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🎓 Kansas School Choice, ESAs & Scholarships

Which Kansas education savings accounts, scholarships and tax credits a homeschool family can use, what they pay for, and where Kansas stands on school choice — from our Kansas guide.

Notice to the stateRegister your homeschool once with the Kansas State Board of Education as a non-accredited private school: the school's name and address and the name and address of the official custodian of its records (K.S.A. 72-4346; KSDE fact sheet). There is no fee, no approval and no review, and KSDE sends no confirmation, so keep a copy. If your child is leaving a school, tell that school; if a student just stops coming, the school must report the student as truant (KSDE).
Teacher and school termCourses must be taught by a competent instructor, and no state teaching license is required (KSDE). The school must run for a period substantially equal to the time public schools in your district are in session (K.S.A. 72-3120). KSDE says that means at least 186 days of at least 6 hours a day, or 1,116 hours a year, for grades 1–11. We found no law requiring state testing or reports for a non-accredited private school.
Compulsory school ageFrom 7 until 18, unless the child has a high school diploma, GED or high school equivalency credential (K.S.A. 72-3120). A child under 7 who is enrolled in school must attend, but a parent may withdraw the child at any time until age 7. Some 16- and 17-year-olds can be exempted, for example with written parent consent and a final counseling session at the school.
School choice statusAs of October 2026, Kansas has one private-choice program: the Tax Credit for Low Income Students Scholarship Program, for accredited private schools only. Kansas has no ESA, voucher or homeschool funding. ESA bills failed in 2023 (House Sub. for SB 83) and died in 2024 (SB 469). A 2026 bill raising the state scholarship credit cap to
5 million (HB 2468) was vetoed, and the veto stood. SB 361, opting Kansas into the federal scholarship tax credit, became law on April 9, 2026, when both chambers overrode Governor Kelly's veto.
Tax credit scholarship: who and how muchKansas resident students with household income at or below 250% of the federal poverty guidelines who were in a public school (kindergarten–grade 8) the year before, or are eligible to enroll in public school and are 7 or younger. Current recipients stay eligible until they graduate or turn 21. A scholarship is up to $8,000 per school year and is paid to an accredited private school (K.S.A. 72-4352, 72-4353). In 2024–25, 2,678 students received scholarships totaling $7,954,838 (KSDE).
Federal scholarship tax credit (from 2027)Kansas is on the IRS list of states taking part for 2027 (as of October 22, 2026). Starting January 1, 2027, an individual may claim a federal credit of up to
,700 ($3,400 if filing jointly) for cash gifts to a qualifying scholarship granting organization. The State Treasurer must give the U.S. Treasury a yearly list of qualifying Kansas organizations (SB 361; KDOR Notice 26-10). As of October 31, 2026, we had not found that list.
Homeschool statusHomeschoolers can't use the state tax credit scholarship, which pays only accredited private schools. No state program pays for homeschool costs. What homeschool families can use: part-time public school enrollment (K.S.A. 72-3120(h)), KSHSAA activities at the resident public school (K.S.A. 72-7121), tuition-free Excel in CTE courses at Kansas technical and community colleges, dual credit set by each college, and special education evaluations from the school district.

Where Kansas stands on school choice (October 2026)

What exists: Kansas has one private school choice program, the Tax Credit for Low Income Students Scholarship Program (K.S.A. 72-4351 to 72-4357), in place since January 1, 2015. Donors who give to a scholarship granting organization (SGO) can claim a credit of 75% of the gift against Kansas income tax, bank privilege tax or insurance premium tax, on up to $500,000 of gifts per taxpayer a year. Total credits are capped at

0 million a tax year. SGOs award scholarships of up to $8,000 a school year to students from households at or below 250% of the federal poverty guidelines. The money goes to accredited private schools. In 2024–25, KSDE reports 2,678 students received scholarships totaling $7,954,838, about
,970 per student on average, at 105 private schools. Twelve SGOs were certified for 2025.

What doesn't exist: Kansas has no education savings account (ESA), no voucher and no state grant, credit or deduction for homeschool costs. The state scholarship can't be used by a homeschool, because it pays only qualified schools, which must be accredited. KSDE provides no books, curriculum materials or curriculum help to non-accredited private schools.

