Homeschool funding & ESAs in New York

Can I get paid to homeschool in New York?

No. New York 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: New York's homeschool rules require a test or an evaluation each year. 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 New York require of homeschoolers — and what should I plan for?

New York requires a test or an evaluation each year. That is the part of the year a family arranges ahead of time. Which options New York 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 New York asks for — notice, instruction time, testing and records — is set out below, straight from the reviewed rules.

Notice

Yes. New York requires homeschooling families to file a notice. Where it goes: Local school district superintendent. How: Written letter of intent → the district sends an IHIP form to complete. When: By July 1 each year. A family that begins home instruction after the school year starts, or that moves into the district after it starts, files within 14 days of beginning home instruction in that district. Your district then has 10 business days to send you a copy of § 100.10 and an IHIP form. For the ordinary July 1 filing, the completed IHIP is due within four weeks of receiving that form or by August 15, whichever is later (8 NYCRR § 100.10(c)(2)); NYSED's guidance sets out the mid-year sequence with the four-week clock and no August date. If the district returns a notice of deficiency, a corrected IHIP is due within 15 days or by September 15, whichever is later. School year runs Jul 1–Jun 30; the IHIP identifies materials and objectives by subject for each child. The yearly letter, IHIP, quarterly reports and assessment stop once the child is past compulsory attendance age — 16 statewide, or 17 in a district that has exercised Education Law § 3205(3), such as New York City.

Testing or evaluation

Yes. New York requires a test or another accepted form of evaluation. How often: Annual. Accepted options: commercially published norm-referenced achievement test chosen from the list in § 100.10(h)(1)(i) — Iowa, California, Stanford, Comprehensive, Metropolitan, a State Education Department test, or another test the Department approves — adequate if the composite is above the 33rd percentile on national norms or the score shows one academic year of growth; administered under one of the options in § 100.10(h)(1)(ii), and a test given at home must be administered by a New York State-certified teacher or another qualified person the superintendent has consented to; Grades 1–3: a written narrative by a New York State-certified teacher, a home instruction peer review panel, or another person chosen by the parent with the superintendent's consent, who interviews the child and reviews a portfolio of their work (allowed every year); Grades 4–8: a written narrative may be used no more often than every other school year; and Grades 9–12: a standardized test every year. Annual assessment, filed with the fourth quarterly report on the date set in your IHIP. The form varies by grade band: grades 1–3 may use a written narrative every year; grades 4–8 may use a narrative no more often than every other school year, with a standardized test in the years between; grades 9–12 take a test every year. A test score is adequate if the composite is above the 33rd percentile on national norms or reflects one academic year of growth compared with a test given during or after the prior school year; a narrative is adequate if the evaluator certifies the child made adequate academic progress. The Department's guidance states it the other way round — probation only where the composite is below the thirty-third percentile, and individual subtest scores should not count — so the regulation and the guidance part only for a score exactly at the 33rd. An assessment that meets neither standard puts that child's program on probation for up to two school years: the parent submits a plan of remediation the district reviews and may require changes to, the district may require home visits on three days' written notice while the program is on probation, and missing the plan's objectives sends the district's finding that the plan was not followed to the board for review. Each child is assessed separately, so one child's probation does not place a sibling's program on probation (8 NYCRR § 100.10(h), (i)).

Days and hours

New York's rule: The substantial equivalent of 180 days of instruction each school year, plus 900 hours/year (grades 1–6) and 990 hours/year (grades 7–12). The parent keeps the attendance records and gives them to the district on request.

Records

New York requires these records: IHIP, four quarterly progress reports/year, annual assessment results, and hours/attendance records. Quarterly reports are filed on the dates set in the IHIP and show progress + hours per subject.

Full New York 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 →