<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<meta name="description" content="The Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship pays by the disability category on your child's Evaluation Team Report, from $10,045 to $34,000 in FY2027. Why an ADHD diagnosis usually lands in the $13,069 category, and which Columbus schools accept it.">
<title>Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship for Columbus Families: FY2027 Category Amounts, Why ADHD Usually Pays $13,069, and How It Differs From the Autism Scholarship | Achieving Stars Therapy</title>
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com">
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin>
<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=DM+Sans:wght@400;500;600&family=Fraunces:opsz,wght@9..144,500;9..144,600&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">
<style>:root { --white: #FFFFFF; --off-white: #F9FAFB; --gold: #F5A623; --gold-light: #FEF7E8; --navy: #1A2B4A; --navy-soft: #2D3E5F; --gray: #6B7280; --border: #E5E7EB; }
* { margin: 0; padding: 0; box-sizing: border-box; }
body { font-family: 'DM Sans', system-ui, sans-serif; background: var(--off-white); color: var(--navy); line-height: 1.7; font-size: 17px; }
h1 { font-family: 'Fraunces', Georgia, serif; font-size: clamp(28px, 6vw, 42px); font-weight: 600; line-height: 1.15; color: var(--white); margin-bottom: 16px; }
h2 { font-family: 'Fraunces', serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: 600; color: var(--navy); margin-bottom: 16px; padding-bottom: 8px; border-bottom: 2px solid var(--gold); }
h3 { font-family: 'Fraunces', serif; font-size: 19px; font-weight: 600; color: var(--navy); margin: 24px 0 10px; }
p { margin-bottom: 14px; color: var(--navy-soft); }
a { color: var(--gold); font-weight: 500; text-decoration: underline; text-underline-offset: 2px; }
a:hover { color: var(--navy); }
ul, ol { margin: 14px 0; padding-left: 24px; }
li { margin-bottom: 8px; color: var(--navy-soft); }
strong { color: var(--navy); }
table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; margin: 18px 0; font-size: 15px; }
th, td { padding: 10px 12px; text-align: left; border-bottom: 1px solid var(--border); vertical-align: top; }
th { background: var(--gold-light); color: var(--navy); font-weight: 600; font-family: 'Fraunces', serif; }
tr:hover { background: var(--off-white); }
.hero { background: linear-gradient(135deg, var(--navy) 0%, var(--navy-soft) 100%); padding: 130px 24px 48px; text-align: center; }
.hero-inner { max-width: 720px; margin: 0 auto; }
.location-badge { display: inline-block; background: var(--gold); color: var(--navy); font-size: 12px; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: 0.06em; text-transform: uppercase; padding: 6px 14px; border-radius: 20px; margin-bottom: 16px; }
.hero p { font-size: 18px; color: rgba(255,255,255,0.85); line-height: 1.7; max-width: 600px; margin: 0 auto; }
.quick-info { display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(140px, 1fr)); gap: 16px; background: var(--white); border-radius: 12px; padding: 24px; margin: -32px auto 32px; max-width: 800px; box-shadow: 0 4px 20px rgba(26,43,74,0.08); position: relative; z-index: 10; }
.info-item { text-align: center; }
.info-label { font-size: 12px; color: var(--gray); text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.05em; margin-bottom: 4px; }
.info-value { font-size: 15px; font-weight: 600; color: var(--navy); }
.content { max-width: 800px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 24px 24px 72px; }
section { margin-bottom: 36px; }
.highlight-box { background: var(--gold-light); border-left: 4px solid var(--gold); border-radius: 0 10px 10px 0; padding: 18px 22px; margin: 20px 0; }
.highlight-box p { margin: 0; color: var(--navy); }
.faq-item { margin-bottom: 22px; }
.faq-item h3 { font-size: 17px; margin-bottom: 8px; }
.faq-item p { font-size: 16px; }
.disclaimer { font-size: 13px; color: var(--gray); font-style: italic; margin-top: 20px; padding: 12px; background: var(--off-white); border-radius: 8px; }
.cta-section { background: linear-gradient(135deg, var(--navy) 0%, var(--navy-soft) 100%); border-radius: 16px; padding: 40px 32px; text-align: center; margin-top: 36px; }
.cta-section h2 { color: var(--white); border: none; padding: 0; margin-bottom: 12px; font-size: 26px; }
.cta-section p { color: rgba(255,255,255,0.9); margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: 17px; }
.cta-section strong { color: var(--gold); }
.cta-button { display: inline-block; background: var(--gold); color: var(--navy); font-weight: 600; font-size: 16px; padding: 14px 32px; border-radius: 8px; text-decoration: none; margin-top: 20px; }
.cta-button:hover { color: var(--navy); }
.cta-grid { display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(200px, 1fr)); gap: 16px; margin-top: 20px; }
.cta-item { background: rgba(255,255,255,0.1); border-radius: 10px; padding: 18px; min-width: 0; }
.cta-item-label { font-size: 12px; color: var(--gold); text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.05em; margin-bottom: 6px; }
.cta-item-value { color: var(--white); font-weight: 600; font-size: 15px; word-break: break-word; overflow-wrap: anywhere; min-width: 0; }
.cta-item-value a { color: var(--white); text-decoration: none; word-break: break-word; overflow-wrap: anywhere; }
.cta-item-value a:hover { color: var(--gold); }
@media (max-width: 600px) { .quick-info { margin: -24px 16px 24px; grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr); } .cta-grid { grid-template-columns: 1fr; } table { font-size: 13px; } th, td { padding: 6px 8px; } }
.hero,.ash-hero,.ash-loc-page .ash-hero{padding-top:130px !important}</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="hero"><div class="hero-inner"><span class="location-badge">Jon Peterson Scholarship</span><h1>The Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship: What Columbus Families Actually Get</h1><p>Two children with the same diagnosis can receive very different amounts under this scholarship. What decides it isn't the diagnosis at all. It's a category on a district document most parents have never read closely.</p></div></div>
<div class="quick-info"><div class="info-item"><div class="info-label">FY2027 Range</div><div class="info-value">$10,045-$34,000</div></div><div class="info-item"><div class="info-label">Ages</div><div class="info-value">3 to 21</div></div><div class="info-item"><div class="info-label">Decided By</div><div class="info-value">ETR category</div></div><div class="info-item"><div class="info-label">Can Combine</div><div class="info-value">No</div></div></div>
<div class="content">
<section><p>The Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship pays a Columbus family somewhere between <strong>$10,045 and $34,000</strong> for the 2026-27 school year. What sets the number isn't your child's diagnosis. It's the disability category recorded on their <strong>Evaluation Team Report</strong>.</p>
<p>That distinction costs families real money, because two children who look similar on paper can sit in categories $11,000 apart.</p></section>
<section><h2>The FY2027 category amounts</h2>
<p>These cover July 1 2026 through June 30 2027.</p>
<table>
<thead><tr><th>Category</th><th>What it covers</th><th>FY2027 amount</th></tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr><td>1</td><td>Speech or language impairment</td><td>$10,045</td></tr>
<tr><td>2</td><td>Specific learning disability, intellectual disability, other health impaired minor</td><td><strong>$13,069</strong></td></tr>
<tr><td>3</td><td>Hearing impaired or emotional disturbance</td><td>$20,069</td></tr>
<tr><td>4</td><td>Vision impaired or other health impaired major</td><td><strong>$24,080</strong></td></tr>
<tr><td>5</td><td>Orthopedic impairment or multiple disabilities</td><td>$29,750</td></tr>
<tr><td>6</td><td>Autism, traumatic brain injury, hearing and vision impaired</td><td>$34,000</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>One catch on category 1. Speech or language impairment money can only pay for related services listed on the individualized education program. It can't pay non-public school tuition.</p></section>
<section><h2>Why an ADHD diagnosis usually lands in the $13,069 category</h2>
<p>ADHD is normally served under <strong>Other Health Impaired</strong>, and that splits into two tiers worth about $11,000 apart. Almost nothing written for parents explains the difference, so here it is.</p>
<p>Ohio law defines a <strong>medically fragile child</strong> as one who meets all three of these: needs a physician's services at least weekly because of medical instability, needs a registered nurse's services daily, and is at risk of being institutionalized in a hospital, skilled nursing facility or intermediate care facility.</p>
<p><strong>Other health impaired major</strong> means the child meets the other health impaired definition <em>and</em> is medically fragile, either through a condition on the state's list or an individual determination. <strong>Other health impaired minor</strong> means they meet the definition but not that second test.</p>
<div class="highlight-box"><p><strong>So a standard ADHD diagnosis, without medical fragility, typically falls under other health impaired minor: category 2, $13,069.</strong> Typically, not always. The determination belongs to your district's evaluation team, and that's the conversation to have with them rather than assuming a number.</p></div>
<p>Real-world check: Marburn Academy, whose named populations are dyslexia, ADHD and executive function difficulties, states on its own funding page that most of its students qualify for the $13,069 scholarship.</p></section>
<section><h2>How this differs from the Autism Scholarship</h2>
<p>These get conflated constantly, and they work differently in one decisive way.</p>
<table>
<thead><tr><th></th><th>Jon Peterson</th><th>Autism Scholarship</th></tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr><td>What sets the amount</td><td>Disability category on the Evaluation Team Report</td><td>Flat autism category maximum</td></tr>
