At Charleston Bilingual Academy, we believe a high-quality education should be accessible to all families, regardless of their financial situation.
Families may apply for SC ESTF and/or CBA scholarships; both require families to submit an application through FACTS Management. Please read about the different options below.
SC Education Scholarship Trust Fund Program (ESTF) Scholarships
“On May 5, 2023, Governor Henry McMaster signed the Education Scholarship Trust Fund Act into law. This new ESA program—modeled after similar programs around the country—allows qualifying South Carolina parents to apply for a scholarship… to create a customized, flexible education for their child…”
Important Dates
November 1, 2025: ESTF renewal window opens! Current ESTF recipients will be able to apply to renew their participation in the ESTF program for the 2026-27 school year. During this window, their siblings are also eligible to apply if they are not currently receiving ESTF funds. Priority window closes on January 14, 2026.
December 31, 2025: Third Disbursement of $1875 loaded to 25-26 recipients’ accounts.
January 15 – February 8,2026: Application window opens for students in at least one of the following priority groups: Household income is at or below 300% FPL, OR active-duty parent or guardian stationed in SC, OR prior year public school attendance.
February 9, 2026: Applications open for anyone with a household income up to 500% FPL
February 28, 2026: Fourth Disbursement of $1875 loaded to 25-26 recipients’ accounts.
- Click here to access important information from the Department of Education, including a pre-qualification tool.
- Here is a link provided by the Palmetto Promise program to check your student’s eligibility.
- If your family has been approved to receive ESTF funding, here are the next steps:
1) Read the ESTF Participant Handbook and set up ClassWallet.
2) Inform the CBA Finance Office (finance@charlestonbilingualacademy.org) once you have set up ClassWallet, and let the Finance Office know about the ESTF invoice requirements. The Finance Office will then send you an invoice that you may upload to ClassWallet in the next step. **Be sure that the contact information you provided to ESTF matches the information CBA has in the FACTS Family Portal so that there are no delays in providing the invoice.
3) Follow the instructions at this link on how to “Pay a Vendor” using ClassWallet. ClassWallet will ask you to upload the invoice you received from the CBA Finance Office.
- CBA will require and verify that you have applied first to the SC ESTF program (if you meet the eligibility requirements), before making decisions for the disbursement of any other financial aid through the FACTS Management System for the 26-27 school year. I
CBA Scholarships
CBA uses FACTS Management third-party financial aid assessment.
Families who plan to request tuition assistance may fill out a FACTS financial aid application form by clicking here.
FACTS charges a $45 processing fee.
Tuition assistance is awarded on a one-year basis, so returning families must reapply each year.
Tuition assistance submissions begin in January. Interested families are encouraged to complete the tuition assistance application process at the same time as the admission application or re-enrollment process.
- This is the same company that processes the CBA application and enrollment forms, but the FACTS financial aid portal is separate from the FACTS Family Portal/Student Information System, so families will need to set up an account on this site to apply for financial aid.
When you click the link above, it will take you to the FACTS financial aid application portal. If you have never applied to receive aid through FACTS, you will need to create an account.
