OpenEd will reimburse you for approved educational expenses that are related to your student's education plan.
Tying Your Wallet Funds To Your Student's Education Plan
When you submit an item for reimbursement, you'll be asked to select which subject the item relates to on your student's education plan.
As long as a subject is on your student's education plan once, you will be able to relate your reimbursement to that subject. (You don't need to add the same subject as a required subject and an independent study, for example. Either one will work.)
You'll also be able to fill out an optional field letting us know what you intend to use the item for. We recommend that you fill this field out – that info helps our team connect it to your student's education plan (and we always enjoy hearing about your family's learning!).
Examples:
Ashley purchased a camera to help her son pursue his passion for photography. When submitting her reimbursement, she selected Photography as the related subject from her son's education plan.
Lisa purchased some baking supplies for his daughter, who's been trying her hand at some fun pastries. She tied her reimbursement request to the Culinary Arts elective on her daughter's education plan. She also added a note to OpenEd's staff that says "This cake decorating kit is helping my daughter learn some new techniques!"
James bought his son a new calculator. On his reimbursement request, he listed Accounting I as the related subject.
McKenzie purchased some notebooks and pencils for her daughter to use in a few different areas of her personalized learning. When submitting her reimbursement, she selected General Supplies as the related category. She also added a note to OpenEd's staff that says, "These notebooks will be used for various subjects on my daughter's education plan."
What's Reimbursable vs. What's Not
We know that OpenEd families use their wallet funds to support their students' personalized learning in a ton of different creative ways. Since the possibilities are nearly endless, we can't list out every item that could possibly be reimbursed.
Instead, check out the articles below for a list of commonly approved expenses that align with most educational plans — along with a list of items that are never approved for reimbursement.
Still have questions about whether something's reimbursable? Reach out to us at [email protected]!
How To Request Reimbursement
To submit for reimbursement, go to the Reimbursements menu option in OpenEd's platform. (This option will only appear after the start of the school year.)
On this page, you can see the status of any reimbursement requests you've already submitted.
To submit a new request, click on the + New Reimbursement button in the top right corner of the page.
Bank Account Connection
The first time you submit for reimbursement, you'll see a prompt at the top of the screen asking you to connect your bank account to enable direct deposits and transfers.
You'll only have to take this step once.
OpenEd uses Plaid to make this connection. You can either enter your phone number to log in or sign up with Plaid, or you can continue as a guest without making an account.
After signing up or continuing as a guest, you'll be asked to select your bank and log in.
Then, you'll be able to select the accounts that you would like to connect to Plaid.
After accepting the terms and conditions, you're good to go!
How Plaid Keeps Your Data Safe
Plaid is an industry standard, highly secure vendor used by Citi Bank, Robinhood, Rocket Mortgage, Coinbase, and many more.
When you link your bank account with Plaid, your information is securely stored and managed; OpenEd will never see your private credentials. We'll just ask Plaid to transfer funds to you on our behalf as part of the reimbursement process.
For more info on Plaid's security protocols, take a look at their Trust and Safety landing page.
Submitting Your Reimbursement Request
After you've connected your bank account, you can go ahead and fill in the details of your reimbursement.
On the left side of the page, you'll see an option to upload your receipts. You can upload as many receipts as you want.
You'll also be asked to check a box confirming that the items in your request relate to your student's education plan.
On the right side of the page, you can start filling in your details, including:
Date of Purchase
Vendor
Line Item
Note: Similar items can be grouped together on one line item! For example, if your order includes scissors, glue and paper for a project, you could write "School Supplies" in this field.
Amount
What you plan to use the item for
Note: Even though this field is optional, we highly recommend adding this information! It helps our team get context on how each item will enhance your student's education, which makes it less likely that we'll bug you for further details.
Next, use the Education Plan dropdown menu to relate your item to a subject from your student's education plan.
Then, select which student's wallet you'd like your item to be tied to.
Get Reimbursed For Multiple Items At The Same Time
At the bottom of the page, you'll see a button labeled Add another item.
Clicking that button lets you submit for reimbursement for multiple items at a time.
Splitting Your Reimbursement Between Multiple Students' Wallets
When submitting a reimbursement, you have the option to split your request between multiple students' wallets.
Let's say that you're submitting a reimbursement for a set of art supplies that two of your students used. You can choose to receive part of that reimbursement in Student A's wallet, while receiving the rest of the reimbursement in Student B's.
How it works: While filling out your reimbursement request, click on the Add wallet button. That will let you add multiple students' wallets to the request, splitting the reimbursement amount however you want.
Processing Timeline
The reimbursement process typically takes 14 business days from the date that you submit or resubmit your request.
Once your request has been approved, the status will appear as approved in the Orders page.
Please note: The actual timeline for the funds to be deposited is contingent on the method disbursement that you've chosen, but can generally be expected within 2-3 business days.
Receipt Requirements
All receipts must be dated between April 1 – March 31.
All receipts must be provided by the vendor and include the following details:
Date
Description of item(s) purchased
Price paid
Payment type
Vendor contact information (phone or email)
If a receipt includes resources for multiple students and/or subjects, please clearly label which items correspond to each student and subject.
Please note: As part of our reimbursement process, our team may contact a parent or vendor to request additional proof of payment or to verify details—especially for cash transactions. This step helps ensure the accuracy and integrity of all reimbursements. If we’re unable to sufficiently verify a transaction, the request may not be approved.
To help avoid delays or denials: We strongly discourage cash payments. If paying with cash is the only available option, please ensure that the receipt includes all necessary details—such as the vendor’s contact information, date, itemized list of purchases, and payment confirmation. OpenEd may require additional verification to process these requests.