ESA bills that failed: in 2023 the House passed a substitute for SB 83 that would have created education savings accounts under a "Sunflower education equity act," 64–61 on March 15, 2023. On April 6, 2023 the House adopted a conference committee report on the bill 65–58, but the Senate rejected it 17–20, and no ESA became law. HB 2218 (2023) and SB 469 (2024), both ESA bills, died in committee. We found no ESA bill on the Legislature's 2025–2026 bill list.

Tax credit scholarship expansions that failed, 2025–2026: SB 87 would have expanded student eligibility and raised the donor credit. It passed the Senate 24–16 on February 19, 2025 and was stricken from the House calendar on March 21, 2025. HB 2136, SB 252, SB 386 and HB 2680 (which would have renamed the program the "Kansas K-12 students scholarship program" and moved it to the State Treasurer) died in committee. HB 2468 would have opted Kansas into the federal credit and raised the state cap from

0 million to
5 million. The Legislature passed it in March 2026, but Governor Kelly vetoed it, and on April 10, 2026 the House made no motion to reconsider, so the veto stood.

The federal tax credit decision: the Legislature then passed SB 361, which only opts Kansas into the federal tax credit for individual gifts to scholarship granting organizations (Internal Revenue Code section 25F), for tax years beginning after December 31, 2026. The conference committee report passed the House 87–37 and the Senate 29–10 on March 27, 2026. Governor Kelly vetoed it on April 8, 2026, saying the program needed review of its effect on public school funding. On April 9, 2026 the Senate (29–10) and the House (85–38) overrode the veto. It is 2026 Session Laws chapter 147. The Department of Revenue says the law took effect July 1, 2026. The State Treasurer must send the U.S. Treasury a yearly list of qualifying Kansas SGOs, and no state agency may adopt rules stricter than federal law. Kansas is on the IRS list of participating states for 2027.

What it means for homeschool families: today, the Kansas scholarship and the new federal credit both run through scholarship granting organizations, not through families. Neither gives a homeschool family a state account or reimbursement. The federal credit gives donors up to

,700 ($3,400 joint) back starting January 1, 2027. Whether any Kansas SGO will offer scholarships that cover homeschool costs depends on federal rules and on each SGO, and that isn't settled. Ask an SGO directly before counting on it.

What's next: the 2025–2026 biennium is over, and the bills that didn't pass are marked dead on the Legislature's site. As of October 31, 2026 we found no official notice of 2027 school choice bills. We'll update this section when the 2027 session's bills are filed.

Read the full section in our Kansas guide

Other Kansas programs: college aid, driver's licenses and special education

Kansas State Scholarship (Kansas Board of Regents): for students designated Kansas State Scholars in their senior year. To be in the pool, take the ACT by December of senior year and complete the Kansas Scholars Curriculum: 4 years of English, 4 of math (including Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II and one advanced unit), 3 of lab science (biology, chemistry and physics), 3 of social studies and 2 years of one world language. Designation combines the ACT composite with the seventh-semester GPA, and about half of the roughly 5,000 seniors who complete the curriculum each year are designated. For 2026–27, State Scholars may get up to

,000 a year based on need. File the FAFSA and the State of Kansas Student Aid Application each year; the 2026–27 deadline was July 1. KBOR's sheet says a school counselor or registrar normally reports curriculum completion, so a homeschool family should ask KBOR how to report it.

Kansas Promise Act Scholarship: a last-dollar award for tuition, required fees, books and materials in approved high-demand programs at Kansas community and technical colleges, Washburn Tech and certain private colleges. The lifetime cap is 68 credit hours or

0,000. Recipients must live and work in Kansas for two years after finishing, or repay the award. Household income limits apply. KBOR lists graduates of "a Kansas public or private high school" within the past 12 months, so a homeschool graduate should confirm eligibility with KBOR or the college. The spring 2027 deadline is March 1, 2027, and awards are first come, first served.

Taxes: we found no Kansas income tax credit or deduction for homeschool expenses. The Kansas scholarship credit goes to donors who give to SGOs, not to parents for their own children's costs.

Read the full section in our Kansas guide

Articles for Kansas families

Official sources

Summarized from our Kansas guide (as of October 2026) and articles. Rules change — confirm on the official pages before you act.

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