Every story below links to where we got it, so you can check any of it yourself. Where a state agency or the organization itself publishes the facts, that is what we link to rather than someone else’s write-up.

Welcome back to our weekly roundup. September is here, most of us are a few weeks into the new school year, and there is a lot worth knowing this week.

We have a case headed for the Supreme Court, two brand new co-ops opening their doors, a teenager who changed a county policy by herself, and a funding deadline in Colorado that lands this Friday.

The Supreme Court has been asked whether a homeschool program can reject a book for being religious

This is the story to watch this fall. On August 20, First Liberty Institute filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Woolard v. Thurmond, a case out of California.

Here is the situation. California has state funded charter programs that homeschool families use for independent study. Those programs rejected curriculum that families picked, not because it failed to meet state standards, but because it contained religious content. The rejected materials included works by William Penn and Jonathan Edwards, and a grammar exercise that used the sentence “God sends the rain to help plants grow.”

A divided three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit sided with the state, and rehearing before the full court was denied. Its reasoning was that families enrolled in these state funded programs are running public school programs, so the material has to be nonsectarian. The parents argue that California is singling out families who want a faith based education and shutting them out of a benefit other homeschool families get to use.

The justices resume conferences on September 28 and the new term opens October 5, so we could learn this fall whether the court will take it up. If you use a charter or public partnership program anywhere in the country, this one could eventually touch you.

Source: First Liberty Institute case page

Two new homeschool co-ops opened in Montana this month, and one already has 296 students

Sometimes the best news is just families building something.

In the Flathead Valley, Crystal and Dan Clark launched By Faith Homeschool Collective in Evergreen, offering enrichment classes for pre-K through 12th grade. For its very first fall semester, 296 children are enrolled in at least one class. Membership runs $100 per family per year, which covers insurance, rent and administration, with individual course fees set by the teachers.

Over in Mineral County, Alita Smalley, a homeschooling mother of eight, is opening the Mountain View Homeschool Co-op. The first meeting is September 10 at Clark Fork Fellowship in Superior, Thursdays from noon to 3 p.m., starting with science and history and adding classes as families ask for them. Before this, one family was driving all the way to Plains for a co-op.

The numbers behind both: Montana’s registered homeschool count reached 8,524 in 2023-24, up 9.3 percent in a single year. That is a small number next to a state like Texas, but the ranking that matters here is not about totals. Measured as a percentage of all school-aged children in the state, Montana has the third-highest homeschool rate in the country at 9.03 percent, behind Alaska at 16.15 percent and Tennessee at 10.75 percent, according to a Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy analysis of Census Bureau data. In plain terms, a child in Montana is far more likely to be homeschooled than a child in most other states. It does not mean Montana has more homeschoolers than anywhere else, because the largest homeschool populations are still in the largest states. In the Flathead Valley alone, homeschooling is up 66 percent at the elementary level and 75 percent at high school over the past decade.

If you have been thinking your area needs a co-op, two mothers just proved you can start one.

Sources: By Faith Homeschool Collective, Mineral Independent, Montana Office of Public Instruction, Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy

A county told a homeschooler she could not apply, so she got the rule changed

Audrey Duffy, a homeschooler in Maryland, wanted to apply for her county’s parks and recreation internship program and found that homeschooled students were excluded outright.

Instead of letting it go, she prepared her case and presented it to the county board that oversees parks and recreation. Her argument was simple: a program that describes itself as focused on inclusivity should not be shutting out homeschool and private school students. The county revised the policy. Homeschoolers can now apply.

We are sharing this one because it is repeatable. If your student hits the same wall with a local internship, volunteer program, or class, the path Audrey took is available to you too. Ask who sets the policy, ask to speak to them, and bring the argument in writing.

Source: HSLDA

Iowa families are getting a free monthly nature program starting September 9

Jackson County Conservation is launching a free monthly homeschool series at the Hurstville Interpretive Center in Maquoketa. It kicks off with monarch tagging at 10 a.m. on September 9, then runs at 10 a.m. on the third Wednesday of every month through April. (September is the one exception, meeting on the second Wednesday.)

It is built for ages 5 to 10 with an adult, though they welcome older and younger siblings, and each session mixes games, stories, activities and crafts about nature and wildlife. There is a social hour from 11 a.m. to noon afterward, which is often where the real friendships get made. It is free, but you do need to register by emailing conservation@jacksoncounty.iowa.gov.

