What can I spend Alberta homeschool funding on?

Curriculum, workbooks, educational software, art and science supplies, and approved lessons or tutoring that support your program plan. Items must be academic and tied to your plan.

What is not covered by Alberta homeschool funding?

Free resources like Khan Academy, primarily religious or devotional materials, and anything not connected to your program plan are usually not reimbursable.

Do I have to use a school authority to get the money?

Yes. Only the supervised path is funded. You must be notified and accepted by a willing school authority before September 30 to receive funding for that year.

Alberta Homeschool Funding: How to Get the $901 Per Student (2026)

Q: How much does Alberta pay per homeschooled child?

For 2025-26, parents on the supervised path are reimbursed $901 per student in grades 1 to 12 and $450.50 for kindergarten, toward eligible educational expenses.

Alberta is one of the only places in Canada that gives money back to families who teach their own kids at home. For 2025-26, the province reimburses $901 per student in grades 1 to 12 toward the cost of curriculum and supplies.

The catch is that it works as a reimbursement, not a cheque, and the rules about what counts trip up a lot of first-year families. Here is how the money works and how to get every dollar you are owed.

The Short Answer

Alberta reimburses homeschooling families $901 per student in grades 1 to 12, and $450.50 for kindergarten, for the 2025-26 year. You only get it if you file a supervised home education program through a school authority and are accepted before September 30. The money is a reimbursement for academic materials and approved lessons that match your program plan, not cash paid up front. You keep receipts, submit them by your board's deadline (around mid-May), and the board pays you back.

Verified June 2026. Reflects the Home Education Regulation (AR 89/2019), the Standards for Home Education Reimbursement, and 2025-26 funding rates.

Alberta Homeschool Funding at a Glance

How much (2025-26)	$901 per student, grades 1 to 12. $450.50 for kindergarten.
Who pays it	Alberta Education, through your supervising school authority (associate board or accredited funded independent school).
How you get it	Reimbursement of receipts, or direct billing with a purchase order. No cash up front.
What it covers	Curriculum, workbooks, software, art and science supplies, approved lessons and tutoring tied to your plan.
What it does not cover	Free resources, primarily religious or devotional materials, and anything not linked to your program plan.
Key deadline	Accepted by a board before September 30 to qualify. Receipts in by your board's date, around mid-May.

How Alberta Homeschool Funding Works

Alberta funds home education through a model called supervised home education. You pair with a willing public, separate, francophone, or accredited funded independent school, and that school becomes your associate board. The province sends money to that board for your child, and the board passes a set portion to you as a reimbursement for the materials you buy.

Home-educated students draw a fraction of the funding a classroom student would, and the rules split that amount in two. Half is set aside for your reimbursement, which is where the $901 comes from. Your board keeps the other half to cover its work supervising you and arranging the two teacher evaluations each year. You do not see that second half, and that is normal. For the full picture of the two legal paths and how supervision works, read our main guide on how to homeschool in Alberta.

How Much Money You Get

For the 2025-26 school year, the parent reimbursement is $901 per student in grades 1 to 12. Kindergarten families get $450.50 under the kindergarten pilot, which the province extended through 2025-26. If you teach three school-age kids, you have three separate reimbursement amounts, so the total across a family adds up fast.

The province sets the figure each year, and it has shifted before. Treat $901 as this year's number and confirm the current rate with your board every fall. The amount is a ceiling, not a guarantee: you only get back what you spend on approved items, up to that cap.

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What You Can Spend It On

The money is meant for real academic costs that back up your program plan. Families use it for a wide range of learning materials, and most boards accept these without fuss:

Curriculum packages, textbooks, and workbooks from recognized publishers
Educational software and online program subscriptions
Art supplies, science kits, and lab materials
Musical instruments when your child studies music
Approved lessons and tutoring that support your plan

The test every board applies is the same: does the purchase support the program plan you wrote? When you submit a receipt, note which subject or outcome it serves. That one habit clears most claims quickly. If you are still picking materials, our guide on how to choose homeschool curriculum helps you spend the money well.

What You Can't Claim

A few categories get rejected often, and knowing them ahead of time saves you a frustrating spring. Boards turn down a few things often:

Resources that are already free, like Khan Academy or province-produced materials
Curriculum that is mainly devotional or religious rather than academic
Field trip costs, family memberships, and electronics not tied to a clear academic use
Anything you cannot connect back to your program plan

Rules vary a little between boards, so when an item sits in a grey zone, ask your facilitator before you buy. A two-line email up front beats a denied receipt in May.

Reimbursement vs Direct Billing

You have two ways to use the money. With reimbursement, you pay out of pocket, keep the receipt, and submit it to get paid back. With direct billing, your board issues a purchase order to the supplier so the board pays the vendor and the cost never hits your card. Direct billing helps a lot for big curriculum orders early in the year when paying up front is hard.

Both routes need your program plan in place first. You cannot claim against a plan that does not exist yet, so write the plan, get it accepted, then start spending.

Deadlines and Key Dates

Two dates decide whether you get funded. First, you must be notified and accepted by a school authority before September 30. A program accepted on September 30 or later gets no funding for that year, so file early in the fall. Second, your board sets a receipt deadline, around mid-May, after which late receipts do not get paid. Your board confirms the exact date in its newsletters and confirmation letter.

Using the Money for Lessons and Tutoring

You can put funding toward tutoring or group lessons, but the paperwork is stricter. Alberta Education asks for specific details about the instructor and the service, and both you and the tutor have to sign the form. Sort this out before the lessons start so the cost stays eligible. Music, art, and academic tutoring all qualify when they support your plan and the forms are complete.

Val's Note: What This Really Means for You

Do not let the word reimbursement scare you off. In plain terms, Alberta hands you most of a curriculum budget for free, and the only price is keeping your receipts and meeting two dates. I treat funding day like tax season: one folder, every receipt dropped in as I buy, a quick note on what each item teaches. When May comes, I hand it over and the money comes back.

My advice for year one is to spend a little under the cap and keep it boring. Buy clear academic materials from known publishers, skip the grey-zone items, and build trust with your facilitator. Once you know how your board thinks, you can get more creative. The $901 covers far more than new homeschoolers expect, and most families never run out before they run out of school year.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Does Alberta Pay Per Homeschooled Child?

For 2025-26, parents on the supervised path get $901 per student in grades 1 to 12 and $450.50 for kindergarten. The amount is per child, so families with several kids claim a separate reimbursement for each.

Is the Funding a Cheque or a Reimbursement?

It is a reimbursement. You buy approved materials and submit receipts, or use direct billing with a purchase order through your board. Parents do not get cash handed to them up front.

What Can I Spend the Money On?

Curriculum, workbooks, educational software, art and science supplies, instruments for music study, and approved lessons or tutoring that back up your program plan. The key rule is that each item supports your plan.

What Is Not Covered?

Free resources like Khan Academy, mainly religious or devotional materials, and anything you cannot tie to your plan are usually rejected. Ask your facilitator before buying grey-zone items.

Do I Have to Use a School Authority to Get Funded?

Yes. Only the supervised path is funded. You must be accepted by a willing school authority before September 30, and the not-supervised path carries no money at all.

Sources

This guide was verified in June 2026 against the following primary sources. Funding rates and deadlines are set yearly, so confirm the current figures with your associate board.