Overview
Paying for private school options can be challenging for a lot of Montana parents and is often the most common barrier prohibiting families from leaving public schools and switching to private providers, geography (access) being the second most common. However, most private schools and many microschools across Montana offer scholarships or some form of financial assistance to lower the barrier to entry for low- to middle-income families.
Montana’s largest K-12 scholarship program is supported by Montana Tax Credits for Contributions to Student Scholarship Organizations. This Tax Credit Scholarship Program allows individuals and corporations to claim a 100% tax credit for contributions to approved Student Scholarship Organizations (SSO), nonprofits that provide scholarships to families to help pay for private school tuition and tutoring.
Interested in offering scholarships and financial assistance to your students? We’ve put together this ultimate guide to K-12 education scholarships in Montana to answer your questions.
Disclaimer: This page does not offer legal advice and should not be perceived as such. We have compiled publicly-available resources only as a starting point that may help you evaluate key considerations along your education journey. For legal questions, we recommend that you contact an attorney familiar with Montana law and other appropriate regulatory agencies.
Offering Scholarships & Financial Assistance
Through endowments, generous donations from alumni or community members and the expanded Tax Credit Scholarship program, private schools and microschools can offer financial assistance or scholarships to their students. Cultivating a distinctive and transparent culture and clarifying the school’s mission can help build a foundation for recurring donations from educationally minded foundations or from the community, but in order to become sustainable, private school and microschool founders must rely on tuition. However, Montana is one of 20 states that offers a public policy to provide scholarships to students attending private schools through partnership with SSOs.
For example, private and microschools can partner with ACE Scholarships, a Montana based SSO, which provides partial-tuition scholarships to families at or below 250% of the federal poverty level. For instance, a family of four will qualify for an ACE Scholarship while making $109,000 annually. ACE is one of many SSOs providing scholarships with the Montana Tax Credit Scholarship program, and families can apply directly with ACE or through the partner school. The law does not require accreditation of participating schools, opening the possibility for microschools to become partner schools whose students may be beneficiaries of the Tax Credit Scholarship.
To apply to become an ACE partner school please contact schools@acescholarships.org with the following information.
- School name
- School website
- State
- Main contact email
- Main contact phone number
- Grades you serve
There are other SSOs registered with the Department of Revenue to support students attending private schools, such as Butte Catholic Schools. Check out the Department of Revenue’s Tax Credit Scholarship website to learn more about how to access scholarships through this program. To see other SSOs available in the state and to track how many tax credits are still available, visit the Department of Revenue’s statistics page.
Best Practices for Scholarship Programs
When private school administrators decide to set up a scholarship program, there are several factors to consider to ensure the program runs smoothly, meets its goals, and aligns with the school’s mission. Determining and maintaining funding sources, clear scholarship goals and criteria, legal requirements and data management are some topics to contemplate. The following is not exhaustive but rather a basic overview of best practices for administering an in-house scholarship program.
Budget and Allocation of Funds
Administrators should understand the school’s overall budget and allocate funds specifically for scholarships. This can come from tuition revenue, donations, endowment funds, or external grants. Schools need a long-term plan for sustainability, ensuring that resources are not overextended or scholarships are overpromised. Annual fundraising, endowment growth plans or creating a scholarship fund established in honor of an individual, family, organization, or entity, can be part of maintaining the program well into the future.
Goals and Eligibility Criteria
Next, administrators should have clear scholarship goals and eligibility criteria. Defining whether the scholarship program will be needs-based, merit-based, or a blend will help target the right students and ensure alignment with the school’s mission. Setting clear criteria for who qualifies for the scholarship based on the type of scholarship offered will assist in the selection process.
Application and Selection Process
Organization and clarity of process are essential to making sure a school’s scholarship application process is straightforward and user friendly. Depending on the number of students a school serves, the personnel resources available, and school budget, administrators may consider using a scholarship management software to streamline the process and keep everything in order. Most management software will allow schools to track applications, customize forms and questions, provide ratings, send emails and more. Create a selection committee composed of faculty, administrators, board members or donors who understand the program’s goals and evaluation criteria.
To learn more about opening a private school or microschool, visit our page for Providers.
Disclaimer: This page does not offer legal advice and should not be perceived as such. We have compiled publicly-available resources only as a starting point that may help you evaluate key considerations along your education journey. For legal questions, we recommend that you contact an attorney familiar with Montana law and other appropriate regulatory agencies.
