Private school tuition with North Carolina ESA and scholarship funds

What is covered, conditions and how to pay

Status: Covered with conditions. Covered at DNPE-registered schools; for students with disabilities only.
Conditions: ESA+ students with disabilities only. Tuition and fees at a nonpublic school registered with the NC Division of Non-Public Education. At a Direct Payment School, SEAA pays the school each semester after the school and parent endorse the award; any balance moves to ClassWallet. At an ESA+ Reimbursement School, the family pays and is reimbursed after submitting receipts in December and April/May. Tuition counts toward the $500 requirement.
Limits: Up to the award ($9,000 or $17,000); families pay any difference. Not available to home schools.
Payment routes: Reimbursement (three cases only)
Documentation: Direct Payment Schools: endorsement in MyPortal. Reimbursement Schools: tuition receipts uploaded to ClassWallet when SEAA asks.
Not allowed: Tuition for a home school; enrollment fees for the following school year; credit card, service, payment-plan and late fees; before or after care that is not tutoring; school lunches.
Example: Fall tuition at a registered private school
Source: NCSEAA: How Scholarship Funds Work, Direct Payment Schools; Reimbursement Schools (ESA+) (version accessed 2026-10-19). Checked 2026-10-19.

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