100% of Families qualify for Flex Tuition, meaning no family pays the “Full Tuition” price out of pocket. See below to see what your expected out-of-pocket tuition will be, based on your household income.  Flex Tuition rates have gone up slightly over last year, as we continue to ensure that all teachers and staff earn a living wage.

2025-26 Academic Year “Full Tuition”: $13,400*

* This represents 95% of the actual cost per student to run IDEA School.
Flex Tuition works because of the outside support of tax credit gifts and direct charitable gifts from many generous community members!

YOU QUALIFY FOR FLEX TUITION!

The IDEA School is accessible to ALL families, regardless of income. In order to ensure 100% equity, accessibility, and inclusion, we utilize “Flex Tuition.”

Your Flex Tuition level is based on your family income and household (HH) size, as well as whether you are a single parent or two-parent household, a grandparent raising your grandchild, or any other circumstances unique to your family’s financial situation.

Below is a chart showing our Flex Tuition levels for the 2025-26 school year.  Look for the column that matches your Household size, then the Flex Tuition Tier in which your Household Income falls. The final column is the range within which your monthly out-of-pocket Flex Tuition will fall! No family whose household income is below 185% of the Federal Poverty Level (Tier 1) pays any out-of-pocket tuition, so long as you apply to the School Tuition Organizations (STOs) listed below. 

All families in Tiers 1-5 MUST apply to the School Tuition Organizations (STOs) listed below (Arizona Leadership Foundation and IBE), in order to secure your Flex Tuition offer. Scholarships through these STOs are available to all low- and moderate-income families in Arizona, so long as you apply (income limits correspond exactly with our Tier 5). They are vital to how we maintain accessibility to all families, regardless of income, while also sustaining the school.

For all households Tier 6 and above, you must enroll in Arizona’s Universal ESA program, to cover a greater share of the Full Tuition cost, in order to secure your Flex Tuition offer. The Universal ESA is additional aid administered through the AZ Dept of Education, for which every Arizona student is eligible. (You cannot apply for both the ESA and STO scholarships in the same school year; it is one or the other.)

If your household makes more than the Tier 13 amount, your out-of-pocket tuition will be between $625-$700/mo, as long as you also apply for the Universal ESA program to cover the rest of the Full Tuition obligation. 

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Most of our families fall within Tiers 1-5, and therefore are income-eligible to receive “Low-Income Scholarships” through these School Tuition Organizations. We partner with the following STOs (All income-eligible families must apply):

IBE, Applications accepted year-round

Arizona Leadership Foundation, Application period only open April 15th – June 15th for the following school year.

Arizona’s CTSO,  Applications accepted nearly year-round *

*Note, if you enroll at IDEA School after the 6/15 cutoff to apply to the AZ Leadership Foundation, we require that you apply to IBE and CTSO (all families within Tiers 1-5).  If your income puts you in Tier 6 or above, we require that you enroll your child in the Universal ESA Program.

We provide all families with the information and support you need to successfully apply to our partner STOs, or to the ESA program.

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Families of students with special needs: Tuition may be moderately higher than the posted Full Tuition if your student requires additional staff or other supports at school to be successful in a fully integrated classroom setting. You will work with our School Director to arrive at the appropriate supports needed, and any related adjustments to tuition needed, to ensure the school can meet your student’s individual needs in a holistic way.

Arizona’s ESA program.  If your student has special needs that require extra support, you can apply to the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program administered by the AZ Department of Education, which offers larger scholarships for students with special needs to help pay for resource teachers, one-on-one instruction, outside supports like speech therapy or adaptive learning tools, and more.

Financial Aid Application

 To qualify for Flex Tuition, please fill out our simple online financial aid application. 

With your application, you must submit either the first 2 pages of your most recent federal tax return (Form 1040) or the two most recent pay stubs for all earners in the HH. You can upload these documents within the application, or email them to BarbaraAnn Morris at Barbara@explorebuildlearn.org.  If your primary income is based on Social Security, Disability or other public benefits, please submit a copy of your benefits letter(s).  Be sure to black out any instances where your SSN appears on any of these forms before submitting.

As always, we are committed to working with every family to make it work.

Tax Credits to Lower Your Tuition

Tax Credit Donations from individual AZ taxpayers allow you to “raise” your Flex Tuition (out-of-pocket) obligation.  Friends and extended family, neighbors and colleagues — any Arizona taxpayer — may help support your child’s education with an Individual Tax Credit Donation recommended specifically to your child, through IBE (“Recommended Funds”).  Recommended Funds for your child brought in through IBE come right off your Flex Tuition bottom line! 

The taxpayer may contribute under both the “original individual” tax credit and the “plus” tax credit.

• ALL students are eligible for scholarships from the “original individual” tax credit.
• Some students are additionally eligible for scholarships from the “plus” tax credit.  Students are eligible for this additional “plus” support if they meet one of the following conditions: (1) they are enrolled in Kindergarten when they first apply; (2) they were enrolled for at least one semester (90 days) of the prior or current school year in an Arizona public school (district or charter) before transferring to the private school; (3) they have a parent/guardian who is active duty military stationed in Arizona; (4) they have received “plus”/ “overflow” aid  from a school tuition organization in a prior school year and have continued to attend a qualifying private school; or (5)  they have received a “Corporate Low-Income Scholarship” from an STO in a prior school year and have continued to attend a qualifying private school.
• In the cases of public school transfer or previous STO award, written verification of public school attendance or prior STO award is required.  See the PSAV Form (Public School Attendance Verification) or Previous STO Award Form available from IBE on their website. 

For friends/family who want to help you —
Donation limits:

For the 2024 tax year individual filers may donate up to $1,459 and get it back as a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on their 2024 tax return.  Married couples filing jointly may donate up to $2,900.  For more info, see our Tax Credit page.

NOTE: Regardless of the tax year for which the donor claims the Tax Credit, the funds they donate through IBE that are recommended for your child will be available to help pay your tuition bills in current and future school years. In other words, any funds not used/needed for your current Flex Tuition obligation this year automatically stay at IBE in your child’s name for future school years — accessible for tuition at qualifying schools all the way through 12th grade.

Donating to a student and to IDEA School:

Arizona Tax Credit donors may recommend that part of their donation go to a particular student at IDEA School, and part go to the IDEA School itself to fund low-income scholarships for all students in need.

If your child is not eligible for a “Plus” funding, please encourage your donors to recommend your child for their “Original” Tax Credit donation and the IDEA School for their “Plus” Tax Credit donation. 

STATE LAW: 

Per state law, a taxpayer may not support his/her own dependent with a tax credit donation. Additionally, a taxpayer may not “swap” tax credit donations with another taxpayer in order to benefit either taxpayer’s dependents.

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Policy of Non-Discrimination

The IDEA School strongly values diversity and inclusion in our student body, staff, and Board of Directors and aims, through our composition, values and practices, to reflect the diversity of the Tucson community.

The IDEA School admits students of any race, color, national original, ethnic origin, socio-economic status, religious belief, sexual orientation, gender identity, familial status and physical ability to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national original, ethnic origin, socio-economic status, religious belief, sexual orientation, gender identity, familial status or physical ability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship/financial aid policies and programs, or athletic and other school-administered programs.