How the money actually flows

Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits (EISTC) is a tax-credit program with limited/means-tested eligibility. Awards are avg ≈$2,141/student (no fixed per-student cap). Payments run through VDOE-approved Scholarship Foundations pay schools directly. Confirm the current details on the official program site before acting.

1. Confirm how the money flows. Virginia families use Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits (EISTC) funds through VDOE-approved Scholarship Foundations pay schools directly to pay approved schools/providers. Your job is to be set up to receive them cleanly.

2. Get your business paperwork in order. Legal entity, tax ID (EIN), and proof you are a real operating school.

3. Meet the state requirements. VA licensing is optional for most private K-12 (mandatory only for schools serving students with disabilities); accreditation via VCPE (private body).

4. Apply as an approved provider. No state pre-approval as 'vendor' — a school becomes 'eligible' by being the school a qualifying parent selects (health/safety + occupancy permit).

5. Keep clean invoicing & records. Program spending is documented and audited. Clear invoices and audit-ready records are how you get paid and stay clear.

Important for Virginia: Small, means-tested; sunsets 2028. doe.virginia.gov 403-blocked (Wayback-verified).

The one step that decides whether you get funded in Virginia

We read the Virginia rules and wrote up exactly what gates the money, what the law says word for word, and where founders stall.

Read the Virginia funding gate →

Want us to walk the Virginia approval with you?

We are not selling Virginia setup right now

Two things to know before you spend money on Virginia setup. There is no state vendor approval process to complete, so the compliance work we sell in other states largely does not apply here. And the tax credit is scheduled to sunset in 2028. Confirm the current position before building a tuition model around it.

Read why →

Or start free: the Virginia checklist

Free: the Virginia microschool starter checklist

Where to begin, what your state requires, and how funding works. No fluff.

Questions founders ask

Do you take a cut of my scholarship money?

No. You pay us once, and never a per-student cut.

Do I have to use a specific curriculum?

No. MicroschoolLaunchKit is the compliance and operations layer — use whatever curriculum or model you want. We handle the paperwork around it, not the teaching.

What exactly is ESA / voucher approval?

Many states let families use public scholarship funds for private-school tuition. Getting approved as a provider/vendor is how that money reaches your school. We walk you through it, state by state.

Do you take a cut of my tuition?

Never. You pay us once. Your tuition is 100% yours — unlike franchise networks that take a fee for every student.

Is this legal advice?

No. We give plain-language guidance and sourced requirements, not legal advice. For legal-sensitive decisions we point you to an education attorney.

Official sources (verify current requirements): law.lis.virginia.gov · www.edchoice.org

How to get funded in Virginia