MOScholars Is Growing Fast. Here’s What the Data Shows.

A new report from the Saint Louis University PRiME Center confirms what many Missouri families already know: MOScholars is working, and more families want in every year.

The report, MOScholars: Program Demographics and Participation Trends, SY 2022-23 to 2025-26, looks at who is using Missouri’s education scholarship program, how participation has changed over four years, and what it means for students across our state.

The Numbers Tell a Powerful Story

When MOScholars launched in the 2022-23 school year, roughly 1,300 students participated in the program’s first year. By the 2025-26 school year, that number had climbed to more than 6,400 students. That is a jump of approximately 370% across the program’s first four years.

That kind of growth does not happen by accident. It happens when families find a program that works and tell other families about it.

Over the course of these four years, Educational Assistance Organizations distributed more than $80.9 million in MOScholars awards. In the most recent school year alone, EAOs distributed nearly $44 million to more than 6,400 students, the largest single-year total in the program’s history.

A Program Built for Kids Who Need It Most

MOScholars was created to give more educational options to two groups of students: those with disabilities who have an approved Individualized Education Plan (IEP), and those from low-income families. The data shows the program is reaching both groups, and more of each group every year.

About 30% of MOScholars participants have a verified IEP. The other 70% qualify because their family income meets the program’s guidelines. The report notes that students without verified IEPs make up a growing share of program participants, showing increasing participation among low-income students and siblings of students already in the program. 

This tells us that word is spreading. More low-income families are learning about MOScholars and taking advantage of the opportunities it provides.

Early Enrollment Is a Good Sign for MOScholars’ Future

The elementary grades have seen the largest growth in participation, with kindergarten through second grade accounting for the largest shares of enrollment in the most recent school year. This is good news for the long-term health of the program. When young students enter MOScholars early, they are likely to stay for many years. And as those students move up through the grades and new families enroll their youngest children, the program will keep growing from the ground up.

It is also worth knowing that entering kindergarten or first grade is one of the ways low-income students qualify for MOScholars, so strong early enrollment is partly built into how the program works.

What This Means for Missouri

This report was written by independent researchers. It is based on real enrollment and award data, not opinion. And what it shows is encouraging for anyone who believes Missouri children deserve more educational options.

More students are being served. More scholarship dollars are reaching families. And the program is helping a wide range of Missouri kids, from those with significant learning needs to those whose families simply want a better fit for their child.

At the Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri, we believe every child in our state deserves access to an education that works for them. MOScholars is making that possible, and the numbers back it up.Read the full report here.