Worth noting for everyone else: county conservation boards and nature centers run programs like this all over the country and they rarely advertise beyond a local paper. It is worth a phone call to yours.

Sources: Hurstville event listing, Jackson County Conservation

Utah: the program director says the union fight is coming here next

Robyn Bagley, executive director of Utah Education Fits All, an advocacy organization that backs the program, told the Deseret News that the teachers union playbook that just failed in Arizona is likely headed for Utah, and that families do not need to panic about it.

Where the program stands right now: roughly 20,000 Utah students are enrolled, with about 5,500 more on the waitlist. The bigger question is still open. The state’s largest teachers union brought Brown v. Labresh, now pending before the Utah Supreme Court, which will decide whether the program is constitutional at all. No oral argument date has been posted yet.

Bagley drew a deliberate contrast between Utah’s setup and Arizona’s. Utah uses a third party administrator, reviews receipts, and caps extracurricular and PE spending at 20 percent each. Arizona ran its program through the state education department with no academic reporting. Her argument is that the tighter structure is exactly what makes Utah harder to attack.

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Sources: Deseret News, Utah Education Fits All

Colorado: 44 enrichment programs have until September 4 to find a new authorizer

If you are in Colorado, read this one today.

On August 17, District 49’s board voted to dissolve ERBOCES, the cooperative that authorized more than 50 part time homeschool enrichment programs across the state. The state received 52 applications from 10 authorizers, approved three, partially approved one, and denied all 44 that came through ERBOCES.

Those 44 programs got their deadline extended to September 4 to reapply under a new district or charter authorizer. If a program misses it, it loses state funding and cannot submit students for the October count. It can still operate, but as a tuition program rather than a free one. Space Academy has already announced it is pausing its weekly classes for the year, though it is still running free monthly rocket-building sessions. Bluff Lake Nature Center is still looking for an authorizer.

If your family uses one of these programs, call them this week and ask where they stand. Some will make it and some will not, and you may need a plan B before Friday.

One bright spot in the same state: Woodland Park RE-2 has converted a closed elementary school into a learning center and opened Homeschool Connections, meeting Tuesdays and Thursdays with extra literacy and math support. It is run by the district, so it does not need state authorization, and staff have been reaching out directly to families whose programs are now in limbo.

Source: Chalkbeat Colorado

Arizona: the ESA ballot measure is off the November ballot for good

We have been following this one. It is now finished.

On August 18 the Arizona Supreme Court sent the case back to the trial court for the final signature count, and the trial court then entered final judgment: the campaign came up short. Backers conceded the same week. Of roughly 420,000 signatures submitted against a 255,949 threshold, more than 175,000 were thrown out, leaving about 245,000.

Proposition 212 would have capped ESA eligibility at $150,000 in household income, required standardized testing, and mandated fingerprint clearance for staff at schools receiving ESA money. None of that goes to voters in November. Arizona families keep the program as it is.

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Source: Arizona Capitol Times

New Hampshire: a new dashboard shows exactly where the EFA money goes

The Children’s Scholarship Fund New Hampshire launched a public dashboard on August 19 that pulls live data on the Education Freedom Account program. You can see eligible students by community, priority versus non priority breakdowns, income qualification, special needs designations, and the waitlist.

As of August 24: 13,570 students eligible, of whom 12,500 are enrolled, which is the program cap exactly, and 1,070 are waiting. Last year’s average grant was $4,963, and roughly $68 million is projected for this school year against a $73.5 million allocation for the biennium. About 76.5 percent of eligible students qualify on parental income.

This is the kind of transparency worth asking for in your own state. When the numbers are public, the conversation gets a lot more honest.

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Source: Children’s Scholarship Fund NH

The federal tax credit is up to 30 states, and homeschool eligibility still depends on yours

The count of states that have formally opted into the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit reached 30 as of the late August update, up from the 27 the IRS announced in June. You may see 31 quoted elsewhere; that count includes New York, which has said it intends to opt in but has not formally elected. Donors receive up to $1,700 in federal tax credits for giving to scholarship granting organizations, and the program launches in early 2027.

President Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon promoted it at a White House back to school event on August 24, with Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen attending.

