Homeschool funding & ESAs in Mississippi

Can I get paid to homeschool in Mississippi?

No. Mississippi 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. Mississippi's homeschool rules require no test or evaluation of their own, so there is nothing on that side to arrange.

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

Mississippi does not require a test or an evaluation, so there is no assessment to arrange. What Mississippi asks for — notice, instruction time, testing and records — is set out below, straight from the reviewed rules.

Notice

Yes. Mississippi requires homeschooling families to file a notice. Where it goes: County school attendance officer. How: Certificate of Enrollment (state form). When: By August 15 each year (10 days to file after written notice from the attendance officer). One form per child, filed every year; it asks for your child's and your own details and a simple description of the education. Guides that still say September 15 are out of date: Senate Bill 2103 (2026) moved the deadline to August 15, effective July 1, 2026. The Department of Education will not accept a form for the coming year until the current school year has ended, so the filing window is short. Missing August 15 is not automatically a violation: you have 10 days to file after written notice from the attendance officer, and if your child was enrolled in a public school within 15 calendar days of the first day of the school year you may move to home instruction later, send the certificate then, and still be in the requirements.

Testing or evaluation

No. Mississippi does not require standardized testing for homeschooled students. No testing required by Mississippi law.

Days and hours

None. Mississippi does not set a minimum number of instructional days or hours for homeschoolers. No minimum days or hours required.

Records

Mississippi does not require homeschooling families to keep specific records. Mississippi imposes no record-keeping duty on families teaching at home. The only document Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-91 requires is the Certificate of Enrollment, which is the annual notice you send your attendance officer rather than a record you keep — and § 37-13-91(9) bars any state agency from affecting the operation, program or curriculum of a home instruction program. The Department of Education recommends, but does not require, keeping a copy of that form and a portfolio for each child with samples of activities, assignments, projects and assessments, plus a log of books and materials used. Worth knowing: because the state asks for nothing, it also creates nothing — a family returning to public school, applying to college, or moving out of state has no state record of the year to fall back on.

Full Mississippi 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 →