Homeschool funding & ESAs in Oregon

Can I get paid to homeschool in Oregon?

No. Oregon 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: Oregon's homeschool rules require a test or an evaluation in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10. 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 Oregon require of homeschoolers — and what should I plan for?

Oregon requires a test or an evaluation in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10. That is the part of the year a family arranges ahead of time. Which options Oregon 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 Oregon asks for — notice, instruction time, testing and records — is set out below, straight from the reviewed rules.

Notice

Yes. Oregon requires homeschooling families to file a notice. Where it goes: Local Education Service District (ESD). How: Written notice (no specific form). When: Within 10 days of starting home instruction or of withdrawing your child from school, and within 10 days of moving to a new ESD. There is no annual renewal — a family already homeschooling does not send a new notice each year. The ESD acknowledges the notice in writing within 90 days. The Department of Education's guidance states the deadline two ways: a family starting at the beginning of a school year notifies within 10 days of the start of the school year, and a family starting mid-year notifies within 10 days of withdrawing the child. ORS 339.035 directs a move notice to the new ESD; the Department's guidance also asks a family to notify its ESD when it moves outside its school district boundary even within the same ESD region, and when it stops homeschooling. The first test can't occur until at least 18 months after withdrawal (or by the end of grade 3 if the child was never enrolled).

Testing or evaluation

Yes. Oregon requires a standardized test. How often: Grades 3, 5, 8 and 10 — plus a further examination within one year if a composite score falls below the 15th percentile. What is accepted: An Oregon-approved nationally-normed standardized test (e.g. ITBS/TAP, Stanford, TerraNova — recent versions only), administered by a qualified neutral person: someone not related to the child by bloodline and not related by marriage, so a parent may not administer it. Testing at grades 3, 5, 8, 10 by August 15; results submitted to the ESD only on request. Students in interscholastic activities test annually. IEP/PDP exceptions allow alternative methods. If a composite score falls below the 15th percentile, the child must be examined again within one year; if that score declines, a third examination follows, and the ESD superintendent may let home instruction continue, place the child's education under the supervision of a licensed teacher at the family's expense, or order school attendance for up to 12 consecutive months (ORS 339.035(4); OAR 581-021-0026(7)).

Days and hours

None. Oregon does not set a minimum number of instructional days or hours for homeschoolers. No attendance or instructional-hours requirement.

Records

Oregon requires these records: standardized test results. How long, or where they go: Kept until the ESD requests them. The family retains results and pays for the test, administration, and scoring.

Full Oregon 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 →