How scholarships are awarded and paid

1. 1Last year's recipients. Students who received a scholarship from CEN SGO the previous school year. (Source: §25F(d)(1)(D)(i))
2. 2Their brothers and sisters. Eligible students with a sibling who received a scholarship from CEN SGO. (Source: §25F(d)(1)(D)(ii))
3. 3Everyone else who's eligible. The law leaves this order to the SGO.

Every student has to be eligible first. CEN checks household income every year, and Treasury expects SGOs to choose students who live in the state. (Source: §25F(d)(1)(F); Notice 2025-70)

2027 is the first year. Treasury hasn't said whether scholarships awarded before 2027, such as under a state program, count toward returning-student priority.

Donations designated to your school go into your school's fund. Award amounts depend on how much is in that fund, how many eligible students apply and what you charge. The portal's tuition tools handle fee settings, so awards line up with what each family owes.

Example. Tuition is $9,500. A student receives a $6,000 scholarship. The family's account shows $3,500 still owed, which the family pays or covers with other aid that doesn't pay for the same cost.

Example. Your school's fund has $60,000 for the coming year. Eight students who received scholarships last year apply again, along with three of their younger brothers and sisters and ten new families. All are eligible. CEN awards the eight returning students first, then the three siblings, then the new families as far as the money goes. (Source: §25F(d)(1)(D))

Families hear from CEN, not from your school, with decision letters sent with your sign-off. Your team sees each applicant's status and award in the portal.

CEN pays on the schedule in your partner agreement. Each payment comes with a record of which students it covers, so your business office can post it. Families see the award on their statement.

Scholarships for costs on the list aren't taxable income for families. (Source: §139K)

• Confirm enrollment for each scholarship student before the payment date.
• Post each payment to the right student's account, using CEN's per-student record.
• Check the portal against your ledger, so your award totals match CEN's.
• Flag balances. Tell CEN if an award plus other aid is more than a family owes.
• Keep the records with your other tuition records, in case CEN or an auditor asks.

Report any change as soon as it happens, in the portal or to your CEN contact.

• Withdrawal. The student leaves before the year ends. Report it, and CEN will tell you how to handle any part of the award not yet used. Money not used for that student stays scholarship money for eligible students in the same state. (Source: §25F(c)(3))
• Transfer to another partner school. Report it. CEN decides how the rest of the year's award is handled.
• Transfer to a school that isn't a partner. Report it. CEN pays partner schools only.
• A credit balance. If an award and other aid add up to more than the family owes, ask CEN before you refund anything. Scholarships pay for qualified costs, not cash to families. (Source: §25F(d)(1)(C))
• Grade change. Report it, since it can change tuition.

• Telling a family their award before CEN confirms it.
• Posting an award to the wrong student's account.
• Refunding a credit balance to a family as cash.
• Waiting until the end of the term to report a withdrawal.
• Promising a scholarship to a donor's child.