Most affordability conversations stop at tuition. Then a family gets billed across the rest of the year for registration, technology, athletics, retreats, aftercare, or a uniform requirement — none of which appears in the number quoted back in February. For a family already receiving tuition assistance, that second page of costs can be the only remaining barrier.
To help school leaders see the full picture ahead of the 2027 federal scholarship program, we built a free worksheet: What Families Actually Pay. It turns a year of scattered fees into three numbers and a list you can act on.
What you end up with
Three numbers and a list. What your school bills families across a year on top of tuition. How much of that you write off through waivers, sibling rates and hardship relief. And what families actually pay after those waivers — the number that matters most. Alongside it, a short list of supports you would provide if the funding existed, which is exactly the list worth bringing to a scholarship organization.
Two versions — pick the one that fits your school
Each version comes pre-filled with the fees common to that setting, so you are editing a starting point rather than a blank page:
- District & public schools (Excel) — course and lab fees, pay-to-play athletics, optional-route bus fees, extended day, and more.
- Parish & independent schools (Excel) — registration, technology and 1:1 device costs, retreats, sacramental program fees, uniforms, and more.
Students in public schools are eligible for these scholarships too. Treasury’s published material describes eligible schools as public, private and religious alike, and the expense categories reach well past tuition into tutoring, technology, transportation and extended day programs.
How it works
- Fee Inventory tab. For each cost families face, enter the annual amount, how many students are charged, and the total you waive or discount. Include things you require but never invoice, like a PE uniform or the annual supply list. Row 6 is a worked example — overwrite it or delete it.
- Answer two yes/no questions per row — does the school require it, and does the school provide it. The Sort column fills itself.
- Unfunded Supports tab. What you would offer beyond today if the money existed.
- Summary tab. Enter enrollment and number of families; everything else calculates, including a check on the three commonest data-entry mistakes.
One building at a time. If you run several schools, fill in a copy for each and add the results up afterwards.
What it does not claim
Nothing here tells you whether a particular charge qualifies for scholarship funding. Treasury has not published final rules, and that question will be settled there rather than here. The pre-filled list is a memory aid, not a list of qualifying expenses, and some of it will likely land outside the final rules. Whether families where you are can use these scholarships at all also depends on your state opting into the program.
Want a second set of eyes on your numbers?
Book a free 20-minute Scholarship Revenue Review and we will walk through what these figures mean for your families ahead of the 2027 program year. Reach us at info@fundedu.org or (814) 283-4338.
What Families Actually Pay — Version 1.0, August 2026. This worksheet follows the expense categories this program uses and makes no judgment about eligibility.
