BALTIMORE — The second year of the State’s Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) Program provided scholarships to more than 2,600 low-income Maryland students to attend nonpublic or faith-based schools during the 2017-18 school year, this fall.
The BOOST legislation was created in the 2016 legislative session with the support of Senate President Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch, and was signed into law by Governor Larry Hogan. BOOST provides scholarships for low-income students eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program. The program provided about 2,400 scholarships in 2016-17.
“Our administration is proud to support the BOOST Program and to expand it to provide opportunities for even more children again this year,” said Governor Larry Hogan. “We owe it to our kids to think more creatively when it comes to education, and we must continue to encourage innovative ideas that give Maryland families more choices to prepare our students for higher education and for the jobs of the future.”
For the 2017-18 school year, $6.1 million in scholarships were awarded to 2,659 students. Scholarships ranged from $1,000 to $4,400 each, with the highest award amount going to students who qualified for the Free Meal Program and attended a public school last year. There were 964 scholarships provided to new applicants this year, while 1,695 scholarships went to students who had received a scholarship last year.
The BOOST program this year was available for students in kindergarten through 12th grade who already attend or had applied to attend one of the participating schools.