<tr><td>FY2027 amount</td><td>$10,045 to $34,000</td><td>$34,000</td></tr>
<tr><td>Route in</td><td>Finalized IEP the parent agrees to, plus an ETR</td><td>District identification <strong>or a private autism diagnosis</strong></td></tr>
<tr><td>Ages</td><td>3 to 21</td><td>From age 3</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>The private diagnosis route is the one families miss. For the Autism Scholarship, a diagnosis from a physician or psychologist reflected in an individualized education program or an Autism Education Plan is a valid path. Jon Peterson has no equivalent, and runs entirely through the district process. Full detail: <a href="/guide/ohio-autism-scholarship-cleveland">how the Ohio Autism Scholarship works</a>.</p>
<p>You can hold one in a school year, never both.</p></section>
<section><h2>Which Columbus schools accept it</h2>
<p><strong>Bridgeway Academy</strong> carries funding sections for both scholarships, serves preschool through age 21, and runs speech, music, occupational and physical therapy on site. More in <a href="/guide/bridgeway-academy-columbus">the Bridgeway guide</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Marburn Academy</strong> in New Albany states it's recognized as an approved provider for both the Jon Peterson and Autism Scholarship programs. Be precise about what it is, though: an independent non-public school for grades 1 to 12 whose named focus is dyslexia, ADHD, executive function difficulties, dyscalculia and dysgraphia. It doesn't hold itself out as an autism school. Its published 2026-27 tuition is $40,500, and its own page says 98% of families don't pay the full amount, with families paying around 44% on average.</p>
<p><strong>Oakstone Academy</strong> promotes only EdChoice on its site, with no mention of either scholarship. See <a href="/guide/oakstone-academy">the Oakstone guide</a>.</p>
<p>Confirm acceptance for the exact grade and program your child would enter, because it varies inside a single school.</p></section>
<section><h2>Where therapy at home sits alongside a scholarship</h2>
<p>Neither scholarship pays for therapy in your living room. They buy an education placement.</p>
<p>Applied behavior analysis for an autistic child under 21 runs through Ohio Medicaid or a commercial plan instead, with no annual dollar cap on the Medicaid side. Different pot of money, so using one doesn't spend the other.</p>
<p>One honest limit worth stating plainly: <strong>Ohio ties ABA coverage to an autism diagnosis.</strong> A child whose only diagnosis is ADHD or a specific learning disability isn't covered for ABA on that basis, whatever their scholarship category. Achieving Stars Therapy works with autistic children ages 18 months to 15 years across <a href="/location/city/aba-therapy-columbus-oh">Columbus</a> and <a href="/location/states/aba-therapy-ohio">Ohio</a>, bills Medicaid and most commercial plans, and checks benefits free. Comparing placements? Start with <a href="/guide/autism-schools-columbus-oh">autism schools in Columbus</a>.</p></section><section><h2>Common questions from Columbus parents</h2><div class="faq-item"><h3>How much is the Jon Peterson scholarship for 2026 to 2027?</h3><p>It depends on the disability category on your child's Evaluation Team Report. For fiscal year 2027 the categories run $10,045 for speech or language impairment, $13,069 for a specific learning disability, intellectual disability or other health impaired minor, $20,069 for hearing impairment or emotional disturbance, $24,080 for vision impairment or other health impaired major, $29,750 for orthopedic or multiple disabilities, and $34,000 for autism, traumatic brain injury, or combined hearing and vision impairment.</p></div><div class="faq-item"><h3>What category is ADHD under Jon Peterson?</h3><p>ADHD is normally served under Other Health Impaired, which splits into two tiers. Other health impaired major is reserved for children who meet Ohio's medically fragile definition, which requires physician services at least weekly, daily registered nurse services, and risk of institutionalization. A standard ADHD diagnosis without medical fragility typically falls under other health impaired minor, the $13,069 category. Your district's evaluation team makes that determination, so confirm it with them.</p></div><div class="faq-item"><h3>Do you need an IEP for the Jon Peterson scholarship?</h3><p>Yes. It requires a finalized individualized education program that all parties including the parent agree with, plus an Evaluation Team Report from your resident district. There is no private-diagnosis route, which is the main way it differs from the Autism Scholarship.</p></div><div class="faq-item"><h3>Can you use Jon Peterson and the Autism Scholarship together?