Here is the part that matters for us, and we want to be careful about it. Whether homeschool families can actually use these scholarships depends entirely on how your state’s own law classifies home education, and on scholarship organization rules that have not been published yet. As of early September, Treasury’s proposed regulations are still expected by the end of the month. Do not make plans around this money until your state’s rules exist.

Source: IRS newsroom

Idaho: the state will not say who is getting the new tax credit

Between February and July, the Idaho State Tax Commission received seven public records requests asking for detail on the HB 93 Parental Choice Tax Credit. It denied all but one narrow request for dollar and application counts.

Among those denied was Melissa Nash, a board director at Homeschool Idaho, who asked for aggregate income bracket data on who is receiving the credit. Worth knowing: Homeschool Idaho opposed HB 93 even though homeschoolers are eligible for it. The commission’s position is that a full geographic and demographic report is not due to the Legislature until 2027.

What is public: as of August 17, the program had 7,055 applications covering 12,561 students, and 55 percent of first period applicants were above 300 percent of the federal poverty level.

Source: Idaho EdNews

Texas: 4,500 more awards went out, and there is a September 15 deadline attached

If you are a Texas family who was sitting in Tier 3, check your account today.

The Comptroller’s office released Texas Education Freedom Account awards to almost 4,500 additional Tier 3 applicants. Tier 3 covers households between 200 and 500 percent of the federal poverty level, the third of four priority groups. Parents in this cycle get four weeks from their award date to opt in and confirm enrollment.

Here is the part with teeth. If you do not complete it by September 15, your 2026-27 award drops to 75 percent. That is a quarter of the money gone for a form you did not finish.

The program now reports more than 118,000 active awards and more than 109,000 funded participants, which makes TEFA the first program of its kind to pass 100,000 students in its first year. When we covered this in late July the number was 85,344, so it has grown by a third in a few weeks as the waitlist cleared.

One clarification we want to make plainly, because this trips people up every year. Homeschool families in Texas receive 100 percent of the award in a single payment, not in installments. If you opted in by June 15 that landed July 1; families who opted in by July 31 got the full amount in mid-August. The 25/25/50 split across July, October and February is the private school schedule. It does not apply to you.

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Sources: Texas Comptroller TEFA, TEFA funding timelines

North Carolina: ESA+ offers went out, and you have until September 11 to accept

NCSEAA extended 2026-27 ESA+ offers on August 21, and families have to accept or decline in MyPortal by September 11. The program is closed to new applications for this year, so this affects families already in the pipeline.

ESA+ does serve homeschool families. It lists home schools among its enrollment options and runs a page specifically for them. It is limited to students with a documented disability, and the base award is $9,000 a year, rising to $17,000 for certain designated disabilities.

Do not confuse it with the Opportunity Scholarship. That program sent out a nearly identically worded announcement with the same September 11 deadline, and it is tuition only at registered Direct Payment Schools, with students required to be enrolled and attending by October 1. Homeschool families are not served by it. ESA+ is your track.

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Source: NCSEAA

West Virginia: the state and the attorney general are openly disagreeing about special education

This one matters if you have a child with an IEP.

Kanawha County Schools told parents that a child with disabilities who leaves public school on the Hope Scholarship loses special education eligibility, and that coming back is treated as a request for an initial evaluation, starting the whole process over.

Attorney General JB McCuskey wrote that this violates both federal and state law, that applying for Hope is not a revocation of special education status, and that the policy looks motivated by opposition to the scholarship program itself.

Then the state schools superintendent, Michele Blatt, publicly backed the county. Her position is that once a child exits the public system their services cease under federal law and a returning student has to be reevaluated. She said her department will develop statewide guidance, and noted the state has received no formal complaints.

Update as of this week: the state has come down on the attorney general’s side. The Department of Education has now said a returning Hope student should not be treated as though they are entering special education for the first time, that interim services start on re-enrollment, and that the Kanawha letter was legally imprecise and will be corrected. McCuskey publicly welcomed the response.

If you are in this situation, the written state guidance is what to ask your district for. Do not rely on a verbal answer from a district office.

Source: West Virginia Watch

Alabama: CHOOSE Act applications now cover 48,927 students

Senator Tommy Tuberville published an op-ed backing an expansion of Alabama’s CHOOSE Act, and it named homeschooling directly as a legitimate choice.

