Student Funding

Use of Funds 

The Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship provides funding for families to send eligible students to approved private schools participating in the program. The State Department of Education interprets covered fees to include enrollment, registration, or application fees; textbooks fees; technology fees; activity fees; testing and assessment fees; and fees for school uniforms, if paid directly to the school. In addition to the private school tuition and fees, the Department provides guidance allowing for the scholarship to pay for special education programs offered by the private school to students with disabilities, and any therapies needed to address the educational needs resulting from the disabilities of the student such as tutoring or a one-on-one student aide. General costs of providing special education services, including the cost of teachers, equipment, material, and special costs associated with the special education class are not covered by the scholarship. 

Funding Amount and Source 

This program is funded by the state aid formula. The maximum scholarship a qualifying student with disabilities can be granted will be the amount calculated by the State Department of Education according to the student’s grade level and disability category or the amount of tuition and fees for the chosen private school, whichever is less. If the school does not charge tuition, then the scholarship amount is the amount calculated by the State Department of Education. Qualifying students in foster care or other state placements receive scholarships worth the per-pupil state aid plus any applicable weights (such as English-language learners or gifted students).  Any qualifying Oklahoma K–12 student that wishes to participate may receive funding. This program is funded by the state aid formula. The maximum scholarship a qualifying student with disabilities can be granted will be the amount calculated by the State Department of Education according to the student’s grade level and disability category or the amount of tuition and fees for the chosen private school, whichever is less. If the school does not charge tuition, then the scholarship amount is the amount calculated by the State Department of Education. Qualifying students in foster care or other state placements receive scholarships worth the per-pupil state aid plus any applicable weights (such as English-language learners or gifted students).  Any qualifying Oklahoma K–12 student that wishes to participate may receive funding. 

(Last updated December 12, 2024) 

Student Eligibility

Eligible students for the program include the any student with a disability who: (1) is served under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), and who spent the prior school year enrolled in an Oklahoma public school is eligible for the program; or (2) has had an Individualized Service Plan (ISP) developed by the Department of Human Services (DHS); (3) is a child of a military family with permanent change of station orders who has moved to Oklahoma after receiving IDEA services in another state; (4) has been served through the SoonerStart program and during transition has been determined to be eligible for school district services; (5) has been in out-of-home placement through the Office of Juvenile Affairs; (6) has been in out-of-home placement with DHS, or who was adopted while in permanent custody of DHS; or (7) who is enrolling or is enrolled in a school that exclusively serves students experiencing homelessness.  The parent must first secure enrollment at an approved private school, and reapplication is required annually, although a student will continue to qualify for the scholarship until the student enrolls in a public school, graduates from high school, or reaches the age of 22. 

(Last updated July 15, 2024) 

EdChoice Expert Feedback

Oklahoma’s voucher for students with disabilities provides thousands of families access to schooling choices that better provide support for the needs of their students, but expanded educational opportunities are needed for more families. Eligibility for the scholarship is narrowly limited to students with special education needs with a learning plan, and in some cases requires previous enrollment in public school. Less than twenty percent of Oklahoma students are eligible to receive a scholarship under the program. The average voucher is roughly $8,000, which is about 80 percent of the average expenditure per student at Oklahoma’s district schools. Statewide less than one percent of students identified by the State Department of Education as having special education needs participate in the program. To expand access to educational choice, Oklahoma policymakers should remove any prior enrollment requirements, increase scholarship funding and expand eligibility to more students. The program could also be converted into an education savings account to ensure that all students have access to the education that’s the right fit for them, whether private school or a customized course of education. Oklahoma’s voucher program generally avoids unnecessary and counterproductive regulations. (Last updated December 18, 2023)

Rules and Regulations

Program Guidelines

• Income Limit: None
• Prior Year Public School Requirement: Yes, With Exceptions
• Enrollment Cap: None
• Voucher Cap: Lesser of State Calculated Spending or Tuition Cost
• Testing Mandates: None
• Special Needs Pathway: Pathway

Participant and Family Guidelines

• Click Here for the Program Administrator’s Parent Handbook
• Education Requirements: Comply with school’s parental involvement requirements
• Parent Supplemented Funds/Scholarships: Allowed
• Miscellaneous: N/A

Education Provider Guidelines

• Accreditation/Approval: Be accredited by the State Board of Education or approved accrediting association
• Employment Standards: Teachers must have a bachelor’s degree or at least three years of teaching experience in public or private schools or have special skills, knowledge or expertise that qualifies them to provide instruction in the subjects taught
• Nondiscrimination: Comply with federal nondiscrimination provisions and state and local health and safety requirements
• Financial: Either have operated for one school year prior to participation in the program or (for schools that have not been in operation for the prior school year) provide a statement by a certified public accountant that confirms the private school is insured and the owners have sufficient capital or credit to operate or provide record of a surety bond or credit for the amount equal to the scholarship funds for any quarter
• Calendar/Curriculum/Attendance: N/A
• Miscellaneous:
  • Complies with all state laws relating to the general regulation of private schools
  • Adheres to the tenets of its published disciplinary procedures prior to the expulsion of a scholarship student.
  • Provide services and/or accommodation for students with disabilities

(Last updated December 18, 2024)

Governing Statutes

Okla. Stat. tit. 70 § 13-101.2 

(Last updated August 16, 2024) 

Legal History

On February 16, 2016, the Oklahoma Supreme Court in Oliver v. Hofmeister ruled that the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship is constitutional, in a 9-0 decision with one concurring opinion. Several factors were key to the court’s decision: 1) participation in the voucher program is voluntary; 2) a parent’s choice of school is strictly independent; 3) education funding flows from the state to the parent; 4) the program itself is neutral regarding religion; 5) any benefit to a private school is derived from the parent’s choice, not the state; 6) there is no adverse impact on the ability of religious schools to act independently of state control; 7) there is a substantial benefit to the state when a child uses a voucher—it is not a gift. Citing the landmark Zelman v. Simmons-Harris case (see Ohio | Cleveland Scholarship Program), the court said, “When the parents and not the government are the ones determining which private school offers the best learning environment for their child, the circuit between government and religion is broken.” Oliver v. Hofmeister, 368 P.3d 1270 (Okla. 2016).  

Litigation originally began a few years prior. On November 20, 2012, the Supreme Court of Oklahoma in Ind. Sch. Dist. No. 5 of Tulsa Co. v. Spry dismissed on procedural grounds the Jenks Public Schools system’s lawsuit against parents residing in their district using Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for their children with special needs to access private schools that meet their unique needs, stating the school districts do not have standing as Oklahoma taxpayers to sue under the state’s constitution and that parents were the wrong parties to sue. Ind. Sch. Dist. No. 5 of Tulsa Co. v. Spry, 2012 OK 98, 292 P.3d 19 (2012).  

Oliver v. Hofmeister began in October 2013, when twelve plaintiffs renewed the 2012 legal challenge, this time with proper litigants. The Oklahoma County District Court ruled that the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship for Students with Disabilities program violated Article 2, Section 5—the Oklahoma Constitution’s Blaine amendment—only insofar as the program allowed public funds to be used to pay tuition at private “sectarian” schools, described by the court to be like “Notre Dame . . . a Catholic institution through and through” where “religion influences every aspect.” Paying tuition at private “religious-affiliated” schools like “Southern Methodist University . . . Methodist in name only” was deemed permissible by this narrow ruling. Oliver v. Barresi, No. CV-2013-2072.

(September 10, 2014)