My Learning Source Colorado › Homeschooling in Colorado › Sports & activities

🏀 Homeschool Sports & Activities in Colorado

Whether Colorado homeschool students can play public school sports and join activities and classes, and the rules that apply — from our Colorado guide.

Part-time public school and district homeschool programs

Part-time enrollment: a child in a home-based program can also attend a public school for part of the day, and the school district can count the child for funding (C.R.S. 22-33-104.5(6)(a)). It's the district's choice whether to offer this in its regular on-site program (C.R.S. 22-33-104.3(7)). Since 2026, the district must collect a current copy of your notice of intent before enrolling your child (C.R.S. 22-54-103(10)(k)).

Part-time programs for homeschool students: these are public school programs, run by or for a school district, a district or Charter School Institute charter school, or a BOCES, that serve homeschool students on a part-time basis. They are often called homeschool enrichment programs, and they can include campuses and microschools (CDE; C.R.S. 22-33-104.3(1)). Your child enrolls part time as a public school student in that program and stays a homeschooler for compulsory attendance. One example is St. Vrain Valley Schools' APEX Homeschool Program in Longmont, which the district describes as a homeschool enrichment program that supplements parents who are their child's primary educator; state law gives it its own school code (C.R.S. 22-54-119(4)). Listing it here is not an endorsement.

The 2026 rules (SB26-023, signed May 28, 2026; C.R.S. 22-33-104.3): a part-time program may not directly or indirectly fund, reimburse or subsidize a private activity or private purchase for a student or parent, meaning activities, supplies, items or materials of personal value that aren't generally available to the provider's full-time students. CDE's examples of things a program can't pay for include outside painting, club lacrosse or jujitsu classes that the public pays for, ski passes, museum memberships, a computer the family keeps, and the family's curriculum of choice. A program can offer what the provider offers its full-time students, such as a contracted CTE course or equine therapy. Programs must follow the same laws as their authorizer, including licensed-teacher and background-check rules. Programs can't enroll students who meet the attendance law through a private school, must keep a copy of each student's notice of intent, and can't operate outside their own district (or a BOCES's member districts) without state or local board authorization.

Funding limits that shape programs: Colorado funds only one part-time program per homeschool student, so programs ask whether your child is enrolled elsewhere. Only teacher-led instruction designed by the district or its contractor counts; parent-led time never counts. Students in grades K–5 must get at least 90 hours of direct instruction in the semester of the October count date for the program to be funded (CDE 2026 Student October Count Audit Resource Guide).

Why it changed: CDE told the State Board in January 2026 that it had no authority to approve these programs and that their cost was estimated at more than