1. What the Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship is
The Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship Program is created by Utah Code 53E-7-401 through 53E-7-410, which the Legislature amended in its 2026 General Session (effective May 6, 2026). It is for students with a qualifying disability. The law has a scholarship granting organization run the program, and for this scholarship that is Children First Education Fund (CFEF). Applications and payments go through CFEF, not through Odyssey, the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) or a tutoring provider.
You may see an older name for it on some USBE pages: the “Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship.” The legacy Carson Smith Scholarship is a different, older program for private-school attendance (section 8).
USBE lists CFEF’s contact details as (801) 406-9080 and info@cfe-fund.org. CFEF can answer questions about your child’s application, documents and payments.
2. 2026-27 amounts (per CFEF)
| Student | 2026-27 amount, per CFEF |
|---|---|
| K-12 student | $12,175 |
| Homeschool student, K-12 | $8,000 |
| Preschool, part-time | $2,600 |
| Preschool, full-time | $4,800 |
Homeschooled preschoolers are not eligible. CFEF says “The sibling scholarship previously available for siblings without a disability is no longer available,” and that funds “may be prorated based on the date of scholarship approval.”
These figures come from CFEF’s dated award-amounts page (April 1, 2026): “The scholarship amount for the 2026-27 school year is $12,175.” CFEF’s main scholarship page still says the amount “is being finalized,” so we rely on the dated amounts page.
The K-12 figure matches the ceiling in the law. Utah Code 53E-7-402(3) caps the K-12 amount at “the value of the weighted pupil unit multiplied by 2.5,” and the Legislature’s 2026 H.B. 1 set the weighted pupil unit, a school-funding value, at $4,870 for fiscal year 2026-27. Multiplied by 2.5, that is $12,175. CFEF has not posted 2027-28 amounts.
3. Who qualifies
Under Utah Code 53E-7-401(2) and CFEF’s scholarship page, a student must:
- live in Utah for the whole school year;
- have a qualifying disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), “verified within the prior 36 months” by an IEP, an ATMR or an MDT evaluation (CFEF’s terms; see section 4);
- not be in a public or charter school at the time of the award (CFEF: “The student must not be attending public or charter school when the scholarship is awarded.”);
- not receive the legacy Carson Smith Scholarship or Utah Fits All in the same year as this scholarship.
Preschoolers can qualify, but CFEF says “Preschoolers who are homeschooled are not eligible.” USBE puts the one-at-a-time rule plainly: “Scholarship recipients can only be enrolled in ONE of the listed scholarships at a time (Carson Smith, Carson Smith Opportunities Scholarship, or Utah Fits All Scholarship).” If your child is in a public or charter school now, ask CFEF how the timing of a change fits with an award.
4. Verifying the disability: IEP, ATMR or MDT
CFEF asks for a qualifying disability verified within the prior 36 months by an IEP, an ATMR or an MDT (multidisciplinary team) evaluation. Those are CFEF’s terms, and CFEF can tell you exactly which documents it accepts. Two points are worth knowing:
- Eligibility through a multidisciplinary team evaluation “does not establish eligibility for an IEP … and is not binding on any LEA” (Utah Code 53E-7-402(5)). It can establish scholarship eligibility, but it doesn’t establish eligibility for an IEP and doesn’t bind a school district (a local education agency, or LEA).
- If your child needs a new evaluation, Utah’s Special Education Rules make school districts responsible for locating, identifying and evaluating home-schooled students in their boundaries and students placed by their parents in private schools in their area. Whether a particular evaluation report meets CFEF’s requirement is a question for CFEF.
Keep copies of your child’s IEP and evaluation reports with your records; you will want them for the application.
5. 2026-27 application and funding dates
CFEF funds approved applications in rounds. Its 2026-27 timeline:
| Application approved by | Estimated award and funding |
|---|---|
| June 15, 2026 | Week of July 1, 2026 |
| August 15, 2026 | Week of September 1, 2026 |
| October 15, 2026 | Week of November 2, 2026 |
| December 15, 2026 | Week of January 4, 2027 |
As of October 1, 2026, the remaining 2026-27 approval dates are October 15 and December 15, 2026. CFEF notes: “Funding may close at any time once available funds have been exhausted.” CFEF has not posted 2027-28 dates.
The dates are for applications approved by CFEF, not just submitted, so leave time for CFEF’s review and for gathering your disability documents. Because funds may be prorated by approval date, a later approval may mean a smaller amount for the year.
