fees.

The Indiana Department of Education publishes estimated award amounts by school corporation each year. The 2026-2027 estimates are posted on the IDOE site and list a maximum for every district.⁷

Students with disabilities may qualify for additional funding on top of the base award. Indiana provides supplemental per-pupil allocations that scale with the severity and type of disability, with larger amounts for severe disabilities and smaller amounts for conditions such as speech impairments. If your child has an IEP, ask the participating school what supplemental funding applies.

Which Private Schools Can Accept the Scholarship

Not every Indiana private school participates. A school must:⁴

Be an elementary or high school located in Indiana (charter schools are excluded).
Be accredited by the Indiana State Board of Education or a state-recognized accrediting agency.
Administer Indiana’s statewide standardized test and report student results to the IDOE.
Voluntarily agree to enroll Choice Scholarship students. No school is forced to participate.
Charge tuition.

Before you commit, confirm directly with the school that it is currently participating and accepting scholarship students for the year you need.

How to Apply

You do not apply to the state. The application runs entirely through the private school you have chosen: the school gives you the forms, collects your documents, and submits everything to the IDOE through its online portal.

Documents to Gather

Expect the school to request proof of Indiana residency such as a utility bill, lease, or property tax statement showing your address. You will also need Social Security numbers for every household member for the state’s verification process.⁸

For 2025-2026, the school also needs your most recent federal income tax return so it can check adjusted gross income against the household size threshold. If you did not file a federal return, you must explain why on the Household Summary Form and provide alternative documentation: W-2s, Social Security statements, pension statements, unemployment records, or a statement from your employer on company letterhead.⁸ With no income documentation at all, the school will have you complete an Income Assurance Form with a detailed explanation. Because 2026-2027 has no income cap, income verification is expected to be simplified or eliminated; watch the IDOE site for updated instructions.

Timing and the Endorsement Form

Applications open in two windows. For 2025-2026, Period 1 ran March 1 through September 1, and Period 2 ran November 1, 2025 through January 15, 2026.⁴ The 2026-2027 cycle is expected to follow the same pattern, opening in March 2026.

After the school submits your application, the state processes it and the school lets you know the outcome. Before any money moves, both you and the school must sign an Endorsement Form for that school year. Without it, no payment goes out on your student’s behalf.⁹ The state pays the school at least twice per semester.

What the Scholarship Does Not Cover

The scholarship rarely covers a school’s full price. You owe the difference between the school’s tuition and fees and the scholarship amount.¹ If tuition is $9,000 and the scholarship pays $6,500, you are responsible for the remaining $2,500. Read the enrollment agreement before signing so you know the school’s payment terms for that balance.

Schools cannot charge Choice students fees that other students don’t pay; the fee structure has to be uniform.¹ Students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch may also be eligible for a Curricular Material Assistance payment toward textbooks and supplies, as long as those costs are not already bundled into tuition the scholarship covers.

Transferring Schools or Withdrawing Mid-Year

The program has no direct transfer mechanism. A student can hold only one active application per period, so to move to a different participating school you first withdraw the application at the current school, then submit a new one at the next.¹

Withdrawing has a financial cost. When a student leaves, the parent forfeits the rest of the scholarship for that application period, and the state prorates its payment based on days actually enrolled.¹⁰ The school, meanwhile, may bill you for the full month or full semester in which the withdrawal happens, depending on its own policy. That mismatch can produce an unexpected out-of-pocket balance. Read the school’s withdrawal policy before you enroll. A student who withdraws can apply during Period 2 at a new school, or even the original one, if the deadline has not passed.

If Your Application Is Denied

When the state denies an application, the school hands you a denial letter at the time of submission. The letter states the reason and outlines your options if you believe the decision was wrong.¹¹ Under 2025-2026 rules, denials typically involve income above the limit, missing documents, or failure to meet an eligibility track. Under the 2026-2027 universal rules, denials will more often turn on residency or age.

Move fast. Talk to the school administrator, review the denial reason, and see whether a corrected application can be resubmitted before the current application period closes.

1
Indiana Department of Education. Choice Scholarship Program Frequently Asked Questions 2025-2026
2
Indiana State Budget Agency. House Enrolled Act No. 1001
3
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 20-51-1-4.3 – Eligible Choice Scholarship Student
4
Indiana Department of Education. Indiana Choice Scholarship Program
5
Indiana Department of Education. Choice Scholarship Program Eligibility Overview 2025-2026
6
Indiana Department of Education. Choice Scholarship Program Eligibility Requirements
7
Indiana Department of Education. Estimated Award Amounts 2026-2027
8
Indiana Department of Education. Choice Scholarship Program Income Verification Rules 2025-2026
9
Indiana State Budget Agency. House Enrolled Act No. 1001 – Section 200, IC 20-51-4-10
10
Indiana Department of Education. Choice Scholarship Program Frequently Asked Questions 2024-2025
11
Indiana Department of Education. Choice Scholarship Program How to Apply