Families First

The Families First Scholarship

Cost should never decide which families learn to advocate. The Families First Scholarship covers tuition, in full or in part, for the Parent IEP Advocacy Academy, Camp EDquity, and EDquity Scholars. The application takes about five minutes, low-income eligibility is checked automatically from two questions, and no documentation is ever required. The standard is honesty, not paperwork. Scholarship seats are limited in each cohort and awarded in application order as donor funding allows, so applying early helps.

How awards are decided

The same schedule applies to every family, using the answers in the application. Every award, full or half, is funded by donations: awards are granted in application order as funding allows, and when no scholarship funding is available, qualified applications wait in line until a gift opens the next seat.

Full award: tuition covered completely

Household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines (checked automatically), or receiving public assistance, or a foster or kinship placement, or an urgent IEP situation.

Half award: tuition reduced by half

Household income between 200% and 400% of the guidelines, or any other qualifying situation: a single-parent household, recent hardship, a language barrier, or a rural community.

Full tuition

Household income above 400% of the guidelines with no qualifying situations.

Which program is this for?

Your information

First name *

Last name *

Email address *

Phone number

Your child's information

Child's first name *

Child's age or grade *

School name *

School district *

State *

Your household

Two questions, checked automatically against the current federal poverty guidelines. No documents, no proof, no follow-up questions.

People in your household *

Annual household income (before taxes) *

Eligibility criteria

Select every criterion that describes your family's situation. No documentation is required; the standard is honesty, not paperwork.

Low incomeHousehold income at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. This one is calculated automatically from your answers above.Public assistanceCurrently receiving SNAP, Medicaid or CHIP, WIC, TANF, or federal housing assistance.Single-parent householdYou are the sole parent or legal guardian in your household.Foster or kinship familyChild is in foster care, was adopted from foster care, or is in a kinship placement.Recent hardshipFamily has experienced significant hardship in the past 12 months: job loss, medical crisis, natural disaster, or domestic violence.Language barrierEnglish is not the primary home language and advocacy resources in your language are limited.Rural or tribal communityYour family lives in a rural or tribal community with few or no local special education advocacy resources.Urgent situationYour child is facing a time-sensitive IEP crisis: an upcoming contested meeting, a contested placement decision, or a district that has stopped responding.

Anything you want us to know?

Optional. A sentence or two is plenty.