IDAHO, USA —
On Wednesday, the Idaho State Board of Education announced applications for the Empowering Parents grant will be available to Idaho families in mid-September.
Eligible parents or guardians will be able to use the funds to purchase education-related resources and services such as computer hardware and software, instructional materials, and tutoring services from the Empowering Parents online marketplace.
“The empowering parents grant program is modeled after an earlier version of the program that was initiated in 2020, called strong families, strong students,” said Mike Keckler, the Chief Communications and Legislative Affairs Officer for the Idaho State Board of Education.
Students in kindergarten through 12th grade and attend Idaho public and private schools, or those who are homeschooled, are all eligible.
The program provides $1,000 per student and a maximum of $3,000 per family.
The grants will be prioritized for households with an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) at or below $60,000 per year. After the first phase of awards have been given, the limit will be increased to families with an AGI up to $75,000 per year. Once the second phase is complete, and if grant funds are still available, the program will be available to all eligible students and families.
“The purpose of this is to help families help their students, particularly with learning loss, we know that a lot of students fell behind as a result of the pandemic and we're hoping that these resources will help parents in their efforts to bring their students back up to where they should be and get them back on track,” Keckler said.
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