Eligibility
Eligible students must meet these criteria:
- School: Either attending an Orthodox K-12 school or those attending an Orthodox school, classical school, or home school as members of a canonical Orthodox Christian jurisdiction. Some exceptions may be possible, e.g. a scholarship for certain expenses of an Orthodox student at a public school.
- Income: From a family whose household income is no greater than 300% of their area median gross income (see the HUD site to find your area's limit).
- State: reside and attend school in one of our operating states.
- Eligible to enroll in a public primary or secondary school.
- Not a close relative of our board or scholarship committee members.
Selection process
A committee of Orthodox Christian faithful, educators, parents, and clergy make decisions on applications from students and their families.
Before the committee meets, our staff ensures that all applicants meet the minimum eligibility requirements.
The committee then decides on each application and recommends scholarship amounts beyond the base scholarship amount, which varies by year and state. The committee uses qualitative and quantitative factors to recommend the size of discretionary scholarship awards, taking into account the scholar's need, merit, and the general availability of scholarship funds. Final awards are approved by the board of directors.St. Basil’s provides priority consideration to students awarded a scholarship the previous school year and any eligible students who have a sibling who was awarded a scholarship (in that order).
St. Basil does not consider applications on the basis of race, color, national origin, or disability.
States
According to federal law, tax credits can only be awarded for donations to eligible scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs). Each state decides whether to participate in the program, then provides an annual list of eligible SGOs to the federal government.
St. Basil's is working to be included on as many state lists as possible. To do so, it must meet certain criteria from the federal government and from each state government. To maintain that eligibility, we can only give scholarships to students in one of the states in which we are operating.
| State | Federal program? | State program? | St. Basil's Status | Home schools? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | Pending | Yes | Applications for Spring 2026 scholarships open November 1, 2025. | Pending |
| Kansas | Pending | Yes | Pending | Pending |
| Texas | Pending | Yes | Pending | Pending |
| Pennsylvania | Pending | No | Pending | Pending |
| New York | Pending (unlikely) | No | Pending | Pending |
Qualified elementary and secondary educational expenses
Qualified elementary and secondary educational expenses are defined as:
- expenses for tuition, fees, academic tutoring, special needs services (in the case of a special needs beneficiary), books, supplies, and other equipment which are incurred in connection with the enrollment or attendance of the student as an elementary or secondary school student at a public, private, or religious school,
- expenses for room and board, uniforms, transportation, and supplementary items and services (including extended day programs) which are required or provided by a public, private, or religious school in connection with such enrollment or attendance, and
- expenses for the purchase of any computer technology or equipment or Internet access and related services, if such technology, equipment, or services are to be used by the beneficiary and the beneficiary’s family during any of the years the beneficiary is in school.
The definition of “school” is determined by state law. Some states could allow home schools to qualify for certain expenses.