6. What it pays for, including tutoring
Utah law lists “tutoring services” among qualifying expenses (53E-7-401(13)(a)(iii)), for goods or a service that a qualifying school or qualifying provider “provides or facilitates.” CFEF lists “Tutoring and academic coaching” among eligible services.
Providers follow rules in Utah Code 53E-7-408.5 that look much like Utah Fits All’s: they describe the services they offer directly, provide those services themselves rather than acting as a go-between for another entity, complete orientation, and may not refund or rebate scholarship funds to families. The law also calls for a public list of approved providers, which CFEF publishes as its service provider directory.
CFEF’s own criteria for verified providers include: “You offer services or materials that directly support a student’s individualized education”; “Your organization or practice complies with Utah state regulations”; and “You are willing to follow CFEF’s payment and accountability procedures.” When you talk with any provider, it’s fair to ask whether it is CFEF-verified and how it would work toward your child’s goals.
7. How payments and reimbursements work
- Verified providers are paid directly. CFEF tells providers they “Receive payment directly from scholarship disbursements for eligible services.” Check CFEF’s service provider directory for verified providers that receive payment this way; CFEF says “This list is being continually updated.”
- Families can submit reimbursements. CFEF’s parent page gives the schedule: “Submission Deadline: Last day of each month by 10 PM” and “Reimbursements are issued on the 25th of the following month.”
Example (for illustration): under that schedule, a complete reimbursement request submitted by 10 PM on October 31 would be issued on November 25.
We found no CFEF statement on whether it reimburses families for a provider that isn’t in its directory. Utah law describes expenses as goods or services a qualifying provider “provides or facilitates,” so ask CFEF before you pay a provider out of pocket and plan to seek reimbursement.
As of October 1, 2026, Special Ed Resource is not listed in CFEF’s service provider directory, and we make no claim about paying us with this scholarship.
8. The legacy Carson Smith Scholarship is different
The older Carson Smith Scholarship (Utah Code 53F-4-302), run by USBE, was “created to award scholarships to students with disabilities to attend a private school.” It is for private-school attendance, not a way to pay for tutoring.
CFEF says students on the legacy scholarship may transfer, and that “Acceptance of the Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship award serves as withdrawal from the legacy Carson Smith Scholarship.” If your child has the legacy scholarship, compare the two carefully, and ask CFEF and your child’s school, before accepting a new award.
9. CSOS or Utah Fits All: you can hold only one
| 2026-27 | Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship (per CFEF) | Utah Fits All (maximums) |
|---|---|---|
| Who qualifies | Students with a qualifying IDEA disability verified within 36 months | Utah K-12 students not enrolled in a public school or LEA; no disability requirement |
| K-12 private school | $12,175 | Up to $8,000 |
| Homeschool | $8,000 (K-12) | Up to $4,000 (age 5–11) or $6,000 (age 12–18), by age on September 1 |
| Preschool | $2,600 part-time or $4,800 full-time; homeschooled preschoolers not eligible | Not covered (K-12 only) |
| Run by | Children First Education Fund | Odyssey, under a contract held by USBE |
| Where to apply | CFEF | Odyssey’s website |
Both laws treat taking the scholarship the same way for special-education purposes: each says it has “the same effect as a parental refusal to consent to services.” Our guide to Utah Fits All and your child’s IEP explains what that language refers to and who can answer questions about your child.
Our side-by-side comparison goes further on choosing between the two. Whichever scholarship you consider, CFEF and Odyssey are the places to confirm program details for your child, and a free consultation with us is a good place to think through what tutoring should focus on.
10. Getting started: a checklist
- Check that your child’s disability documentation (an IEP, an ATMR or an MDT evaluation) is from the prior 36 months, and ask CFEF which documents it accepts.
- Decide whether your child will attend a school or be homeschooled for the year, since the 2026-27 amounts differ: $12,175 (K-12) or $8,000 (homeschool), per CFEF.
- If your child has Utah Fits All or the legacy Carson Smith Scholarship, remember that a student can hold only one, and compare before you accept an award.
- If your child is in a public or charter school now, ask CFEF about timing, because the student must not be attending one when the scholarship is awarded.
- Apply through CFEF in time to be approved by the next cut-off (October 15 or December 15, 2026 for the 2026-27 school year), keeping in mind that funding may close once funds run out.
- Before you spend, check CFEF’s service provider directory, and for anything else, ask CFEF whether it can be reimbursed.
- Keep receipts, and submit reimbursement requests by 10 PM on the last day of the month.