Homeschool funding & ESAs in Missouri

Can I get paid to homeschool in Missouri?

Not as a salary. What Missouri offers is an education savings account: the MOScholars Empowerment Scholarship Account puts an annual award into an account you spend on expenses the program approves, rather than paying you to teach. An ESA comes with conditions — what the money may be spent on, what has to be reported, and in some states whether the child is still counted as a homeschooler. The program details below set those out. 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. Missouri's homeschool rules require no test or evaluation of their own, so there is nothing on that side to arrange.

Missouri ESA program

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

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

Notice

No. Missouri does not require homeschooling families to file a notice. No notice to any authority required; the state cannot dictate a statewide curriculum (RSMo 167.031).

Testing or evaluation

No. Missouri does not require standardized testing for homeschooled students. The 'evaluations' in RSMo 167.012 are parent-maintained progress records, not a mandated external test. The one exception is MOScholars: a student on that scholarship is tested in the grades Missouri's statewide assessment covers (RSMo 135.714.2), which is testing no other Missouri homeschooler faces.

Days and hours

Missouri's rule: 1,000 hours/year; at least 600 hours in core subjects; at least 400 of those 600 at the regular home location. These hour requirements stop applying once a student turns 16 (RSMo 167.012.3), though you must still provide instruction until the district's compulsory attendance age.

Records

Missouri requires these records: plan book/diary/log of subjects and activities, samples of the child's work, and evaluations of academic progress. How long, or where they go: No retention period is set by statute; families commonly keep them two years or more, and longer for high school. Producing a daily log showing the required course of instruction is a defense to a truancy prosecution or an educational-neglect charge (RSMo 167.012.4). Records are never submitted; the 'evaluations' are parent-kept, not an external test. Both the record-keeping and the hour requirements stop applying once a student turns 16 (RSMo 167.012.3) — instruction must still continue until the district's compulsory attendance age. Many families keep logging past 16 anyway: a home-school credit is 100 hours of instruction in a course (RSMo 167.031), and sixteen credits is one of the two ways compulsory attendance ends.

Full Missouri homeschool requirements →

Common questions about homeschool funding in Missouri

Does Missouri have an education savings account (ESA) for homeschoolers?

Yes. Missouri offers the MOScholars Empowerment Scholarship Account, which independent homeschooling families can use for approved education expenses. Taking it changes the child's legal status — the note above the programs on this page says how. MOScholars (RSMo 166.700–166.720) is reachable by a family teaching at home, but only through the 'family paced education' (FPE) school designation in RSMo 167.013. RSMo 167.012.1 puts an FPE school outside 'home school' status, so taking the money changes what Missouri law calls your family, and participating students must take the state achievement test or a nationally norm-referenced test in the grades Missouri's statewide assessment covers (RSMo 135.714.2) — testing no other Missouri homeschooler faces. The rest is the same: no state filing, the same records, the same 1,000 hours. Eligibility is limited, not universal: a student with an IEP, or a household at or below 300% of the free and reduced-price lunch income standard that also meets one of the program's entry conditions. Awards run through a certified Educational Assistance Organization. Verify eligibility.

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 →