Becoming payable from an ESA
There's no state approval list for ESA schools. A qualified private school is paid when a family submits its invoice through ClassWallet Direct Pay, so the practical step is registering as a ClassWallet vendor. Invoices for tuition must be detailed; a card-terminal receipt won't be accepted.
Rules a school must follow
A school that accepts ESA money must fingerprint staff who have unsupervised contact with students and may not refund, rebate or share ESA funds with a parent. State law also says a qualified school can't be required to change its creed, practices, admissions policy or curriculum to take ESA students, and accepting ESA money does not make it an agent of the state.
Getting on STO lists
STOs award scholarships at schools they partner with, and Tucson families check those lists first. Contact the STOs your families use, which in Pima County typically means IBE, APSTO, School Choice Arizona, ACSTO and, for Catholic schools, CTSO, and ask how to become a participating school.
Explaining the choice to parents
Families can't hold an ESA and an STO award for the same child in the same year. Schools that lay out both paths clearly, with real tuition numbers, save parents a great deal of confusion. A one-page sheet with tuition, fees the ESA can pay and your STO partners goes a long way.
Listing with us
Claim your listing to add tuition, ClassWallet status, your STO partners and photos. We'll send you families who already have funding in motion.