What is unique about ESA enrollments?
Education Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) aim to ease financial barriers for families in certain U.S. states. Here's what makes ESA enrollments unique:
Some state programs have requirements for which content, teacher credentials, and class formats are eligible to be purchased with ESA funds.
Pending enrollments may take several days to be approved by a family's state program. While orders are pending, the learner's seat is not reserved.
Fixed-duration and Self-Paced classes are fully paid upon enrollment.
Week-after-week and 1-on-1 class enrollments allow bulk enrollment. Families can enroll in recurring classes for up to 18 weeks and 12 weeks for 1-on-1 classes.
Extending enrollments requires creating a new enrollment through the ESA marketplace.
How can I tell if a family has enrolled with ESA funds?
Detecting Third-Party Bulk Enrollments (ESA and Charter):
Look for the number of weeks and end date in the new enrollment email for week-after-week classes.
Check the 'Change Enrollment' modal for multiple meetings with the same purchase date.
How do I know if I am eligible to accept ESA enrollments?
Educators are welcome to upload credentials to their profile via the Educator Dashboard. This helps Outschool surface qualifying classes for parents on ClassWallet and other ESA marketplaces in participating states (see the list here). Be sure to fill out all fields when entering the details about your credentials.
Each U.S. state that offers families an ESA (Education Scholarship Account) has different requirements for what types of courses or programs are eligible for scholarship spending. Families living in certain states may only be able to spend their ESA funds on certain classes or with specific educators.
Please note that state ESA programs may change their requirements periodically, and Outschool is not able to share additional information about specific class or educator eligibility requirements.
For detailed information on using ESA funds for Outschool classes, guide families to our ESA Information page. This resource includes a form for parents to be notified when Outschool is approved for their ESA or Micro Grant program.
Note for Seller Organization administrators: Organization teachers can upload their teaching credentials/degrees at outschool.com/teach/credentials. As an organization admin, you can view the uploaded credentials of teachers in your organization by accessing the credentials page at outschool.com/organization/credentials.
By having your organization's teachers upload their credentials, your listings may be able to become eligible for certain state funding programs that have credential requirements.
In order for your organization to be listed as eligible for a state funding program with credential requirements, all of the teachers within your organization must hold at least one of the state’s required credentials, and they must upload them to Outschool.
Can I share my credentials directly with a family if they request them for an ESA, Mini-grant, or scholarship?
Families that are using funding other than those on this list may ask educators to provide a copy of their credentials to submit to their state program, scholarship, or other funding source. In these cases, it is up to the educator's discretion if they would like to provide this information. Guidelines for charging credentials can be found here.
Why are some sections of my classes available for ESA families while others are not?
Some states require that classes end by a specific deadline (e.g., all meetings must be complete before Dec 30) or require an approval window (e.g., the first meeting must be at least five days from the order date). Parents may report that they cannot enroll in their desired section due to these parameters.
If a parent is having trouble enrolling in a class that you expect should be eligible, please have the family write directly to the support team, and we will help troubleshoot.
Can I transfer learners with ESA enrollments?
Learners who have paid with ESA funds can be transferred between sections of the same class, and the payments tied to the original enrollment will be transferred to the new section.
At this time, ESA families do not have access to the transfer request button and will need to message the educator directly to request a transfer to a new section.
Can I transfer payments if I need to cancel a meeting and want to provide a make-up meeting for a different week?
Payments made by ESAs for week-after-week classes are for consecutive weeks and are tied to a specific end date. Enrollments with ESA funds cannot be extended for make-up classes, and educators will need to issue refunds for any canceled classes.
ESA Enrollments in 1-on-1 Classes
Can families using ESA funds enroll in 1-on-1 classes with a private meeting link?
Families are welcome to use one-time private meeting links to enroll in 1-on-1 tutoring classes. Please note that private links for 1-on-1 classes are only active for 7 days. If the link expires before the enrollment is approved, parents may receive an error.
Also, private meeting links where the educator has selected 'until I cancel' are not currently compatible with ClassWallet enrollments. This article outlines how parents can add additional meeting times to an enrollment.
Can educators add meeting times in a 1-on-1 class?
At this time, educators cannot add meeting requests for 1-on-1 classes since families must place orders through their ClassWallet account. If a parent would like to add additional meetings in a 1-on-1 class, they may need to do so from the section meetings tab.
Self-Paced Classes
Why do I see self-paced courses in my calendar with no learners and random start dates, and how can I ensure the calendar is accurate?
If you notice self-paced courses with no learners and random start dates on your calendar, this is due to a pending ClassWallet enrollment. Here's what happens:
Pending Enrollment: A section is created when there is a pending ClassWallet enrollment.
No Learners Yet: No confirmed learner enrollments will be visible until the enrollment is approved.
Approved Enrollment: If the ClassWallet enrollment is approved, the learner's information will appear and be added to the class summary page.
Canceled Order: If the order is canceled, the section will disappear from your schedule.
To keep your calendar accurate, manually check for upcoming start dates and enrollments in the "Upcoming Classes" section on your Educator Dashboard.
Want to learn more about how ESA enrollments work for parents?
Check out our parent-facing articles, Using ESA or Microgrant Funds to Enroll in Outschool Classes, and How do Outschool Classes Work with My ESA Funds?