What changed in Odyssey's Utah Fits All handbook, and when.
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This guide explains how to use your Utah Fits All (UFA) scholarship funds.
Each approved student receives a digital wallet in the Odyssey platform. The wallet tracks all scholarship activity, including:
Parents can access all spending options directly through their student's digital wallet.
There are three ways to use scholarship funds:
Spending Option |
Description |
|---|---|
| Odyssey Marketplace (Recommended) | Purchase pre-approved educational products and services directly through Odyssey. |
| Tuition Payments | Send tuition payments directly to approved private schools through Odyssey. Tuitions and fees paid to other education institutions and non-approved private schools can be submitted for reimbursement. |
| Reimbursements | Request reimbursement for eligible purchases made outside the Marketplace. |
Before making purchases or submitting reimbursements, please review the following rules.
Rule |
Details |
|---|---|
| Scholarship Year | The scholarship year runs from July 1 through June 30. |
| Eligible Expenses | Expenses must occur within the applicable scholarship year. |
| Goods | Funds from one scholarship year cannot be used on goods purchased after June 30 of that year. |
| Services | Services that started before June 30 and carry through to the next program year are eligible expenses. |
Example
A summer camp starts on June 29 and ends July 3. This is an eligible expense for the current program year.
Scholarship funds belong to the individual student.
The following rules apply:
Families are strongly encouraged to use the Odyssey Marketplace whenever possible.
Marketplace purchases are:
All reimbursements are reviewed individually. Please note:
Please see: Acceptable Documentation for Reimbursement
Reimbursements require both:
In most transactions, the proof of purchase and payment are contained in the same document.
Incomplete documentation may result in denial.
Documentation must provide proof of purchase and the specific item or service purchased.
Please see: Acceptable Documentation for Reimbursement
Spending caps, quantity limits, and category restrictions apply to both Marketplace purchases and reimbursements.
Marketplace purchases and reimbursed purchases are combined when calculating limits.
When a category cap is reached, spending cannot be shifted to another category.
Example
If your student exceeds the Physical Education limit for their gymnastics lessons, the gymnastics lessons cannot be shifted to the Extracurricular category.
For more information regarding restricted categories, please see: Examples of Extracurricular, Physical Education, and Fine Arts
Transaction |
Processing Time |
|---|---|
| Reimbursements | Reimbursements will be processed within 10 business days of a complete submission. Payment will be received within 10 business days of approval. |
| Marketplace Purchases | Immediate. |
Tuition payments can be made directly from your award to a UFA approved private school through your Odyssey account.
Tuition payments made to other educational institutions can be submitted for reimbursement.
Odyssey has the right to deny expenses that do not meet:
The Odyssey Marketplace is the fastest, easiest, and most secure way to use scholarship funds.
All Marketplace vendors and offerings are reviewed for eligibility before being made available to families.
Benefit |
Description |
|---|---|
| Pre-Approved Purchases | Marketplace items are reviewed for eligibility before purchase, reducing the risk of denied expenses. |
| No Out-of-Pocket Costs | Odyssey pays approved vendors directly, eliminating the need to pay first and request reimbursement later. |
| Faster Fulfillment | Because Marketplace purchases are pre-approved, products and services can move directly to fulfillment without additional compliance review. |
| Competitive Pricing | Many Marketplace vendors provide discounted or preferred pricing through Odyssey partnerships. |
| Growing Vendor Network | The Marketplace includes national retailers, local providers, and educational service providers. Odyssey continues to expand Marketplace offerings and can onboard additional vendors that meet program requirements. |
Private schools wishing to receive scholarship funds directly must first be approved through Odyssey's school review process in accordance with the Utah state code governing UFA.
Payments are deducted directly from the student's scholarship balance and sent to the approved school.
Tuition payments cannot be sent directly to non-approved schools from a student's award.
However, students classified as home-based learners may be eligible for reimbursement of certain fees paid to non-approved schools if the expense qualifies as a legally allowable educational expense under Utah law.
Reimbursements allow families to request scholarship funds for eligible purchases made outside the Marketplace.
Before submitting a reimbursement request, please review the following:
Except as provided below, purchases submitted for reimbursement through the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program must be made in U.S. dollars (USD). Purchases made in a foreign currency are not eligible for reimbursement.
Families serving in the U.S. military who are stationed outside the United States may make eligible purchases in the local currency when it is reasonably necessary because of their duty station.
All other reimbursement requirements and documentation requirements continue to apply.
The categories and subcategories available for reimbursement correspond directly with Marketplace spending categories.
If a student has reached a category spending cap, additional reimbursement requests for goods and services within that category will not be approved.
The categories and subcategories below are available for reimbursement and correspond directly with Marketplace spending categories.
