Homeschool & Government Aid
- Stephanie Partridge
- Mar 14
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 17
This is the fourth article in a five-part series of homeschool posts.
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Last year, we learned that we could receive an education scholarship for our son. This is a hot topic to many, so I wanted to share what this is and how we use these funds to benefit our home-educated kids. This commentary is specific only to Arizona.
Where does this "scholarship" money come from?
The state of Arizona funds $X per student for education -- some call this a "backpack fund" because each student (K-12) is allocated a base amount of money for their education that travels with them wherever they go. Roughly 8% of the funding comes from federal government grants; the rest is pooled from state and local taxes as well as donations. Different factors contribute to additional funds also being allocated. If a student has a physical disability, the allotment received is larger, for example. If a student has a learning disability or comes from an in-need home, the allocated funds increase. You can visit the Education Law Center to see a breakdown of funds allocated by district in the state (HERE: https://edlawcenter.org/research/starting-from-the-bottom-first-steps-to-improve-school-funding-in-arizona/)
ESA? Tell me more.
The Empowerment Scholarship of Arizona, or ESA, was developed to give parents education choices. Each child in the state is allocated $X for education. If your child chooses not to attend public school, the ESA allows you to have access to some of those funds. The funds could be used to help cover a private (non-public) school or to home-educate. If the student is not attending public school, then they are in no way "stealing" money from the public school. The funds were intended to be allocated per student, so fewer students in a classroom should mean less money is needed. Also, the funding allocated to each child is only offered at 90% for ESA families, whereas a public school will receive 100% of the funding for each of the enrolled students. I heard radio propaganda leading up to the last election about how ESA families were robbing public schools of necessary funding. It's just not true. Here's how I imagine it: If you owned a company, you wouldn't pay an employee who never came to work, right? Well, why should a school get paid for a student who didn't attend and wasn't enrolled?
To learn more about the ESA, you can visit Arizona's Department of Education (HERE: https://www.azed.gov/esa). As stated on their website, "With the ESA program, the money that would pay for that student’s education in a neighborhood school follows that student to whichever school the parents choose for their child, including education at home. ESA dollars cover multiple education expenses such as private school tuition, curricula, educational supplies, tutoring and more."
When you look at public school expenditures and how they use their allocated per-student government funds, the majority goes toward teacher salaries, counselor and supporting staff salaries, building, supplies, and educational resources. When you look at what some home educators can purchase with ESA funds, the funding may seem unfair. Remember, the amount allocated to ESA students is less than that allocated to public-educated students. The main difference is that ESA funds used by home educators are not used to pay a teacher's salary, building overhead, staff, etc. All of the money awarded goes directly toward that individual student's education. I don't get a government paycheck to work as a full-time homeschooling mom. I could write another post just about how the government is largely underpaying their teachers and supporting staff, but that's not something to tackle here. However, I will state that public education funds should be re-evaluated to allow teacher and staff salaries to come from a different budget rather than the per-student backpack funding. Or, the education department should be reworked completely. School systems dependent on government financing will always run short, which is why schools need to do multiple fundraisers in order to cover the deficit. I don't know how or if this would be possible, but teachers need to be paid substantially more for the amount of work and time they put into their jobs! There is something very wrong with the system when my 16-year-old son is getting paid more teaching swim lessons this summer than most teachers get paid per hour.
What do you buy with your ESA money?
Before sharing examples of things we've purchased using ESA funds, I wanted to clear up some misunderstandings. ESA isn't easy, free money. After applying and proving my kids had been officially withdrawn from public school, I needed to read and sign a contract that gave detailed outlines of what could and could not be purchased with ESA funds. I also had to agree to the terms of the contract, which included abiding by certain rules and ensuring my children would be learning all of the core subjects. I was given access to "Class Wallet" which allows me to submit purchases directly through my child's ESA fund. I also can submit reimbursements for educational supplies and curricula. Each purchase must meet ESA standards, include an applicable curriculum, and be reviewed by a board of ESA "checkers" which approve or disprove expenses. There is a process that must be followed, and a looming ESA audit hovering in the air, which randomly occurs to funded families.
The largest amount of our ESA funding goes toward curriculum. If you aren't in the habit of purchasing top-notch curricula, you may not know that it can be very expensive. The ESA funds are divided per quarter, and the entirety of our first quarter funds went toward curriculum. When both of our boys completed their grade-level math curriculum by Christmas, we purchased the next grade-level curriculum in second quarter. We purchased three more science units this year than I had planned, because they zoomed through things faster than expected. Curriculum costs accrue throughout the entire year. The second largest fund consumer is an enrichment "school" the boys attend once a week. This enrichment school gives the kids a chance to be with peers learning, doing crafts, projects, PE, music, and STEM projects. This also means that I get one day a week to run errands, go to doctor's appointments, or kick my feet up and watch a movie without the kids around. The next biggest fund consumers are technology, tutoring, lessons, and therapy. ESA funds can be used for trumpet lessons, reading tutoring, Outschool classes, and occupational therapy (with the proper 504 or IEP). We have used some funds to buy 'fun' things like a telescope, microscope, reading books, and museum visits, which enhanced their learning experiences.
"Homeschoolers are bankrupting the education system"
As explained above, the ESA is only funded to 90% of what each child receives in their government-allocated education fund. Every public school receives 100% of the allocated funds for each child attending that school. As a home-educator, I cannot take more money than what is allocated for my children. If the education system is hurting financially, could we suggest the government re-evaluate its funds? The homeschooling community is getting larger. Why do you suppose this is happening? Teachers and supporting staff are grossly underpaid and overworked, and public-educated students are only seeing a fraction of their allocated funds used for in-class resources. Much of the school supplies, reading material, and extras within a classroom are provided on the teacher's dime. Maybe instead of asking why public schools don't have more money, we could ask why so many families are choosing to leave public schools. Sure, there are stories of ESA families that have misused their allocated funds. There have also been stories of school administrators and leaders stealing millions of dollars in public school funds. Corruption can be found anywhere, so let's stop pointing fingers and hope for change in the system itself.
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