Arizona ESA:
Empowerment Scholarship Account
About ESA Funding:
ESA Funds can be used to pay for private tutoring, homeschool expenses, and private school tuition.
All services offered by Paisano Tutoring can be paid for with ESA funding.
ESA funding in the state of Arizona provides families with approximately $7000-$8000 per year per child. This is the equivalent of $1000 per subject for seven subjects per year per student. Another way to look at the breakdown of this funding is that there are 180 school days in a year which is the equivalent of 36 weeks in a school year (18 weeks per semester). ESA funding would cover approximately $200 per week per child for the duration of a 36-week school year.
How to Apply for ESA Funding:
Create an ESA Account:
If you do NOT already have an ESA account, you need to create an account before applying for the scholarship. To create an account:
Go to ESA Home Page: https://www.azed.gov/esa ; Scroll down to heading “Apply Here” and click the sub-heading “Apply Here” which takes you to:
ESA Applicant Portal: https://esaportal.azed.gov/Account ; Look for the Question “Do you have an active ADE Connect account?” and click the red button stating “No, Create my account” which takes you to:
ADE Connect Self Registration Page: https://adeconnect.azed.gov/Account/SelfRegistration ; Fill out the form and click the blue button at the bottom that says “Register”
Write down and save your account information: your AZED ID number, your user name (which is your email address), and your password. You have successfully created an ESA account.
Apply for a Child to Receive ESA Funding:
If you already have created an ESA account and now want to apply for a child to receive the ESA funding for the 2023-24 school year, you need to do the following:
Go to ESA Applicant Portal: https://esaportal.azed.gov/Account ; Look for the Question “Do you have an active ADE Connect account?” and click the green button stating “Yes, Take me to the Log-In Screen.”
Type in your log-in email address and password.
Go through the application process. You will need birth certificate and proof of Arizona Residency. Submit application.
How to Pay Paisano Tutoring with ESA funds on Class Wallet:
Paisano Tutoring no longer accepts cash or check payments from ESA / Class Wallet account holders. All payments being made by ESA / Class Wallet account holders are required to be made through the “Pay Vendor” Direct Pay option on the Class Wallet platform. The process for this is as follows:
Go to your email and locate the PDF of your child’s quarterly tutoring invoice from Paisano Tutoring. This email will be sent from christine@paisano-tutoring.com. (The invoice email dates will match the dates of the Class Wallet account funding / distribution.) Download the invoice pdf.
Review the invoice. If you see any mistakes or discrepancies, please contact christine@paisano-tutoring.com before making the payment.
Go to your child’s Class Wallet account dashboard.
Go to the “Pay Vendor” section and click “PAY.” Do NOT attempt to pay by starting a request for reimbursement. See image below.
After you click “Pay” in the "Pay Vendor" section, then you need to find Paisano Tutoring on the list of possible vendor payees. We are listed under the category of "Tutor" and our screen name is "Paisano Tutoring (John and Christine Hall)." There are over a thousand vendors, so you can probably find us most quickly by doing a search for "paisano."
You will input the payment amount as listed on your invoice. Confirm that the amounts for tuition, processing fee, and total Class Wallet deduction match the amounts on your invoice.
Upload the pdf of your child’s quarterly invoice.
Complete the payment process. You should receive an email confirmation from Class Wallet.
Send Paisano Tutoring some form of confirmation of your payment on the Class Wallet platform.
How to Receive Reimbursement for Educational Purchases:
How to Make a Request for Reimbursement:
Go to your child’s Class Wallet Account Home Page / Dashboard
Go to the Reimbursement Section and click “Start a New Reimbursement.”
Complete steps 1-5. (When you get to the step that allows for “comments”, it is to your advantage to add additional information for how the purchase will be used.)
When you complete the last step and submit, you will see that the amount of the reimbursement request has been deducted from your child’s Class Wallet balance, though you will have to wait for a period of time until the purchase is approved and the funds are deposited into your linked bank account.
If you receive an email notification that your order (reimbursement request) needs additional documentation, DO NOT start a new request for reimbursement in order to submit additional documentation.
How to Add Additional Documentation to an Existing Order (reimbursement request):
Go to your child’s Class Wallet Account Home Page / Dashboard.
Click on the Drop Down Menu Icon (Hamburger Menu Icon) in the upper left corner of the screen / navigation bar.
In the drop-down menu, click “Manage Orders.”
Click on the specific order that requires additional documentation.
Click on the button in the bottom right corner that says “Manage Documentation.”
Upload additional documentation. Click “save.”