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

*Pending Final Board of Directors Approval in April
** Note: 100% of Families qualify for Flex Tuition, meaning nobody is paying the full “sticker price” tuition out of pocket. See below. Also, 2025-26 tuition rates represent a 3.8% increase over 2024-25, as we continue to ensure all teachers and staff earn a living wage.

YOU QUALIFY FOR FLEX TUITION!

The IDEA School strongly values being an inclusive and inviting community, accessible to all families, regardless of income. In order to ensure 100% equity, accessibility, and inclusion, we utilize “Flexible Tuition.”

Your flexible 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 HH size, then the row that matches your family’s total gross annual income (before taxes). The final column is the range within which your monthly out-of-pocket Flex Tuition will fall:

Our bottom line: For every family, we make it work financially.

Flex Tuition does not cover the full cost to run the school. To make up the difference, we supplement with School Tuition Organization (STO) scholarships that most of our families are eligible to receive based on HH income. All eligible families must apply to the STOs below.

IBE, Applications accepted year-round;
Arizona Leadership Foundation, Application period only open April 15th – June 15th;
Arizona’s CTSO,  Applications accepted in rounds, almost year-round.

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

No family whose household income is below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level pays any out-of-pocket tuition, so long as you apply to the STOs for scholarship aid. 

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Arizona’s ESA program.  If your student has special needs that require extra support, or you are not eligible for the STO scholarships based on HH income but still need financial support, you can apply to the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program administered by the AZ Department of Education. Follow the link for details.

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We raise the balance of the funds needed to run the IDEA School through direct charitable gifts, individual tax credit donations recommended to the IDEA School, and corporate tax credit donations to support low-income scholarships. The entire community makes an IDEA School education accessible to ALL families, regardless of income!

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 to be successful in a fully integrated classroom. 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 fully inclusive classroom setting. ESA Scholarships can help!

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.