Participate with Children’s Tuition Fund (CTF)
- Register your school
- Refer your donors to CTF
- Advertise the EITC Program & CTF on your website.
Learn more about the EITC Program in our weekly Q&A
Wednesdays 11am-12pm EST
Beginning Fall 2024 The Administrative Fee for SPE contributions in the amount of $3,000 and up has been REDUCED from 5%
Due to the holidays and SPE Closures our Zoom Q&A will resume January 8th
Pennsylvania CTF – Information for Schools
Get Involved Today!
There are three different programs through the Pennsylvania Education Tax Credit Program that benefit students, schools, and businesses:
- Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) K-12:
Household income is not to exceed $112,348 plus $19,775 per dependent child. (Example: for a family with two children, the maximum income allowed to participate in this program would be $151,898).
- Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) K-12:
EITC requirement + student must also reside within the attendance radius of a low-achieving school. The scholarship awarded may not exceed $8,500 per student.
- Educational Improvement Tax Credit Pre-K (EITC Pre-K):
Household income is not to exceed $112,348 plus $19,775 per dependent child. (Example: for a family with two children, the maximum income allowed to participate in this program would be $151,898).
Each school is required to register annually with Children’s Tuition Fund to receive Scholarships.
Pre-K Schools:
A curriculum alignment letter is required to qualify for Pre-K funds. Please use this Example-Curriculum Alignment Letter to complete your letter to include with your registration with Children’s Tuition Fund. This application and sample letter will be submitted to the Department of Education on your schools’ behalf at the end of the calendar year.
Complete the disbursement request form
Program Eligibility Summary for Schools
The term “tuition” includes school-related fees charged by a school, including a special education school. School-related fees shall include fees charged by a school to all students for books, instructional materials, technology equipment and services, uniforms and activities.
A school includes any public or nonpublic kindergarten, elementary school or secondary school at which the compulsory attendance requirements of the commonwealth may be met and which meets the applicable requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
A special education school is a school or program within a school that is designated specifically and exclusively for students with disabilities listed in Title 34 §300.8 (1) is licensed under the Private Academic Schools Act; (2) is accredited by an accrediting association approved by the State Board of Education; (3) is a school for the blind or deaf receiving commonwealth appropriations; or (4) is operated by or under the authority of a bona fide religious institution or by the
commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof.
An eligible student is a school age student, including an eligible student with a disability, who is a resident of Pennsylvania, who is enrolled in a school located in this commonwealth and who is a member of a household meeting the annual household income as outlined in the EITC Tax Credit Program Guidelines.
The amount of a scholarship paid to or on behalf of a student may not exceed the actual amount of tuition charged by the school in which the student is enrolled, nor exceed the actual amount of tuition charged by the school to non-scholarship students.
For considerations of an eligible student with a disability and income guidelines, please review the full DCED Guidelines
The program shall provide tuition to eligible students who reside within the attendance boundary of a low-achieving school to attend a participating nonpublic school or a participating public school located in a school district outside of the recipient’s school district of residence. The Department of Education shall annually publish a list of low-achieving schools located within each school district. A low-achieving school is defined as a public elementary or secondary school ranking in the bottom 15 percent of its designation as an elementary or secondary school based upon combined math and reading PSSA scores. Both nonpublic schools and public schools that elect to participate in the Opportunity Scholarship Program must annually notify the Department of Education of their intent to participate.
The term “tuition” includes school-related fees charged by a school, including a special education school. School-related fees shall include fees charged by a school to all students for books, instructional materials, technology equipment and services, uniforms and activities.
A school includes any public or nonpublic kindergarten, elementary school or secondary school at which the compulsory attendance requirements of the commonwealth may be met and which meets the applicable requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
A special education school is a school or program within a school that is designated specifically and exclusively for students with disabilities listed in Title 34 §300.8 (1) is licensed under the Private Academic Schools Act; (2) is accredited by an accrediting association approved by the State Board of Education; (3) is a school for the blind or deaf receiving commonwealth appropriations; or (4) is operated by or under the authority of a bona fide religious institution or by the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof.
An eligible student is a school age student, including an eligible student with a disability, residing within the attendance boundary of a low- achieving school, who is a resident of Pennsylvania, who is enrolled in a school located in this commonwealth and who is a member of a household meeting the annual household income as outlined in the EITC Tax Credit Program Guidelines.
The maximum amount of a scholarship awarded to an applicant without a disability shall be $8,500. The maximum amount of a scholarship awarded to an applicant with a disability shall be $15,000.
For considerations of an eligible student with a disability and income guidelines, please review the full DCED Guidelines
The term “tuition” includes school-related fees charged by a Pre-Kindergarten Program, including a special education school. School-related fees shall include fees charged by a school to all students for books, instructional materials, technology equipment and services, uniforms and activities.
A school includes any public or nonpublic kindergarten, elementary school or secondary school at which the compulsory attendance requirements of the commonwealth may be met and which meets the applicable requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
A Pre-Kindergarten Program is a program of instruction for three-year-old to six-year-old students other than a kindergarten, operated by a school, or in conjunction with a school, located in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania that utilizes a curriculum aligned with the curriculum of the school with which it is affiliated, and which provides a minimum of two hours of instructional and developmental activities per day at least 60 days per school year. If a provider conducts a summer program it must offer a minimum of two hours of instructional and developmental activities per day for at least 20 days over the summer recess. A provider of a Pre-Kindergarten Program must demonstrate that it will operate an eligible program by receiving a letter (for sample, see School Registration under Resources above) from a school in which the school confirms that the curricular content and methods of instruction at the Pre-Kindergarten Program are consistent with those used at the school and that the Pre-Kindergarten Program has agreed to align its instructional and developmental activities so that its students would be prepared to enter the school’s kindergarten when and if they chose to do so. A copy of this letter must be submitted to the Department for each Pre-Kindergarten Program that the Pre-Kindergarten Scholarship Organizations want to provide scholarships for eligible children to attend.
A special education school is a school or program within a school that is designated specifically and exclusively for students with disabilities listed in Title 34 §300.8 (1) is licensed under the Private Academic Schools Act; (2) is accredited by an accrediting association approved by the State Board of Education; (3) is a school for the blind or deaf receiving commonwealth appropriations; or (4) is operated by or under the authority of a bona fide religious institution or by the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof.
An eligible student is a three to six years of age, including an eligible student with a disability, who is a resident of Pennsylvania, who is enrolled in a Pre-Kindergarten Program located in this commonwealth and who is a member of a household meeting the annual household income as outlined in the EITC Pre-Kindergarten Tax Credit Program Guidelines.
The amount of a scholarship paid to or on behalf of a student may not exceed the actual amount of tuition charged by the school in which the student is enrolled, nor exceed the actual amount of tuition charged by the school to non-scholarship students.
For considerations of an eligible student with a disability and income guidelines, please review the full DCED Guidelines
