Everything behind the short version on the Families page: the documents you’ll need, what a scholarship can pay for, how applying works, and who comes first when funds are limited.
One of the following is enough.
Federal tax return
Your most recent one.
W-2s or paystubs
Recent ones, for every earner in the household.
IRS transcript
A record of your return, from the IRS.
Program participation
Such as SNAP, TANF, WIC, Section 8 or SSI.
Foster children qualify automatically.
Tuition and fees
Tuition and required fees at your child’s K–12 school.
Books and supplies
Books, supplies and equipment your child needs for class.
Tutoring
Academic tutoring connected to your child’s schooling.
Special-needs services
Services a student with special needs receives in connection with enrolling or attending school.
Uniforms and transportation
Uniforms, transportation and room and board, when the school requires or provides them.
Extended day
Before- and after-school programs, when the school requires or provides them.
Computers and internet
Computer technology, equipment and internet access your child uses during the school years.
At JEFA partner schools, scholarships are applied to tuition and fees, credited directly to your school account. They are never paid to you in cash, and they are not counted as income, so neither you nor your child owes federal income tax on them.
Applications open after January 1, 2027
Check your school.
Ask whether it partners with JEFA. If it doesn’t yet, recommend it and we’ll reach out.
Create your family account.
One account covers every child in your household, and both parents can sign in.
Add your children and your school.
Grade, school and start date for each child.
Upload income documents.
One qualifying document from the list above.
Get a decision.
Your school’s application window and timeline are shown in your account, and awards are credited directly to the school.
If more eligible families apply than donations can cover, scholarships are awarded in this order. Federal law sets the first two.
Returning students
Children who received a JEFA scholarship the school year before.
Their siblings
Brothers and sisters of those returning students.
Every other eligible family
JEFA awards what remains under its own published criteria.
Students with special needs
The law’s list of covered costs specifically includes special-needs services. Ask your school what support it offers.
Homeschooling
Whether a homeschool counts depends on how your state’s law treats it, and states vary.
Military families
Scholarships are funded state by state. If you move, you apply again in your new state, as long as it has joined the program and has a JEFA partner school.
Foster and kinship families
Foster children qualify automatically. Kinship families are assessed on the household’s actual income.
Giving and applying in the same year
You can do both. You can choose your child’s school, but federal law bars directing a donation to your own child. JEFA makes every award.
State vouchers and scholarships
Often your child can receive both. The federal scholarship is a separate program, and the two just can’t pay for the same cost twice.
Ask us anything about scholarships — who qualifies, what one covers, how applying works — and a real person at JEFA will get back to you. Applications open after January 1, 2027, and we’re glad to help you get ready before then.