In the fall of 2017, Illinois created the Invest in Kids Act. This Act allows income tax credits for taxpayers who make authorized contributions to a Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO). The SGOs, in turn, provide scholarships for eligible Illinois students to attend qualified, non-public schools in Illinois. As an ISBE approved school, Westlake families are eligible to apply for these funds.We are hopeful that this program will open up the doors for many families who desired for their children to attend Westlake, but felt as though private school tuition was simply out of reach.
Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), an organization through which we are accredited, has established an SGO called Children’s Tuition Fund. Parents may apply for available scholarship monies after Monday, January 22nd at 9 am. The application is on their site at ChildrensTuitionFund.org. The application process is very simple and only takes a few minutes to complete. Do note that you will need to fill out one application per child, not per family. There is a question about “Focus Districts,” just look through the drop-down to see if your town is listed.
There are many other SGOs available to Illinois parents. A list of those programs can be found here. Each SGO is available for different geographic regions; Westlake is within Region 2. If you are planning to apply through an SGO, make sure they are Region 2 approved.