This article was originally published in Chalkbeat.
Over the summer, state officials said yes to only 14 of 54 homeschool enrichment programs that applied for approval. It was the first step in a broader effort to increase oversight of a controversial slice of the public education system that has seen massive growth in recent years.
On Thursday, the nine-member State Board of Education will take another step in the process, discussing permanent rules that will govern publicly funded programs for homeschoolers going forward. Two proposals under consideration, though filled with technical definitions and legalese, highlight some of the gaping loopholes that private enrichment providers used in recent years to offer unusual or pricey activities to homeschoolers, or money to their parents, using taxpayer dollars.
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The proposed rules ban funding for things like ski lessons, private piano lessons, and lacrosse club fees, and bar homeschool programs from giving parents loaded debit cards for purchases. The rules also limit the number of fee-based field trips each semester — a reaction to enrichment programs that consisted mostly of field trips, including to escape rooms, bowling alleys, and Topgolf.
For years, Colorado regulated certain programs for homeschoolers so lightly that trips to ski resorts, trampoline parks, skydiving centers, and climbing gyms were paid for on the public dime. That changed in May when lawmakers cracked down, angry that it had spun out of control. Last year, homeschool enrichment cost the state nearly $100 million.
The State Board will vote on a final version of homeschool enrichment rules later this fall.
Homeschool enrichment programs have been around for many years, but their numbers grew dramatically after the pandemic, fueled by a now-defunct public education co-op in Monument. Such programs typically offer one day of tuition-free classes a week and are meant to give homeschooled students socialization opportunities or access to courses that are hard to provide at home.
Final tallies aren’t in, but it’s likely Colorado now has fewer publicly funded homeschool enrichment programs and lower enrollment in those programs than in years past. That’s partly because this summer’s temporary rules created an elaborate application process for the kind of programs that were multiplying the fastest: the ones operating outside the boundaries of the district where they’re authorized.
The state has collected dozens of written comments about the proposed rules so far, and will continue to do so until the State Board’s final vote. A number of homeschool parents have urged the State Board to adopt Option B, which would allow private groups to continue offering homeschool enrichment.
One Jefferson County mother, Melissa Hosie, said, “My child is learning airplane, motorcycle, and bicycle mechanics, and blacksmithing. There is no WAY I could provide the education myself!”
She gave a nod to state officials’ concerns that some questionable programs got public funding in the past — she mentioned martial arts — saying, “If someone is abusing, you don’t stop everyone, you just stop the abuser.”
Jill Duvall, a retired teacher from the Elizabeth district, argued for tight guardrails, noting that public schools are laying off teachers and making cuts even as millions have been spent on specialized homeschool enrichment programs that public school students couldn’t access.
“The amount of taxpayers’ dollars expended on these (homeschool enrichment programs) needs to stop,” she said. “Enough is enough!”
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters