Tighter rules, more oversight now govern homeschool enrichment in Colorado

“Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox. No ski passes, soccer club fees, or museum memberships. These are just a few of the new rules governing state-funded homeschool enrichment the Colorado Department of Education unveiled this week . Prompted by law changes in late May , the rules aim to close loopholes that in recent years allowed a controversial public education co-op in Monument to authorize a flood of new homeschool enrichment programs . The group’s enrichment programs cost the state tens of millions of dollars and drew intense scrutiny from lawmakers who raised alarms about funding abuses and lack of transparency. The State Board of Education will draft additional rules for homeschool enrichment programs over the next several months. This summer marks the start of a new stricter era for state-funded programs serving homeschool students. The goal is to ensure that enrichment programs operate under the wings of local school districts or charter schools, not faraway authorizers, and that offerings mirror what’s available to public school students. In other words, not horseback riding, sports camps, or martial arts classes. Colorado lawmakers seek to limit group fueling growth in publicly funded homeschool enrichment In addition, private schools can no longer designate a portion of their school day or week as homeschool enrichment time and get state funding for the students who attend. Michelle Berge, first assistant attorney general in the K-12 education unit, said during a State Board of Education meeting Thursday that such practices essentially meant public funding was subsidizing private schools or giving private school families tuition breaks. To root out that practice, the state will now bar private school programs and homeschool enrichment programs that serve the same students from being co-located at the same site. While all state-funded homeschool enrichment programs must adhere to the new parameters in Colorado law, some programs will have to take an additional step this summer: applying for approval from the state or their local district. This could affect potentially dozens of the more than 50 enrichment programs authorized by the Monument-based co-op Education reEnvisioned Board of Cooperative Educational Services, or ERBOCES. That’s because such groups are now barred from operating schools and programs outside their member school districts. ERBOCES, whose only member district is District 49 , operated homeschool enrichment programs all over the state during the 2025-26 school year. The exact number is unclear because co-op officials have refused to release a full list and the state hasn’t tracked it. Out-of-boundary homeschool enrichment programs that existed last school year can apply to the state or their local district for approval starting June 15 . State officials say they’ll make a decision within 30 days of receiving applications. School districts will have to use the same application materials the state requires, but the timeline for decisions isn’t clear, since many local school boards meet less frequently over the summer. Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org .

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