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Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) Program

The BOOST Program provides scholarships for students who are eligible for the Free or Reduced-Price Meals program (FARMS).  Awards are granted based on household income, with the lowest income served first. The online applications for BOOST Scholarships must include documents supporting income eligibility and school enrollment. 

For additional information, contact the BOOST Program at boost.msde@maryland.gov

2022-2023 BOOST Scholarship Application   Clickable Button that reads: 2022-2023 BOOST Scholarship Application

The 2022-2023 BOOST Scholarship application can be found here.

For Parents

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Required Application Documents:

You MUST submit two types of documents with your application to be considered for a scholarship award:
  1. 2021 Federal Income tax return - (all pages of tax return including schedules)
  2. Documentation from a participating nonpublic school that the student is enrolled or has applied for admission to the school.

Eligibility Requirements:

Parents/Guardians must meet the following criteria:
  • Provide documentation that the student has submitted an application, been accepted, or enrolled at a BOOST participating nonpublic school. The list of potential participating schools is available in a link on the main BOOST webpage.
  • Demonstrate that the household income reported on Federal Income Tax return tax year 2021 forms must be within the FARMS threshold limits for household size and income.
  • If the student is in Informal Kinship Care, provide an affidavit verifying Informal Kinship Care must be submitted. To obtain the affidavit, download the Informal Kinship Care form.

Notes:

  • ONLY if by law you are not required to file a federal income tax return and have not submitted a federal income tax return to the IRS, you may complete and submit a BOOST Alternative Income Verification form  with supporting documentation necessary to verify income. Detailed information regarding who is required to file a federal income tax return can be found on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website. An inter-active, on-line IRS interview that provides additional information regarding who must file a federal tax return and who should file to receive a refund can be found on the IRS webpage "Do I Need to File a Tax Return?"  
  • If you do not have Adobe Reader software to create and open PDF documents,



Resources for Parents:

For Nonpublic Schools

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A technical assistance session was held on Thursday, September 29, 2022 from 1-2pm for nonpublic schools participating in the BOOST Program. During this session, schools received information on the amended assurances, how to complete reporting requirements, as well as how to process a BOOST Scholarship payment. For questions, send an email to boost.msde@maryland.gov. To view a recording of this session, view the video below:

 

Nonpublic Schools must confirm enrollment of students approved for a BOOST Scholarship by logging into the BOOST Scholarship application and confirming each individual student’s enrollment. For a tutorial on how to confirm enrollment, view the video below:

 


Resources for nonpublic schools: