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. 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 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 ages that bind a home-based program are not the same as the compulsory attendance ages: notice is not required until the child is six, the program need not be established until the child is seven, and neither the program nor the notice is required after the child is sixteen (C.R.S. § 22-33-104.5(3)(e)). Colorado's compulsory attendance law itself runs from age six to under seventeen (C.R.S. § 22-33-104(1)(a)), and a child in a home-based program is exempt from it.

Testing or evaluation

Yes. Colorado requires a test or another accepted form of evaluation. How often: Biennial (in the specified grades only). Accepted options: nationally-normed standardized achievement test and evaluation by a qualified person chosen by the parent. Testing or evaluation in grades 3, 5, 7, 9, 11. Results are reported to the district (or the overseeing independent/parochial school). No minimum score; a nationally-normed test, not the Colorado state assessment.

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: Kept by the parent; a district may request with 14 days' written notice and probable cause. Records are not routinely submitted.

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 →