If a student has reached a category spending cap, additional reimbursement requests for goods and services that fit in that category will not be approved.
| Category | Notes |
|---|---|
| Tutoring Services | |
| After-School or Summer Education Programs | Please visit the related article for examples of eligible expenses in these categories. |
| After-School Educational Program | |
| After-School Extracurricular Activities | 20% funding limit |
| Physical Education | 20% funding limit |
| Fine Arts Instruction | |
| Summer Educational Program | |
| Educational Therapies | Occupational, Behavioral, Physical, Audiology, and Speech-Language |
Item |
Restriction |
|---|---|
| Laptops | $1,500 price limit + quantity cap |
| Desktops | $1,500 price limit + quantity cap |
| Tablets | $1,500 price limit + quantity cap |
| Monitors | $500 price limit + quantity cap |
| Disability Assistive Devices | N/A |
| Calculators | N/A |
| Printers | $1,500 price limit + quantity cap |
| 3D Printers | $1,500 price limit + quantity cap |
| Printer Accessories | N/A |
| Cameras | $500 price limit + quantity cap |
| Headphones | $200 price limit + quantity cap |
| Computer Accessories | N/A |
Fees associated with internet service are to be used in the education of a student.
The service period must occur during the time covered by the scholarship.
To be eligible, the reimbursement submission must include:
For additional information, please see the Price Caps and Purchase Restrictions article.
Ride fees or fares for a fee-for-service transportation provider to transport students to and from a qualifying provider, not to exceed $750 in a given school year.
The starting destination and ending destination (one of which must be a qualifying provider or approved private school) must be provided.
Eligible transportation categories include:
Eligible categories include:
Important
If a reimbursement is submitted under the wrong category, Odyssey may deny the request and require resubmission under the correct category.
Items and services that are subject to a cap are under additional scrutiny for being in the correct category.
Reimbursements will be processed within 10 business days of a complete submission. Payment will be received within 10 business days of approval.
Families are encouraged to submit reimbursement requests throughout the year rather than waiting until the end of the funding cycle.
Scholarship funds will be held while the review is in progress to prevent overspending.
Odyssey's approach to determining eligible expenses is to err on the side of supporting parents and students while applying standards consistently across the program.
Because families educate their students in many different ways, it is not possible to create an exhaustive list of every eligible or ineligible item or service.
When evaluating an expense, Odyssey applies a simple but important distinction:
While many general-purpose items can support learning, their primary design and typical use are not educational in nature.
For this reason, the ability to use an item for learning does not, by itself, make it an eligible educational expense.
For detailed guidance regarding expenses that are not eligible for reimbursement, please review the UFA Ineligible Expense Guide.
Understanding when expenses are eligible is important to ensure reimbursement requests can be approved.
The annual scholarship year runs from July 1 through June 30.
Eligible expenses must occur within the applicable scholarship year.
The start or end date of a service must occur during the scholarship year for which reimbursement is requested.
Example
An educational summer camp that starts June 15 and ends July 2 is an allowable expense for the current scholarship year.
Students who participated during the previous program year and remain eligible for the current program year will have access to their rolled over funds.
These funds can only be spent on eligible expenses in the new program year.
For additional information, please see Do My Remaining Funds Rollover?
Retroactive reimbursement requests for:
will only be accepted if they were paid after January 1.
Otherwise, only expenses incurred during the current scholarship year may be submitted.
Every reimbursement request must include a receipt from the point of sale that serves as both:
Every receipt must include:
Required Information |
|---|
| Vendor or business name |
| Transaction date |
| Itemized list of products or services purchased |
| Total amount paid, including applicable taxes and fees |
| Method of payment |
| Proof that payment was completed |
For credit or debit card purchases, the receipt must display the last four digits of the card.
Acceptable proof of payment includes:
The following documents are accepted:
For examples and additional information about acceptable documentation, please visit the Acceptable Documentation for Reimbursement article.
The following documents are not accepted as receipts:
Important
Odyssey will not accept invoices or handwritten notes as proof of purchase.
For instructions on connecting your bank account and submitting a reimbursement request, please review:
How to Add Your Bank Account and Submit a Reimbursement Request
Any eligibility guidance, reimbursement guidance, or preliminary approval provided by Odyssey's Smart Assistant or Support Team is informational only.
Final eligibility determinations are made only after:
Important
Approval is not guaranteed until the compliance review process is complete.
Odyssey reserves the right to deny any reimbursement request that does not align with:
This includes, but is not limited to, expenses that:
Odyssey may update or revise reimbursement policies as needed to:
Under Section 53F-6-408(8)(a) of the Utah Code, a private school intending to receive scholarship funds is required to submit an application to the program manager.
The law requires Odyssey, as program manager, to collect necessary information to determine eligibility and authority to approve eligible schools.
The law also requires a proactive vetting process that includes:
Using an application as a mechanism to collect this information is both reasonable and consistent with the statute.
This approach also supports Odyssey's duty to ensure:
as outlined in:
Odyssey's reimbursement policy, as outlined in this guide, is based on the law regarding scholarship expenses as defined in:
The law gives the program manager discretion to determine expense eligibility and implement policies and procedures as described in:
The statute also authorizes the program manager to reject non-educational expenses and reimbursement requests that do not meet statutory criteria as outlined in:
This guide is intended to help families understand how scholarship funds may be used under the Utah Fits All (UFA) Program.
All purchases, reimbursements, and funding decisions remain subject to applicable Utah law, program requirements, and Odyssey's compliance review process.