The Short Answer
In the Northwest Territories, you can receive some financial support for the cost of homeschool materials and resources. The amount depends on whether you homeschool part time or full time and on your community, since funding levels vary by education body. To qualify, you submit receipts. The support does not cover salaries or capital expenses and may not cover all your costs. Your local school can also share facilities and educational materials. Confirm current amounts with your principal or education body Superintendent.
Verified June 2026 against the Government of the Northwest Territories ECE home schooling page. Confirm current amounts and eligible items with your school principal or education body Superintendent.
NWT Homeschool Funding at a Glance
| What is funded | The cost of materials and resources |
|---|---|
| Amount | Varies by part-time or full-time status and by community |
| How to qualify | Submit receipts |
| Not covered | Salaries and capital expenses |
| Coverage | May not cover all your homeschooling costs |
| Also available | Access to school facilities and educational materials |
| Who to ask | Your school principal or education body Superintendent |
| Cost to homeschool | None; funding helps offset materials |
Does the Northwest Territories Fund Homeschooling?
Yes. If you homeschool your child in the Northwest Territories, you can receive some financial support to help with the cost of materials and resources. That sets the territory apart from provinces like Ontario, Quebec, or Nova Scotia, which offer nothing to home educating families. It is not a large grant, and it does not cover everything, but it lowers what comes out of your own pocket for the curriculum and supplies your program runs on. The specifics vary by education body, so the starting point is confirming the current figures with your school principal or education body Superintendent.
The funding is one part of a broader partnership with your local school. Once you register and agree your assessment method with the principal, you are also positioned to ask about material support and facility access. See the NWT homeschool registration and assessment guide for how that partnership is set up and what the principal's role looks like through the year. Getting the registration conversation right is what opens the door to the support.
What the Funding Covers
The financial support is for the cost of materials and resources: the curricula, workbooks, learning supplies, and other educational purchases that directly support your program. It is not a broad operational grant. Salaries are not covered, so if you hire a tutor or specialist for any part of your program, that cost falls to you. Capital expenses, meaning larger equipment or permanent installations, are also not covered. The territory is also clear that the support may not cover all of your homeschooling costs, so plan it as a contribution toward your materials budget rather than complete funding of your program.
Knowing the boundaries early helps you build a realistic budget. List the materials your learning plan calls for, separate them into what the support can cover and what falls outside it, and plan your spending accordingly. Before you finalize that list, make sure the materials you are buying match your child's current level. The free reading assessment gives you a concrete baseline in literacy that helps you choose the right curriculum rather than buying broadly and discovering mid-year that the level is wrong.
Why the Amount Varies
There is no single figure that applies to every family in the Northwest Territories. How much support you can access depends on two things: whether you homeschool part time or full time, and which community you live in. Funding levels are set by education body, and education bodies differ across the territory in how they structure and allocate home schooling support. A full-time program may qualify for more than a part-time arrangement, and families in one community may receive a different amount than families in another.
This local variation is the reason the right answer for your family has to come from your own school or education body, not from a general guide or from what a family in another community received. Before you spend anything on materials, ask your principal or education body Superintendent what your family qualifies for under your specific status and location. That number is what you plan your spending against.
The variation also means the amounts can change from year to year as education bodies review their policies. What applied last year may have shifted, which is another reason to confirm at the start of each school year rather than assuming the previous year's figure still holds.
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How to Claim It With Receipts
The financial support works as a reimbursement. You spend money on qualifying materials, keep the receipts, and submit them to your principal or education body to claim back what you spent, up to the amount your education body allows. This means the process has two requirements that both matter: you need to spend on eligible items, and you need to have the receipts to prove it.
Start a receipts folder from the first day you buy anything for your program, paper or digital. The most common reason families leave money on the table is not that the purchases were ineligible; it is that the receipts were lost or mixed in with other household spending and could not be found when the time came to claim. A dated folder per school year, used only for home schooling material receipts, costs nothing to maintain and saves real money when the claim window opens.
Ask your principal or Superintendent two questions at registration: how do you submit the receipts, and what are the claim deadlines? Both vary by education body, and missing a deadline can mean losing a reimbursement you are entitled to. Some education bodies process claims at the end of the year; others do so at intervals through the year. Knowing the schedule lets you organize your submissions so nothing falls through.
The Support Beyond the Money
The financial reimbursement is one stream of support; your local school is another. Depending on what you request and what the school has available, you may be able to access the gym, the library, or other school facilities. You may be able to borrow educational materials the school holds. Your principal can also help with student assessment, which connects directly to the assessment method you agreed at registration.
Facility access is often limited to non-school hours so it does not interfere with the school's own students, but it is worth asking what is available and when. In smaller communities especially, a homeschooled child using the school gym for physical education or accessing the library collection covers real gaps that would otherwise cost money to fill another way. Between the reimbursement and the in-kind support, the NWT model gives home educators a resource base that most provinces with no funding at all do not offer. The guide covers how to plan a weekly program around your subjects so you know which resources you need to buy, which to borrow, and which the school can cover.
How to Make the Most of It
Plan your spending against the amount your education body allows before you start buying. Ask your principal or Superintendent early for the figure, list the materials your learning plan calls for, total the expected cost, and compare it to what you can be reimbursed. If your list comes in under the limit, buy what you need and keep every receipt. If it comes in over, prioritize the materials your program most depends on and borrow or use school resources for the rest.
Borrow from the school what you can before you spend reimbursement budget on the same items. Ask your principal at the registration meeting what educational materials the school will lend to home schooling families. Textbooks, reference materials, and equipment that are available to borrow are resources you do not need to buy, which preserves more of your reimbursement budget for materials that must be purchased.
Confirm the current amounts and eligible items with your principal or Superintendent at the start of each school year. Funding levels and what qualifies are set at the education-body level and can shift between years. What applied last September may have changed, and you want to know the current terms before you finalize your spending plan, not after you have already bought things that may or may not qualify. See the complete Northwest Territories homeschooling guide for the full picture of how the registration, assessment, and funding pieces fit together into a workable year.
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Val's Note: What This Really Means for You
Any funding at all changes the math of homeschooling. In provinces where you pay for everything yourself, every workbook is a small calculation. The NWT offering reimbursement for materials is a real help, even if the amount is modest and varies by where you live. The catch is that the amount is local, so do not go by what a family in another community tells you they received. Ask your own principal or Superintendent what your family qualifies for under your status and location.
Keep your receipts from the first purchase. That is the whole basis of the claim, and receipts that slip away are money that slips away with them. Borrow from the school what it will lend, buy what you must, and confirm the numbers each year so you claim everything you are entitled to. The support is there; the only way to miss it is not to ask or not to keep the paperwork.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the NWT Give Money for Homeschooling?
Yes. You can receive some financial support for the cost of materials and resources, with receipts. The amount depends on your part-time or full-time status and your community.
How Much Will I Get?
It varies by education body and by whether you homeschool part time or full time. Ask your school principal or education body Superintendent for the figure that applies to your family and location.
What Is Not Covered?
Salaries and capital expenses are not covered. The support may also not cover all of your homeschooling material costs, so plan it as a contribution to your budget rather than complete reimbursement.
How Do I Claim It?
Submit receipts to your principal or education body. The funding works as a reimbursement: keep dated receipts from your first material purchase and submit them within the deadlines your education body sets.
Is There Help Beyond Money?
Yes. Your local school may let you borrow educational materials and access facilities such as the gym or library, sometimes limited to non-school hours. Ask your principal what is available in your community.
Who Do I Ask for Details?
Your school principal or education body Superintendent, since amounts and eligible items are set locally and can vary between communities and between years.
Sources
This guide was verified in June 2026 against the following primary sources. Confirm current funding amounts and eligible items with your school principal or education body Superintendent.