School Partnership Agreement

The Ohio Opportunity Scholars DBA Every Child Every Family was certified by the State of Ohio Attorney General’s Office as a Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO) in 2022. As an SGO, Every Child Every Family administers the scholarship program according to the guidelines under Ohio Revised Code 5747.02, 5747.98 and 5747.73, which provides a nonrefundable credit against a taxpayer’s aggregate tax liability for a taxpayer that donates cash to scholarship granting organizations during the taxable year. The credit shall not exceed, for any taxable year, $750 for an individual or $1500 per couple filing jointly. The credit will not be allowed unless the taxpayer provides a copy of the receipt or other document issued by the scholarship granting organization acknowledging the taxpayer’s contribution to the organization and the amount of the contribution. The funds collected are restricted for scholarships for tuition and or academic fees for students in grades K-12 at nonpublic schools. All funds received by the school must be used for tuition or fees for low-income primary and secondary school students to attend the school.

Both Parties — Every Child Every Family and the school completing this application — understand that the requirements outlined in this document remain in effect unless and until one of the parties notifies the other in writing of their intention to dissolve the partnership. If either party chooses to dissolve the partnership, then both parties will enter good-faith discussions to resolve any outstanding issues in a manner that offers the fairest and most compliant resolution for everyone impacted by the decision.

Every Child Every Family reserves the right to amend the agreement at any time in response to legislative, market and/or policy changes. Every Child Every Family will notify the school in writing prior to the implementation of any amendment or changes.

Every Child Every Family will allow donors to restrict their gifts to fund awards for eligible students at your school. All donations restricted to your school will be tracked using our accounting system. Donors will be able to designate their donation to the school of their choice. As allowed by statute, Every Child Every Family will collect an administrative fee from each donation. The rate (%) will be established for each fiscal year (January thru December) but will not exceed 5%.

As best as possible, Every Child Every Family will disburse scholarship funds within a reasonable period within three days of the first day of the school year.

Every Child Every Family will occasionally conduct an audit with your school to review income verification documentation used to approve awards and ensure that awarded funds were accurately applied to each recipient's tuition account.

The school will provide enrolled students, who meet the eligibility requirements, with an application to apply for a tax credit-funded scholarship. Consistent with the scholarship administration process, the school will provide accurate and timely information about each applicant. When certifying that an applicant meets the income eligibility requirements, the school will indicate how they determined eligibility, keep this information on file and award the scholarship amount. The school will be responsible for providing Every Child Every Family with the application and proof of income for the scholarship recipient once the scholarship has been awarded.

The school may set the award amount for each recipient. When setting the award amount, the school will do so in a manner consistent with their board approved financial assistance policy and assure that the process does not unfairly or illegally discriminate.

The school will be responsible for any scholarship recipient that leaves the school during the year and prorate the award amount.

The school will maintain communication with Every Child Every Family and ensure that all requested information is current and accurate.

It is the school's responsibility to validate that each applicant comes from a household that meets the income guidelines for approval. The school will be responsible for maintaining evidence of each applicant's income eligibility. Schools may use a report compiled by a third-party servicer they use to assess a household's financial need (ex. FACTS, PSAS, etc.) A school may also use/provide a copy of the approval notice from the Ohio Department of Education if the applicant has been awarded an EdChoice Expansion scholarship for the SAME school year as the one for which they are seeking the Tax Credit Scholarship. If these two options are unavailable, the school will need to have the applicant household complete the Income Verification Form and submit it along with copies of the applicable supporting documentation.

If a school knowingly certifies income eligibility for a scholarship that they cannot provide evidence to support upon request, then the scholarship may be revoked, and the school may be unable to participate in the program in the future.