</h3><p>No. Ohio law rules out holding both in the same school year. For an autistic child the top Jon Peterson category and the Autism Scholarship both cap at $34,000 in fiscal year 2027, so the decision usually turns on how your child was identified and which schools accept which scholarship.</p></div><div class="faq-item"><h3>What ages does Jon Peterson cover?</h3><p>Ages 3 through 21. Children aged 3 and 4 became eligible on September 30 2025, provided they have a compliant Evaluation Team Report and an individualized education program in one of the 13 federal disability categories.</p></div><div class="faq-item"><h3>Which Columbus schools take the Jon Peterson scholarship?</h3><p>Bridgeway Academy and Marburn Academy both name it as accepted, and Marburn is listed as an approved provider for Jon Peterson and the Autism Scholarship. Oakstone Academy's site promotes only EdChoice. Always confirm for the specific program and grade your child would enter.</p></div></section>
<p class="disclaimer">Category amounts are from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce FY2027 Jon Peterson award schedule, covering July 1 2026 to June 30 2027, and definitions from Ohio Revised Code 3310.51 and 3317.02. Amounts are set annually. Which category applies to your child is determined by your district's evaluation team, not by this page. Not legal advice.</p>
<div class="cta-section">
<h2>Therapy at Home, Billed to Insurance</h2>
<p>Free benefits check. BCBA-led, in-home, flexible day and evening scheduling.</p>
<a href="https://www.achievingstarstherapy.com/contact" class="cta-button">Get a Free Benefits Check</a>
<div class="cta-grid">
<div class="cta-item"><div class="cta-item-label">Call</div><div class="cta-item-value"><a href="tel:8336663115">(833) 666-3115</a></div></div>
<div class="cta-item"><div class="cta-item-label">Email</div><div class="cta-item-value"><a href="mailto:info@achievingstarstherapy.com">info@achievingstarstherapy.com</a></div></div>
<div class="cta-item"><div class="cta-item-label">Ages</div><div class="cta-item-value">18 months to 15 years</div></div>
</div>
</div><script type="application/ld+json">{"@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [{"@type": "Question", "name": "How much is the Jon Peterson scholarship for 2026 to 2027?", "acceptedAnswer": {"@type": "Answer", "text": "It depends on the disability category on your child's Evaluation Team Report. For fiscal year 2027 the categories run $10,045 for speech or language impairment, $13,069 for a specific learning disability, intellectual disability or other health impaired minor, $20,069 for hearing impairment or emotional disturbance, $24,080 for vision impairment or other health impaired major, $29,750 for orthopedic or multiple disabilities, and $34,000 for autism, traumatic brain injury, or combined hearing and vision impairment."}}, {"@type": "Question", "name": "What category is ADHD under Jon Peterson?", "acceptedAnswer": {"@type": "Answer", "text": "ADHD is normally served under Other Health Impaired, which splits into two tiers. Other health impaired major is reserved for children who meet Ohio's medically fragile definition, which requires physician services at least weekly, daily registered nurse services, and risk of institutionalization. A standard ADHD diagnosis without medical fragility typically falls under other health impaired minor, the $13,069 category. Your district's evaluation team makes that determination, so confirm it with them."}}, {"@type": "Question", "name": "Do you need an IEP for the Jon Peterson scholarship?", "acceptedAnswer": {"@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. It requires a finalized individualized education program that all parties including the parent agree with, plus an Evaluation Team Report from your resident district. There is no private-diagnosis route, which is the main way it differs from the Autism Scholarship."}}, {"@type": "Question", "name": "Can you use Jon Peterson and the Autism Scholarship together?", "acceptedAnswer": {"@type": "Answer", "text": "No. Ohio law rules out holding both in the same school year. For an autistic child the top Jon Peterson category and the Autism Scholarship both cap at $34,000 in fiscal year 2027, so the decision usually turns on how your child was identified and which schools accept which scholarship."}}, {"@type": "Question", "name": "What ages does Jon Peterson cover?", "acceptedAnswer": {"@type": "Answer", "text": "Ages 3 through 21. Children aged 3 and 4 became eligible on September 30 2025, provided they have a compliant Evaluation Team Report and an individualized education program in one of the 13 federal disability categories."}}, {"@type": "Question", "name": "Which Columbus schools take the Jon Peterson scholarship?", "acceptedAnswer": {"@type": "Answer", "text": "Bridgeway Academy and Marburn Academy both name it as accepted, and Marburn is listed as an approved provider for Jon Peterson and the Autism Scholarship. Oakstone Academy's site promotes only EdChoice. Always confirm for the specific program and grade your child would enter."}}]}</script>
</div>
</body>
</html>
