Ohio Afterschool Child Enrichment Educational Savings Program

Important Updates

Pause on ace program lifted

On March 28th, the U.S. Department of Education paused funding for the Afterschool Child Enrichment Education (ACE) Savings Account program. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce requested an appeal to continue the ACE program through the remainder of the year and was approved to continue for direct academic services only. An updated list of allowable activities can be found under the Allowable Activities section of this webpage.

Families who have been awarded funds from the Afterschool Child Enrichment Education Savings Account program (ACE) have until September 1, 2025, to spend awarded funds. Families have until October 15, 2025, to submit a claim for reimbursement.

Please note, that the ACE program is fully subscribed, and no more accounts may be awarded. The extension applies to families with existing accounts only.

CLAIM SUBMISSION PROCESS

Due to the recent changes in the ACE program, Merit is updating the claims submission process. Updates to the claims submission process should be completed in early June. Once the changes are complete, families will receive a notification from Merit on how to submit claims. If you have any questions, please use the Help Center.   

 
How to Apply Ohio ACE Resources

General Overview

The Ohio Afterschool Child Enrichment (ACE) Educational Savings Account program provides qualifying families with a $1,000 credit per child. These funds can be used to pay for a variety of educational activities designed to help accelerate learning for children impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Allowable Activities

  • Academic curriculum and materials for homeschool families;
    • Families engaged in home education whose children have been excused from compulsory education may use ACE funds to obtain curriculum materials. ACE funds cannot be used to pay tuition, including tuition for site-based or online schools.
  • Language classes;
  • Music lessons;
    • Lessons are an allowable service; however, purchase of musical instruments and other hardware are not allowable through the ACE Educational Savings account.
  • Tutoring.

Please note that ACE account funds cannot be used for the purchase of electronic devices. 

Eligible Students

The ACE Educational Savings Account program is available to any Ohio child ages 6 to 18 years old (who hasn’t graduated from high school) who meets at least one of the conditions below. 

Residency

Children residing in districts identified as having a high rate of chronic absenteeism or have one or more schools identified as EdChoice eligible qualify for an ACE Educational Savings Account. The list for the 2023-24 school year has recently been updated to reflect chronic absenteeism data for districts in Ohio. 

INCOME

Children who reside in a household with an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) at or below 400% of the federal poverty level based on the household’s most recent federal income tax return qualify for an ACE Educational Savings Account. Find charts for each school year below. 

income-based GOVERNMENT assistance PROGRAMs

Children who are part of a family that participates in programs such as Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Ohio Works First (OWF) or other income-based government assistance programs with eligibility at or below 400% of the federal poverty level, qualify for an ACE Educational Savings Account.

 

Last Modified: 6/11/2025 1:27:30 PM