Most Ohio families qualify for $1,000 to pay for camps, tutoring

Cole Behrens, Cincinnati Enquirer
Updated ·2 min read

Most parents in Ohio can now get up to $1,000 from the state to send their kids to an after-school program like tutoring, day camps, music lessons and field trips.

The Ohio Department of Education announced Tuesday it has expanded its Ohio Afterschool Child Enrichment program, called ACE, which was designed to provide educational activities to students who "experienced learning disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic," according to a release.

Under the new guidelines, children age 6 to 18 can qualify for the $1,000 credit by meeting one of three criteria:

  • Their family's household income is up to 400% of the federal poverty line, or $54,360 for a one-person household and up to $111,000 for a four-person household. That's about 80% of Ohio households. Previously, household income was required to be at or below 300%.

  • Residing in a school district identified as experiencing high rates of chronic absenteeism or those operating schools designated as low-performing.

  • Participating in income-based programs such as Medicaid, SNAP and Ohio Works First.

See the list below of which southwest Ohio school districts qualify.

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Programs that parents can get credit for include summer camps, language and music lessons, after-school programs and tutoring. In southwest Ohio, approved programs include the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Cincinnati Museum Center and YMCA of Greater Dayton.

Colleen Grady, senior program officer at the Ohio Department of Education, said in a release that the technology platform used has made the program seamless and successful. The program is administered by the ODE and Merit, a government modernization company that manages the platform. Ohio lawmakers expanded eligibility in December.

To receive the credit, families must visit aceohio.org and apply for an ACE educational savings account. Once approved, parents and guardians may search for participating service providers in the ACE Education Marketplace and submit claims for reimbursement using a dedicated app.

Educational service providers can also apply through the website to be listed as a preapproved vendor in the marketplace.

Eligible school districts in southwest Ohio

Butler County: Hamilton City, Middletown City and New Miami Local.

Hamilton County: Cincinnati Public Schools, Lockland Local, Mount Healthy City, North College Hill City, Northwest Local, Norwood City, Princeton City, St. Bernard-Elmwood Place City and Winton Woods City.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio expands $1,000 credit for student summer camps, tutoring