Process for Applying
Financial Assistance Applications are available in ParentSquare for the 2025-2026 School year. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]
Program Overview
On October 26, 2021 the School Committee adopted a Student Financial Assistance Policy, which authorized a central application process to provide families with financial assistance for certain school related fees. The program goals are as follows:
- Implement an objective financial assistance program for all students and families;
- Allow families a single point of contact and determination within the school district;
- Adhere to a standard of confidentiality throughout the district;
- Remove the Principal’s Office and Guidance staff from making determinations of financial need using Free and Reduced Lunch applications, which violates the USDA School Lunch program.
The program provides a prorated subsidy for households earning less than 350% of the US Department of Health & Human Services poverty guidelines. The United States Department of Agriculture uses these guidelines to determine the Free and Reduced Lunch eligible income levels. The tables of income levels provided in this document are based on the United States Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines.
The School Committee’s determination for income eligibility for financial assistance is as follows:
* % above HHS Poverty Guidelines
The income distribution is based on the statistics of the number of households that are on the margin of economic stability, and recognition of the high housing costs in Burlington. The following table provides the income thresholds that apply in each category for each household size.
Financial Assistance will be offered system wide and includes, but is not limited to, curriculum-based field trip expenses and other fees the school department may charge that are as a result of curriculum requirements. The Financial Assistance Program does not include optional field trips or student travel programs, including overnight trips. There is typically no funding source for monetary assistance for these programs due to the nature of each participant paying their own way. The program leaders for these optional student trips may know of a funding source that will be providing monetary assistance. However, if there is no funding source for monetary assistance, the student is responsible for the full cost of the trip. The school department is not responsible for funding the monetary assistance for the student if there are none readily available. Families who request funding assistance must have a current determination from their submitted financial assistance application in order to receive any funding assistance that is not individually, or from group participation, raised by the student for such trips and activities.
Fees shall not be waived, refunded, or prorated without the knowledge and consent of the School Business Administrator, and only if the individual program costs for which the fee was charged are fully covered. No principal, Guidance/School Counselor, or staff member has the authority to waive any fees or charges without the determination letter provided by the Business Office. Making financial need determinations outside of the Superintendent’s established process is prohibited.