Quick look: Thousands of Orange County high school students may have money they don’t know about in their CalKIDS scholarship accounts. New reporting tools are helping schools identify eligible students and connect families with available funds for college or career training.
Thousands of Orange County students may have money available to help pay for college or career training — and schools now have new tools to help ensure those funds don’t go unclaimed.
Established in 2022, the California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program, or CalKIDS, automatically creates scholarship accounts for eligible public school students. These accounts can help offset some college or career training expenses.
According to the CalKIDS High School Dashboard, 71,769 current Orange County high schoolers are eligible for CalKIDS scholarship accounts. But here’s the thing: As of June 2026, only 14,236 local students had claimed their accounts, representing about 19.8 percent of eligible students.
This is real money that could be left on the table. Eligible students can receive up to $1,500, depending on factors such as income status, foster youth status or homelessness.
A targeted approach
While the state has made overall awareness a priority, a recent partnership between CalKIDS and the California Student Aid Commission is empowering schools to take a more targeted approach to outreach.
Through WebGrants, a platform already used by many high schools and districts to support financial aid efforts, authorized school and district staff can access reports showing which students have CalKIDS accounts and whether those accounts have been claimed.
That means schools can supplement their broader awareness efforts with direct communication to eligible families. In simple terms, counselors and other authorized personnel can now identify students with unclaimed accounts and tell them exactly how to access their scholarship funds.
“Every student deserves the opportunity to pursue their goals after high school,” Orange County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Stefan Bean said. “Programs like CalKIDS can help remove financial barriers and create new opportunities for students and families. We encourage schools and districts to take advantage of these tools and help ensure eligible students receive the support available to them.”
How to learn more
CalKIDS is administered by California’s ScholarShare Investment Board. Scholarship funds may be used for qualified higher education and career training expenses, including tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board, and certain computer equipment.
Students and families can check their eligibility, claim accounts and learn more about the program by visiting CalKIDS.org. Accounts must be claimed on or before a student’s 26th birthday.
Schools and districts are encouraged to visit WebGrants to learn which students have CalKIDS accounts and whether those accounts have been claimed.
The California Student Aid Commission has also created a public dashboard that allows users to view participation rates by county, district and school, helping education leaders better understand where additional outreach may be needed.
School and district staff seeking information about WebGrants access and reporting tools can contact the California Student Aid Commission.