It is an opinion piece rather than a policy change, so the useful part is the figures. Applications for 2026-27 covered 48,927 students, close to 30,000 of them new, and he puts the program’s cost at about one percent of the state education budget. (Tuberville’s piece calls 48,927 the number of applications; the governor’s office puts it at 29,341 applications covering that many students.)

For homeschool families the award terms have not changed: $2,000 per student with a $4,000 cap per family.

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Source: CHOOSE Act official

Mississippi: some districts are asking for paperwork the law does not require

Mississippi moved its homeschool filing deadline from September 15 to August 15, which we covered when it happened. The fallout is the new part.

HSLDA reports that attendance officials in some districts are requiring families to provide a “justification” before they will issue a verification of compliance form. That language came out of the Department of Education’s adopted procedures. It does not appear in the statute.

HSLDA says it intends to contest the requirement with the Mississippi Department of Education and is asking affected families to get in touch. If an attendance officer has asked you to justify your decision to homeschool, that is worth reporting rather than simply complying with.

Source: HSLDA

South Carolina: a Revolutionary War site just reopened, and it is built for field trips

The Battle of Musgrove Mill State Historic Site in Clinton reopened its visitors’ center on August 19 after a $500,000 renovation, timed to the 246th anniversary of the battle.

The new exhibits include floor mounted screens that animate how the 1780 ambush actually unfolded across the ground you are standing on, which is a much better way to teach a battle than a map in a book. Inside the center, four digital characters answer visitors’ questions in role: a Patriot civilian, a Patriot militiaman, a Loyalist militiaman, and an enslaved African American seeking freedom. The site itself covers about 400 acres. It is part of South Carolina’s programming leading into the country’s 250th anniversary, so expect more of this over the next year.

One more for the Southeast: the Great Southeast Pollinator Census has expanded beyond Georgia and now includes South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. Participants spend 15 minutes counting pollinators and submit what they find. Last year drew more than 27,000 people logging over 500,000 insects, and 594 educators reported using it in their classrooms. No entomology background is needed. The 2026 count ran August 21 and 22, so put next August on the calendar.

Sources: SC Daily Gazette, Great Southeast Pollinator Census

Georgia: families are suing over the rule that you must attend a failing public school first

Three Georgia families filed suit on August 24 in DeKalb County Superior Court against the president of the Georgia Student Finance Commission, with an emergency motion timed to beat the August 31 application deadline.

The rule they are challenging: to qualify for the $6,500 Promise Scholarship, a child must first spend two consecutive semesters in a state designated failing public school. Georgia already waives that for rising kindergarteners and active duty military families, which is exactly the point the plaintiffs are making. One plaintiff family uses a Catholic hybrid homeschool program. Their argument is that Georgia already grants case by case exemptions for secular reasons, so refusing one for a religious reason violates the First Amendment and Georgia’s own Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The case is Sands v. Green.

One number from the filing worth sitting with: of the $141 million budgeted for the program last year, only about $50 million was actually spent.

Important if you thought August 31 was your last chance. It was not. Georgia has a second application window this school year, November 1 through 30, 2026. Approved accounts were first funded in early July and pay out in four quarterly installments, with annual recertification due May 31. If you missed August, mark November.

The program also keeps growing in places you might not expect. Bibb County, which is Macon, now has more than 865 preliminary participants, third in the state behind DeKalb and Henry.

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Source: Georgia Promise Scholarship

Kentucky: the proposed scholarship rules name home-based schools as eligible

Kentucky opted into the federal tax credit scholarship program with HB 1 this year, and the Secretary of State’s office has now proposed the regulation that implements it, 30 KAR 1:060.

The detail that matters to us is the definition. The proposed rule defines an eligible “School” as a nonpublic school “including but not limited to a private, parochial, home-based, church school, or charter school.” Home based is named outright, which is exactly the clarity still missing in most of the other states that have opted in.

The rest sets up how scholarship granting organizations register: a declaration filing, a $15 fee, and an annual CPA audit due each November 30.

If you are in Kentucky and want a say, these are your dates. The public hearing is October 27, 2026 at 9 a.m. Eastern, and written comments are open through October 31, 2026. Rules like this one are where “home based” either stays in the definition or quietly falls out, and comment periods on administrative regulations usually draw very few homeschool voices.

