The IDEA School is accessible to ALL families, regardless of income. It is a commitment we’ve kept since Day One!  You qualify for Flex Tuition.

2026-27 Academic Year “Full Posted Tuition”: $13,900

YOU QUALIFY FOR FLEX TUITION!

All families qualify for Flex Tuition, as long as you complete our internal Flex Tuition Application and the corresponding School Tuition Organization (STO) applications as well — details below.  

Your Flex Tuition level is based on family income and other factors related to your family’s financial situation, such as being a single parent, having large medical or college bills, caring for a family member with a disability, being a grandparent raising your grandchild, etc.

All families whose household income is 185% of the Federal Poverty Level or below (Income at or below $61,050 for a family of four) pay ZERO out-of-pocket tuition, as long as you apply to the School Tuition Organizations (STOs) listed below.

Flex Tuition Application

 To qualify for Flex Tuition,
you MUST complete our:
2026-27 ONLINE FLEX TUITION APPLICATION (Google form)

HOW TO READ THE FLEX TUITION CHART:

Look for the column that matches your household (HH) size, then the row in which your overall Gross Household Income falls. The final column is the range within which your monthly out-of-pocket Flex Tuition will fall, with single parents being at the lower end of each range.

Other financial circumstances may qualify you for a lower Flex Tuition amount.

All families in Tiers 1-5 MUST apply to IBE, the Arizona Leadership Foundation, and AAA Scholarship Foundation — the School Tuition Organizations (STOs) listed below — in order to secure your Flex Tuition Offer. Scholarships offered through these STOs are available to all low- and moderate-income families in Arizona. (Household income limits for these outside STO scholarships correspond exactly with our Tier 5 limits.) These STO scholarships are CRITICAL to making Flex Tuition work.

PLEASE APPLY TO ALL THREE School Tuition Organizations (STOs):

IBE (Institute for Better Education): For the 2026-27 school year, the application opened in February 2026 and remains open well into the 2026-27 school year. (proof of income = two most recent paystubs)

Arizona Leadership Foundation: Application period open ONLY from April 15th to June 15th for the coming school year.  (proof of income = first two pages of federal tax return)

AAA Scholarship Foundation: Application period for 2026-27 School Year opens in late March 2026. Visit their website for the latest info. (proof of income: AAA requests both your tax return and W-2s)

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*If you are in Tier 6 or above, your household income is higher than the limits for STO “low-income scholarship” eligibility. To reduce your out-of-pocket obligation, you have two choices:

(a) Apply to IBE and ask your friends and extended family to help support your child’s tuition with “Recommended Funds” through their tax credit giving (see below); or

(b) Enroll your child in the Universal ESA Program – administered through the AZ Dept of Education. Every K-12 student in Arizona is eligible, and the Universal ESA can reduce your out-of-pocket obligation by about $7,100 for the year.

Per state law, you may not accept funding from both the ESA program and STO scholarships in the same school year. You must choose one “track” or the other. 

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

Questions? Email Accounts Manager Lesley Calilap at lesley@explorebuildlearn.org and Gaby Vidal at gaby@explorebuildlearn.org, or call Gaby in the Front Office, at (520) 589-4933.

FAMILIES OF STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Tuition may be higher than the “Full Posted Tuition” to cover the entire cost of providing your student with additional staff and/or other supports needed at school so they can 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 as needed, to ensure the school can meet your student’s individual needs in a holistic way. Arizona’s ESA Program provides additional funding for students with special needs; funding levels vary by diagnosis.

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Arizona’s ESA program: If your student has special needs and requires extra support, you can enroll in the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program administered by the AZ Department of Education, which offers larger scholarships for students with special needs to pay for additional supports both in and outside of school. The Dept of Education administers ESA Scholarships of varying sizes depending on the specific needs of each student.

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

Tax Credits to Lower Your Tuition

For those families not enrolled in the ESA program, Tax Credit Donations from individual AZ taxpayers allow you to “raise” your out-of-pocket tuition 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 are deducted from the remainder of your Flex Tuition obligation for the year. 

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. Most of our students are eligible. See IBE’s website for details.

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

Friends and family can help you cover your Flex Tuition obligation (as long as you’re not enrolled with ESA). 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 reduce your remaining Flex Tuition balance right away — beginning the month after the donation is made.

92% of the donation is distributed to the school to help reduce your Flex Tuition balance; 8% is IBE’s administrative fee. By state law, IBE cannot share donor info with you, but they CAN mail Thank You cards on your behalf to your donor(s).  Contact IBE for details, at (520) 512-5438.

Any funds not used/needed for your current Flex Tuition obligation this year automatically stay at IBE in your child’s name for next school year.

STATE LAW: 

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

A student may not receive any tax-credit scholarships or recommended funds if they are currently receiving an ESA scholarship. You must be on the “STO Track” or the “ESA Track.”

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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.