ESA tools: course of study, budget, requests, appeals, letters, vendors, reminders and review packet

These tools sit beside your ESA records on Records → ESA funds, in the menu at the top: Funds, Course of study, Budget, Requests & appeals, Letters, Vendors, Reminders and Review packet. Only parents see them. Adding and changing things is part of Hearth; what you've saved always stays.

They work for every ESA program. Where we know a program's own rules (like Arizona's, Florida's PEP, West Virginia's Hope Scholarship and Texas's Education Freedom Account), the pages say so; for other programs you get general guidance, and your program's handbook has the final word.

Course of study

A course of study is the list of courses each student is taking this ESA year (July to June), with goals and materials. Many programs ask what each purchase supports, and some ask for a learning plan.

1. Open Course of study and open a student.
2. Tap Add a course. Give it a Course name, and if you like link it to a Planner subject or course and add Goals, Materials and How you'll teach and check progress. Tap Add course.
3. Or tap Add one course per planner subject to start from your planner's subjects, then fill in each one.

Tap Edit under a course to change or remove it. When you add a purchase on Funds, its Course of study list shows these courses first, and each course shows how many purchases name it. Tap Print … course of study for a copy to print or save as a PDF.

In Arizona, supplemental materials don't need a receipt upload since July 2026: you attest that the purchase supports a named course of study. The page reminds you when that applies.

Budget

Budget plans each quarter (July–September, October–December, January–March, April–June) for each student.

1. Open a student and enter the Deposit you expect each quarter, then tap Save. It's used for quarters with no deposit recorded yet.
2. Tap Plan a purchase, choose the Quarter, the Amount, the Category and what it is. As you type the amount, you'll see what the quarter would have left, or a warning if the plan would spend more than the account will have. Tap Add to plan (or Plan it anyway).

The table shows each quarter: what it starts with (what's left from earlier quarters and years carries over), the deposit, what's been spent, reimbursements still waiting, what's planned, and what's left. A quarter that goes below zero shows in red with a warning. Tick a plan once you've bought it so it stops counting as planned, and add the real purchase on Funds.

Justifications (requests for approval)

Write one before you buy something your program might question, or when your program asks about a purchase.

1. Open Requests & appeals and tap Write a justification.
2. Pick the Student, say What you want to buy, and add where from, the amount and the category. Choose the Course of study it supports and, if it's already bought, The purchase on Funds.
3. In your own words, add Why your student needs it, How it will be used and Why this option and cost are reasonable. Tick any Supporting letters to list.
4. Tap Draft the letter. We write a letter from what you entered.

Open it to edit the Letter, then Copy letter into your program's site or Print it. Set the Status (Draft, Submitted, Approved or Denied) and the dates, then tap Save. What your program looks for shows your program's approval standard, what to keep with each purchase, and how appeals work, with sources.

Appeals

When a purchase or request is denied, tap Start an appeal on the justification, Appeal on a denied reimbursement on Funds, or Add an appeal. Add the date it was denied, the Reason they gave, the Appeal by date from the denial notice, and Why it should be approved, then tap Draft the appeal.

The appeal shows how many days are left, and its Appeal by date shows in Coming up on Home and the Event Calendar until you set Sent on. Edit, copy or print the letter, attach letters, and record the Outcome when you hear back.

Supporting letters

Letters keeps letters from therapists, doctors, special-education teachers and others that explain a student's needs. Tap Add a letter, pick the student, name it, add who wrote it and when (and Good until if it expires), choose the file (a PDF or photo, up to 15 MB) and tap Add letter. Only parents can open them. Attach them to justifications and appeals; an expired letter is marked so you know to get a new one.

Vendors

Vendors is your own list of stores, classes and tutors, and whether your program accepts each one. Tap Add a vendor, give its Name, say whether Your program accepts it?, choose the platform it goes Through (or type another), and add a website or notes. When you add a purchase on Funds, these names are suggested as you type Where from, and purchases from a vendor you've tagged show Vendor accepted or Vendor not accepted. Groups you belong to that accept ESA funds are listed at the top.

Review packet

Review packet gathers what a program review usually asks for. Choose From and To (and a Student if you have more than one) and tap Show. For each student you'll see the balances, every purchase with its course of study and what backs it (a Receipt, an Attestation, or what's missing), your course of study, justifications and appeals, and supporting letters on file.

Where your program takes an attestation instead of a receipt (Arizona's supplemental materials), the packet adds a signed attestation for those purchases. Tap Print or save as PDF, and Download everything for a zip with a spreadsheet of every entry and each receipt, letter, justification, appeal and your course of study. The zip is made in your browser.

Reminders

Reminders keeps renewal, testing and paperwork dates.

1. Tap Add a reminder, say what it's for, pick the Due date from your program's notice, and choose the Kind and Student (or Everyone). Tick Every year on this date for yearly ones. Tap Add reminder.
2. Or add one from Suggested for your program, then pick its date.

Reminders show in Coming up on Home and on the Event Calendar as their dates come up. Tap Done when it's finished (a yearly reminder moves to next year), or Remove. What your program asks for lists your program's renewal and testing rules, and the fixed report dates we already add for you.

Gatherings doesn't decide what your program allows or when things are due. Check your program's handbook and notices.