Source: Kentucky 30 KAR 1:060

Around the country

Wyoming. The Campbell County School District board pulled its homeschool policy off the consent agenda on August 25 to talk it through further, and most of the discussion was about the state’s Education Savings Account law. The district says it is currently a non vendor for ESA funds and is holding off on serving ESA funded students while the law is under review. Worth knowing: the Wyoming Supreme Court already ruled in May 2026, lifting the block on the program, and the constitutional question is now back before the district court. In the meantime it uses agreements with virtual schools so county students can take district classes like orchestra, band and music while staying enrolled elsewhere. This is separate from the state ESA application process, which closed to applicants on August 6, with status notices going out at the start of September. (Look for A to Z for Moms Like Me in the Odyssey Marketplace)

Alaska. The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly voted to keep a 2027 legislative priority asking the state to tie homeschool allotments to AK STAR testing. Assembly member Scott Crass raised it on August 20, noting only 13 percent of correspondence program students take the state assessment. A motion to strike it in late August got 4 votes but needed 5, so it stayed on the list. This is a request to the Legislature, not a change to allotments, but Alaska families should watch it.

Michigan. Still undecided on the federal tax credit. Governor Whitmer has not committed either way, having called the program a talking point and said she is waiting on more guidance. The State Board of Education voted 6-2 in May urging her not to opt in. Michigan and Illinois are the only two Midwest states still on the fence. Minnesota and Wisconsin have both declined, by different routes: Minnesota’s governor said he has no plan to opt in, while Wisconsin’s legislature passed an opt-in bill that the governor vetoed.

Indiana. The Choice Scholarship program went fully universal for 2026-27 with the last income cap removed, and about 76,000 students used it in 2024-25 across 427 schools. We are including it because families keep asking: this is private school tuition only and cannot be used for homeschooling. Indiana’s separate ESA application window closed September 1 as scheduled.

Tennessee. School choice has become a central issue in the governor’s race. Republican Marsha Blackburn wants to keep expanding Education Freedom Scholarships past the current 35,000 seats. Democrat Jerri Green has pledged to defund what she calls a voucher scheme and criticizes the program’s exemption from state testing. Neither addresses homeschooling directly, but the outcome decides the future of the state’s ESA.

Delaware. Poetry Out Loud registration is open for 2026-27 and the state’s announcement names homeschool students as eligible alongside public, private, parochial, independent and charter students. Registration runs through October 30, state finals are February 18, 2027 at the Smyrna Opera House, and the standards based curriculum materials at PoetryOutLoud.org are free.

Virginia. Three HSLDA attorneys taught a state accredited continuing legal education seminar on homeschool law in Richmond, at the Virginia Law Foundation’s request, covering state, national and federal law, current litigation, and how homeschooling intersects with co-ops, microschools and learning pods. It is a quiet but real sign that homeschool law is being treated as a field worth teaching practicing lawyers.

Two corrections worth having. First, several curriculum guide sites are circulating a claim that Nebraska Opportunity Scholarships pay homeschool families $5,000 to $10,000. That is false. The Act was repealed. Second, Ohio’s ACE program is finished. The final claim deadline was October 15, 2025, and nothing has replaced it. Ohio currently has no general ESA for homeschoolers.

And a correction to our own roundup. Last week we reported that Tennessee’s second semester ESA window opened September 1. We went back to check and that date was wrong. The state Department of Education page currently reads “EFS Applications Closed for 2026-27 School Year,” and the official FAQ lists one deadline only, January 30, 2026. The next dates on Tennessee’s official calendar are October 1 for family office hours, October 15 for projected second quarter funding, and October 19 for the projected marketplace launch. We would rather correct it here than leave a wrong date sitting in your calendar.

Sources: Wyoming Dept of Education ESA, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Indiana DOE ESA FAQ, Tennessee DOE EFS, State of Delaware, Virginia CLE, Ballotpedia Referendum 435, Ohio Dept of Education ACE

Upcoming Homeschool Events

September 4, Colorado. Final deadline for the 44 homeschool enrichment programs denied under ERBOCES to reapply through a new district or charter authorizer. If your family uses one, ask them where they stand.

September 9, Maquoketa, Iowa. Monarch tagging kicks off the free monthly homeschool series at the Hurstville Interpretive Center, 10 a.m. Registration required by emailing conservation@jacksoncounty.iowa.gov.

