Missouri Partners with Odyssey to Modernize MOScholars Program

Nation's leading school choice platform to power MOScholars ahead of 2026-2027 school year

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., June 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Missouri State Treasurer's Office today announced a partnership with Odyssey to modernize the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program (MOScholars), bringing the nation's most widely used school choice platform to Missouri families ahead of the 2026-2027 school year.

Created in 2021, MOScholars is administered through the Missouri State Treasurer's Office and funded through a combination of state tax-credit contributions and direct appropriations. The program is projected to serve over 10,000 students in FY 2027.

"The state of Missouri is pleased to partner with Odyssey at a pivotal moment for MOScholars," said Missouri State Treasurer Vivek Malek. "Odyssey's experience and track record in scaling and operating large school choice programs across the country will serve Missourians well. Heading into the 2026-2027 school year, I am confident Missouri families will experience a smooth sign-up process, enabling them to focus on what truly matters: choosing the right educational pathway for their children."

"We are thrilled to partner with the state of Missouri and the MOScholars program," said Joseph Connor, CEO of Odyssey. "Odyssey was built to modernize how school choice programs are administered. Our platform helps states deliver funding faster, more securely, and with a dramatically better experience for families, schools, vendors and program administrators alike."

Odyssey currently supports 13 school choice programs across 10 states, serving more than 235,000 students and administering more than $2 billion in education funds:

• In the recently launched ESA program in Texas, Odyssey processed more than 42,000 applications in the first 24 hours of program launch.
• In Iowa, the company administers a $350 million program that supports more than 43,000 awarded students.
• In Utah, Odyssey successfully migrated 9,700 student records, 450 gigabytes of data, and 4 million files, after assuming operations from a terminated vendor contract, relaunching the program statewide within 90 days.
• In Missouri, Odyssey estimates the program will provide tens of millions of dollars in funding to nearly 200 accredited K-12 schools and more than 500Missouri-based educational service and therapy businesses. 

About Participation in the MOScholars Program

To participate in MOScholars, a student must be a legal Missouri resident and either have an approved IEP under IDEA, or come from a family earning no more than 300 percent of the Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) limit. Students qualifying by income must also meet one of the following: have attended public school full-time for at least one semester in the past year, be eligible to enter kindergarten or first grade, or be the sibling of a qualifying student who received a scholarship last year and will receive one again this year.

Odyssey

Odyssey is a leading software company that powers some of the nation's largest school choice programs. The company provides the modern financial and administrative infrastructure for school choice programs including education savings accounts (ESAs), tax credit scholarships, voucher programs, and course choice programs. Odyssey's end to end solution handles application processing, identity verification, eligibility determination, payment processing, marketplace management, compliance, customer support, and reporting. Today, Odyssey supports programs serving more than 235,000 students and administering over $2 billion in annual education funding nationwide.

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SOURCE Odyssey