Eric Douglas Published

Stay Denied For Hope Scholarship; Program Remains In Limbo

School choice.

Families hoping to receive money from the Hope Scholarship are still in limbo after the state’s new Intermediate Court of Appeals rejected a request to move the program forward.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey requested a stay to allow families to receive the money at the start of this school year. The scholarship program provides approximately $4,200 so families can educate their children wherever they choose.

On July 6, Kanawha Circuit Court Judge Joanna Tabit issued an injunction against the Hope Scholarship. Tabit said the legislature violated its constitutional obligation by passing a statute that limits the ability to educate West Virginia public school students.

The legislature passed the Hope Scholarship in 2021.

The attorney general said in a statement he will continue to fight for the constitutionality of the law. It is unlikely the court will hear Morrisey’s appeal before early 2023.

“It’s disappointing the Intermediate Court did not see that the lower court’s injunction will undermine the fundamental freedom of parents to choose the best education for their children,” he said. “The thousands of families who are set to receive scholarship money from the act will now be in limbo trying to figure out what’s going to happen to their children’s education.”