Approximately 28,916 Idaho K-12 students received Empowering Parents grant funding in the 2023-24 school year.
BOISE, Idaho — In a news release Monday, the Idaho State Board of Education (ISBE) announced it has approved the final funding for the Empowering Parents grant for the recently concluded state fiscal year.
ISBE said this means that Odyssey, the program administrator, is currently processing the final batch of eligible grants.
According to a news release, there was a lot of interest in the program, with more than 59,000 applications submitted, of which 37,000 were considered for Empowering Parents grant funding.
“This marks the end of the second year of the ‘Empowering Parents Program,’ and since the program’s inception, more than 78,000 grants have been awarded to students,” said State Board Chair Dr. Linda Clark. “The ‘Empowering Parents Program’ is making a real difference for Idaho students and their families, and we thank Governor Brad Little and the Idaho Legislature for their continued support.”
According to ISBE, here are some quick facts about this year’s Empowering Parents program:
28,916 Idaho K-12 students received Empowering Parents grants for the 2023-24 school year. 71% of grants were awarded to families earning less than $60,000 per year. Idaho parents and students can use their grant funds on more than 11,000 products and services available on the Empowering Parents online marketplace. More than 400 Idaho small businesses are vendors in the program, offering goods and services such as laptops, educational summer camps, and tutoring and materials.
The Empowering Parents Program was created in 2022 to help families cope with pandemic-related learning delays while supporting Idaho businesses and the local economy throughout the process.
The Idaho Legislature appropriated $30 million in additional “Empower Parents” grants for the current fiscal year, which began July 1.
The next Empowering Parents application period will open in the fall of the upcoming academic year.
For more information about the Empowering Parents grant, please visit this site.
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