Virginia is using a digital wallet to help students and families use state grants

Virginia families can now access a digital wallet to receive state grant funding for students.

To distribute and track the spending of a $30 million program, the Virginia Department of Education partnered with digital wallet company ClassWallet. The Elementary and Secondary School Relief Funds, which will be distributed in K-12 Learning Recovery Grants, are designed to help students keep up after COVID-19’s impact on student learning.

Funds will be distributed in $3,000 and $1,500 grants for state-based students. Qualifying families who earn up to 300% above the Federal Poverty Level will receive a $3,000 grant, and all other qualifying families will receive $1,500. The Virginia Department of Education declined to comment on the partnership.,

Students and families can use the funds for virtual, hybrid or in-person tutoring in either group or one-on-one settings. Selected families will receive a digital wallet from ClassWallet, which they can use to directly purchase educational materials and tutoring services through a dedicated portal.

Jamie Rosenberg, the CEO and founder of ClassWallet, told Technical.ly that the Florida company manages grants for about 6.1 million students across 27 states. Those in the education industry might remember him as the founder of Adopt-A-Classroom, an education philanthropy platform.

Rosenberg said that officials need to ensure the grant funds are being used for the intended purposes. For families, that often means paying out-of-pocket, saving receipts and submitting for reimbursements. With the digital wallet, officials can ensure that compliance is met while families can access a balance worth however much they received. From there, they can pay tutors and buy materials from companies like Scholastic, Amazon, Staples and Lakeshore, which are integrated into the app.

“You could shop and buy things, like books for your child through Scholastic, through ClassWallet using the funds in the ClassWallet balance, without having to use your own credit card or anything like that,” Rosenberg said.

The ability to do everything in-app, Rosenberg said, means the funds can be tracked automatically; the paperwork reduction likewise means the state saves money. He added that this system allows funds to reach families sooner and, he hopes, helps them even more.

“ClassWallet’s mission is to ultimately unlock the compliance burden so that the funds can reach the families and have an impact on those students,” Rosenberg said. “We’re incredibly proud and excited to do that in Virginia as we’ve done for other students around the country for similar programs.”