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🎓 Missouri School Choice, ESAs & Scholarships
Which Missouri education savings accounts, scholarships and tax credits a homeschool family can use, what they pay for, and where Missouri stands on school choice — from our Missouri guide.
| Notice to the state | None. DESE says there is no registration with the state and no program to inspect, approve or accredit home schools. If your child is enrolled in public school, give the district a written notice that you intend to pursue another educational option and ask that your child be dropped from the rolls; the school must remove your child promptly (RSMo 167.042, effective August 28, 2025). The old optional "declaration of enrollment" filed with the recorder of deeds is no longer in the law. |
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| Hours and records | Offer at least 1,000 hours of instruction, at least 600 of them in reading, language arts, math, social studies, science or related academic courses, with at least 400 of the 600 at your regular home school location. Keep a plan book, diary or other written record of subjects and activities, a portfolio of work samples and a record of evaluations, or other written or credible evidence of the same (RSMo 167.012). These two requirements don't apply to a pupil 16 or older. |
| Compulsory school age | 7 to 17, or until the child has completed 16 credits toward high school graduation (RSMo 167.031). For a home school, a credit is 100 hours or more of instruction in a course. A 5- or 6-year-old enrolled in public school must attend regularly unless the parent asks in writing for the child to be dropped from the rolls. A metropolitan school district may set 17 by board resolution and may lower it to 16. |
| MOScholars: who qualifies | A Missouri resident K–12 student who has an IEP under the federal IDEA (the Treasurer's FAQ also accepts an IDEA service plan for a parentally placed student; plans must be dated within 36 months), or who lives in a household with income up to 300% of the free and reduced-price lunch standard and either attended public school full time for at least one semester in the past 12 months, is eligible to start kindergarten or first grade, or is a sibling of a current recipient (RSMo 166.700; Treasurer's FAQ). |
| MOScholars amount and window, 2026–27 | Awards are set by statute as a share of the State Adequacy Target (SAT): up to 175% of the SAT with an IEP, 160% for an English learner, 125% for a student eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, and up to 100% for others, depending on available funds (RSMo 135.714). For 2026–27, 10,235 students were funded with $68.7 million, and 1,735 were on the waitlist. The 2026–27 first window ran October 1, 2025 to April 3, 2026 at 5 p.m., with a summer 2026 window. 2027–28 dates had not been announced as of October 30, 2026. |
| Homeschool status (the FPE route) | A traditional home school (RSMo 167.012) can't enroll a MOScholars student. An FPE school (RSMo 167.013) is defined the same way — private or religious-based instruction, ages 7 to compulsory age, no more than four unrelated children, no tuition, the same hours and records — but may enroll MOScholars students. An eligible homeschooled child applies through an Educational Assistance Organization (EAO) that works with FPE students. Account money can't be paid to the parent or any relative. The Treasurer counted 350 family paced education participants in 2026–27. |
What Missouri offers homeschool families, and what it doesn't
The money program is MOScholars, the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program, run by the State Treasurer's office through nonprofit Educational Assistance Organizations (EAOs). Donors to EAOs get a state tax credit, and the EAOs fund student accounts. A student needs an IEP or must meet an income limit plus one more test. For 2026–27 the program funded 10,235 students with $68.7 million.
A traditional home school can't use MOScholars. Since 2024, Missouri law has also recognized the Family Paced Education (FPE) school, a home-based school that follows the same rules but may enroll MOScholars students. That is the route an eligible homeschooled child uses. Most families who already homeschool won't qualify, because outside the IEP route a child must have spent a semester in public school in the last 12 months, be starting kindergarten or first grade, or be the sibling of a current recipient, on top of the income limit.
We found no Missouri income tax credit or deduction for home school expenses.
Read the full section in our Missouri guide
MOScholars: amounts, what the account pays for and how to apply
Amounts: awards are based on the State Adequacy Target (SAT), which DESE calculates each school year. The legal maximums are 175% of the SAT for a student with an IEP, 160% for a student counted as limited English proficient, 125% for a student eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, and 100% of the SAT for all other qualified students (RSMo 135.714). Actual awards depend on the money each EAO has. The EAO deposits the grant quarterly or as a lump sum at the start of the year, whichever the parent asks for. For 2026–27 the program awarded $68.7 million to 10,235 students. Scholarship money isn't Missouri taxable income to the parent.
Approved uses (RSMo 166.705 and the Treasurer's list): tuition and fees at a qualified school; textbooks a qualified school requires; educational therapies or services from a licensed or accredited provider, including paraprofessionals and aides; tutoring; curriculum; tuition or fees for a private virtual school located in Missouri; fees for nationally norm-referenced achievement tests, AP and IB exams and college admission tests; account fees; services from a public school, including individual classes and extracurricular programs; computer hardware or other devices approved by the EAO; summer and specialized after-school education programs; and mileage to and from a qualified school.
Not allowed: consumable supplies such as paper, pens, pencils and markers; out-of-state private school tuition; and any payment to a person related to the student within the third degree, which for an FPE school includes the parent. The 2026–27 Parent Handbook also lists late or returned-payment fees, household items, field trips, event tickets, organization memberships, sports equipment, furnishings such as a desk or chair, and musical instruments. Services can be prepaid only within the awarded school year (July 1 to June 30), and a parent may not knowingly hire another MOScholars parent and pay them directly with scholarship funds.
Unused money: money left in the account at the end of a school year stays in the account, but you must renew through your EAO to keep using it. Money left when a student graduates goes back to the EAO.
How to apply: find an EAO (for an FPE school, one that works with FPE students), complete its prequalification or prescreening, then complete the full application the EAO sends. You'll need proof of income, residency and any IEP or ISP, and a Social Security number or ITIN for the parent. Then sign the Parent Participation Agreement. The 2026–27 first window ran October 1, 2025 to April 3, 2026 at 5 p.m., and the Treasurer announced an extra summer 2026 window. As of October 30, 2026, no 2027–28 window had been announced. The Treasurer's MOScholars page has a sign-up for application updates.
Staying in: renew every year through your EAO. Students in grades 3–10 take a nationally norm-referenced test in English language arts and math (state tests are the other option the law allows), and the scholarship can pay the test fee. Parents also complete the annual parent survey. The Treasurer's office now runs the program with Odyssey, a software company.
Read the full section in our Missouri guide
Other Missouri programs: dual credit, college aid, driver's licenses, special education and tax credits
A+ Scholarship: for graduates of A+-designated high schools who attended one for any 2 of the 4 years before graduating. Other requirements include a 2.5 GPA, 95% attendance, 50 hours of tutoring or mentoring and a math end-of-course score (or ACT math plus GPA). A student homeschooled through high school doesn't qualify. For 2026–27 the reimbursement cap is