Homeschool funding & ESAs in Colorado

Can I get paid to homeschool in Colorado?

No. Colorado has no ESA or voucher that independent homeschooling families can use. Nationwide grants are listed below, each with its own eligibility rules. Romeschool tracks and organizes what you spend, so a receipt is ready the moment a program asks for one — it never files or submits anything on your behalf. It runs the other way too: Colorado's homeschool rules require a test or an evaluation every other year, in grades 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. The accepted options, and who administers each, are in the testing line below. Which pathway you homeschool under changes that, so read the testing line before you plan around it. If the option you choose charges a fee, plan for it.

What does Colorado require of homeschoolers — and what should I plan for?

Colorado requires a test or an evaluation every other year, in grades 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. That is the part of the year a family arranges ahead of time. Which pathway you homeschool under changes this: the home-based program under C.R.S. § 22-33-104.5 — a child fully enrolled in an independent or parochial school, or taught at home by a Colorado-licensed teacher, is exempt under § 22-33-104(2) and the statute sets no testing for either. Which options Colorado accepts — and who administers each one — is in the testing line below, in the reviewed rules' own words. If the option you choose charges a fee, plan for it. What Colorado asks for — notice, instruction time, testing and records — is set out below, straight from the reviewed rules.

Notice

Yes. Colorado requires homeschooling families to file a notice. Where it goes: A Colorado school district (any district, not necessarily your own). How: Written notice including the child's name, age, residence, and hours of attendance. When: At least 14 days before beginning home-based education; annually thereafter. Re-file each school year the program continues. The notice is not required until the child is six, and is not required after the child turns sixteen (C.R.S. § 22-33-104.5(3)(e)). If the child was habitually truant at any time during the last six months they attended school, the parents must send a written description of the curricula the program will use along with the notice, or the child may not be enrolled in the program (C.R.S. § 22-33-104.5(3)(b)). This notice belongs to the home-based program: a child fully enrolled in an independent or parochial school, or taught at home by a Colorado-licensed teacher, is exempt under C.R.S. § 22-33-104(2), and that statute sets no notice for either. Sending your test or evaluation results to an independent or parochial school is a different arrangement: that is still a home-based program, and the notice — plus the school's name — still goes to the district (C.R.S. § 22-33-104.5(3)(f)).

Testing or evaluation

Yes. Colorado requires a test or another accepted form of evaluation. How often: Biennial (in the specified grades only). Who this applies to: the home-based program under C.R.S. § 22-33-104.5 — a child fully enrolled in an independent or parochial school, or taught at home by a Colorado-licensed teacher, is exempt under § 22-33-104(2) and the statute sets no testing for either. Accepted options: nationally standardized achievement test and evaluation by a qualified person you choose — a Colorado-licensed teacher, a teacher employed by an independent or parochial school, a licensed psychologist, or someone with a graduate degree in education (C.R.S. § 22-33-104.5(2)(c)). Testing or evaluation in grades 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, using a nationally normed achievement test or a qualified evaluator the parent chooses — not the Colorado state assessment. Results go to the district that received the notice, or to an independent or parochial school; if they go to a school, that school's name must still be given to the district, and the family is still in the home-based program, with the notice and the 172 days still owed (C.R.S. § 22-33-104.5(3)(f)). There is no passing grade to report, but a composite score at or below the 13th percentile — or an evaluation showing the child is not making sufficient academic progress — requires the district to have the child placed in a public, independent or parochial school until the next testing period, after the child has been offered a retest on an alternate version or a different approved test (C.R.S. § 22-33-104.5(5)).

Days and hours

Colorado's rule: 172 days averaging 4 instructional contact hours per day.

Records

Colorado requires these records: attendance data, test or evaluation results, and immunization records. How long, or where they go: Permanently — the parent in charge of the program keeps the records on a permanent basis (C.R.S. § 22-33-104.5(3)(g)). The district that received your notice may require them on 14 days' written notice, and only if the superintendent has probable cause to believe the program is not meeting the guidelines in § 22-33-104.5(3). Nothing is routinely submitted except the test or evaluation results.

Full Colorado homeschool requirements →

Nationwide grants

• ACT Today! Grant · Autism Care Today
  For U.S. families of a child with an autism diagnosis (priority to household income under $100k).
  Open to any family of a child with autism — not homeschool-specific, but useful for therapy costs.
• Dyslexia Services Foundation Grant · Dyslexia Services Foundation
  For low-income U.S. children with dyslexia who cannot otherwise afford treatment (need shown via free/reduced lunch, Medicaid, or SNAP).
  Typically identified through a teacher or provider; not homeschool-specific.
• HSLDA Compassion Curriculum Grant · Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)
  For HSLDA members with significant financial need (legal custody of a child 6-19, homeschooling 3+ months).
  You must privately fund your homeschool (not receiving ESA or other public funds).
• HSLDA Disaster Relief Grant · Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)
  For homeschooling families (child 6-19) with physical disaster damage in the past 18 months.
• MyGOAL Autism Grant · MyGOAL Inc.
  For the primary caregiver of a child under 18 with autism, with demonstrated financial need.
  Open to any family of a child with autism — not homeschool-specific.
• Our Military Kids Grant · Our Military Kids
  For children (1-18) of deployed National Guard/Reserve members (60+ days) or of post-9/11 combat-injured service members and veterans.
  Funds organized, provider-led activities (not parent-taught core instruction).
• UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation Grant · UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation
  For U.S. children aged 16 or under with commercial (non-public) health insurance, subject to income guidelines.
  Medical (not education) funding — useful for special-needs homeschoolers' therapy costs.

Full details, amounts and deadlines for every program →