September 10, Clermont, Kentucky. Bernheim Arboretum runs a Forest Homeschool Hike for families with K-5 students and for co-ops, 1 to 2 p.m., on the topic “Animal Superpowers.” A short hands-on lesson plus a guided hike. $4 for members, $6 for non members, and you need to register by 4 p.m. the day before.

September 10, Superior, Montana. First meeting of the new Mountain View Homeschool Co-op at Clark Fork Fellowship, Thursdays noon to 3 p.m., open to Mineral County families.

September 11, Georgia, registration deadline. Last day to register for the Farmers Market Madness STEM Challenge from Georgia Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom program. Third through fifth graders design and run an agriculture based market stand over 10 weeks, then submit a video of five minutes or less. Homeschool groups are explicitly invited. Submissions are due November 11 and five category winners each get $250 plus up to $100 in prizes.

September 11, North Carolina, deadline. Last day for families to accept or decline 2026-27 ESA+ offers in MyPortal.

September 15, Texas, deadline. Last day for Tier 3 TEFA recipients to opt in and confirm enrollment at the full award. After this the award drops to 75 percent.

September 15 through October 15, nationwide. National Hispanic Heritage Month. The federal portal at hispanicheritagemonth.gov is run jointly by the Library of Congress, National Archives, Smithsonian, National Park Service and others, and the teacher section has free lesson plans, primary sources, virtual exhibits and bilingual materials.

September 17, nationwide. Fee free entry day at every national park. One note that catches people out: National Public Lands Day in late September is no longer a fee free day, and as of 2026 fee free entry applies to U.S. citizens and residents only.

September 18, Tampa, Florida. Pioneers and Cowhunters Homeschool Day at Cracker Country, Florida State Fairgrounds. Students tour period structures with costumed educators and learn Florida farming and ranching history, including reading cattle brands and preparing a cattle drive. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., $14 per person ages 4 and up, and tickets are limited.

Through October 30, Delaware. Poetry Out Loud registration, open to homeschool students.

Now open, Georgia. The 37th Give Wildlife a Chance poster contest from Georgia DNR and the State Botanical Garden, theme “Wildlife Great and Small: We Need Them All!” It is K-5, and the official rules name homeschool groups alongside public and private schools. Enter through a homeschool group, Scout troop, library or after school program, up to four posters per group, one per division. State digital entries are due March 1, 2027.

Sources: Bernheim Arboretum events, Moultrie Observer, National Park Service, Florida State Fairgrounds, Georgia DNR poster contest

Homeschool Facts and Tips for This Week

Did you know? Montana’s registered homeschool count reached 8,524 in 2023-24, a 9.3 percent jump in a single year. Measured as a percentage of all school-aged children in the state, Montana has the third-highest homeschool rate in the country at 9.03 percent, behind Alaska and Tennessee. That is about how likely any given child is to be homeschooled, not about the total number of homeschoolers, which is still highest in the biggest states. Growth is not just happening in the big school choice states.

Free resource. County conservation boards, nature centers and zoos run low cost or free homeschool programs during the school year, and most of them never advertise past a local newspaper. The Iowa series above is a good example. Call the nature center nearest you and simply ask what they offer homeschool groups. The answer is often more than you expect.

Planning tip. Put one no lesson day on the calendar this month, on purpose, before you need it. Almost everyone hits a wall somewhere in the first eight weeks. A break you planned feels like a rhythm. A break you took because you were falling apart feels like failure, and it is not.

Cost tip. If your state’s program caps a category of spending, find that cap now rather than in April. Utah, for example, limits extracurricular and PE spending to 20 percent each. Knowing the ceiling before you shop is much easier than discovering it after a reimbursement gets denied.

Advocacy tip. If a local program, internship or class excludes homeschoolers, find out who actually sets that policy and ask to speak to them. A Maryland teenager did exactly that this month and the county changed the rule. These policies are often old habit rather than deliberate exclusion, and nobody has questioned them.

Until next week

This week is unusually heavy on deadlines, so here they are in one place. Colorado enrichment programs have until September 4. North Carolina ESA+ families have until September 11. Texas Tier 3 families have until September 15 or they lose a quarter of the award. Georgia families who missed August 31 get another window November 1 through 30.

And one thing not to act on yet: the federal tax credit rules still are not written. Thirty states have opted in, but whether homeschool families can use the money depends on rules that do not exist yet. Wait for them.

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