Correct, scholarships that are for tuition (and other qualified expenses, books & fees) are not usually taxable.
Can I just go and decide it is taxable? Generally, yes*. But if the conditions of the scholarship are that it must be used for tuition, then no. You may have to read the conditions. The fact that the amount is exactly equal to the tuition charge does not lock that in. Read the school's billing statements. Do they show a direct match to tuition or is the grant treated like a general payment to the student's account.
*This is not some sinister scheme. From the 2019 form 1040 instructions (pg 95): “You may be able to increase an education credit if the student chooses to include all or part of a Pell grant or certain other scholarships or fellowships in income. For more information, see Pub. 970, the instructions for Form 1040, line 18c, and IRS.gov/EdCredit. Page 16 of PUB 970 (2019) actually has examples of how to do this “loop hole”.
