Colorado Homeschool Enrichment | Part-Time Homeschool Enrichment Program | 2026-27. This policy governs CHE, each CHE campus, and every contractor and subcontractor that delivers funded instruction. Statutory basis: C.R.S. 22-33-104.3; C.R.S. 22-54-103(10)(j)-(k); 1 CCR 301-39 (Rules 2.05, 1.08, 1.11); C.R.S. 22-32-122; C.R.S. 22-7-1013.
This policy documents the acceptable use of public funds for the contracted part-time homeschool enrichment program operated by Colorado Homeschool Enrichment (CHE) under the authority of its authorizing Local Education Provider.
Governing test. CHE funds standards-aligned instruction that is generally available to full-time public-school students. If a Colorado public school provides it to its full-time students, it is fundable. Personal benefits and private purchases are not. The test is whether the instruction is available to full-time students, not how many of them actually enroll in it.
Homeschool-only programming is permitted. The availability standard classifies whether an expenditure is a prohibited private activity. It does not require that every CHE offering also be available to full-time students. Enrichment programming designed for homeschool students, and not sold privately, is fundable.
Notice of Intent on file. Every student must have a copy of the Notice of Intent to Homeschool, filed with the student's home district, on file with CHE before any funding. CHE collects a copy and does not create its own form.
No private or parochial-school students. CHE will not enroll or submit for funding any student attending a private, independent, or parochial school to satisfy compulsory attendance.
CHE-exclusive programming. Funded programming is for CHE-enrolled students only. There is no self-pay option for the general public and no private-pay or self-pay students inside a CHE class. The CHE class is CHE-only; the venue may host other programs at other times.
Guests. A sibling or occasional guest may sit in at no charge, bringing their own supplies. Guests are not enrolled, not funded, and not charged.
Minimum class size. Five students, which cannot all be from the same family.
CIS-run classes. Classes are delivered by CHE-contracted instructional staff (CIS). An instructor who previously operated as an educational service provider is engaged as a CHE contractor.
Background checks and licensure. All CIS and contractors complete fingerprint-based background checks, and instruction is delivered under CHE's licensed teacher of record.
Standards alignment. All programming aligns to the Colorado Academic Standards for subjects the state has adopted, or, where the state has adopted no standard, to the provider's own standards and assessments that meet or exceed applicable state standards.
Parent-led instruction. A parent may teach their own child, but parent-led and parent-directed time does not count toward fundable hours.
Each campus plans 90 to 120 hours of instruction per semester. Time submitted for funding must qualify as fundable instructional time: synchronous, standards-aligned instruction delivered by the contractor under CHE's licensed teacher of record, with the educator and pupil in the same physical location or the same virtual classroom for direct instruction. For students in grades K-5, the instructor meets with the student at the same time instruction takes place. Parent-directed time, money or spending accounts given to families, and time gated behind a tuition-based non-public school are excluded.
Enrichment, not direct benefit. Spending must provide campus enrichment and never a direct benefit to students or families. Example: for a campus zoo trip, CHE may fund day passes for the day of the trip; it may not fund family passes or season passes. All spending connects directly to the campus Enrichment Plan. CHE funds may be used to rent space to hold classes.
| Permitted (fundable) | Prohibited (not fundable) |
|---|---|
| Standards-aligned group instruction delivered to CHE-enrolled students | Memberships or season, annual, or family passes (zoo, museum, ski, recreation) |
| Instructor and contractor labor for CHE classes | Admissions or costs for non-enrolled family members |
| Rental of space to hold CHE classes | Equipment or devices a student or family keeps for personal use |
| Materials, equipment, and supplies consumed in delivering the Enrichment Plan | The family's curriculum of choice or other private or personal purchases |
| Single-day admissions for a campus educational field trip on the trip date | Private self-pay classes of a type full-time students would obtain only by paying, unless cured under Section 6 |
| Career and technical or specialized instruction the authorizing district also provides to its full-time students | Religious, sectarian, or devotional instruction or content; parent-led or parent-directed time counted as fundable hours |
A vendor or educational service provider may deliver instruction only if the programming is standards-aligned and of a type generally available to full-time public-school students, and the arrangement fits one of three structures. In every case, CHE funds only the instruction for its own students and never pays to provide a vendor's own commercial product for free.
Co-location first. If an entity's program is co-located with fee or tuition-based programming available to the same students, CHE will not contract with that entity at that location.
Whose program. The prohibition targets public funds subsidizing a commercial product, not an instructor holding a second job. Where the course is CHE's own program and the contractor is engaged as the instructor, the contractor separately teaching a similar paid class elsewhere is the contractor's own business and does not bar funding.
Related-party arrangements. If a campus leader owns a vendor the campus contracts with, pricing must be arm's-length, with no cross-subsidy to the private side, and the relationship must be disclosed to CHE in writing.
Field trips are allowed within Colorado; out-of-state trips are on hold pending written CDE confirmation. Only actual instructional time counts toward fundable hours, not travel or downtime, and field trips remain a modest share of the program. Single-day group educational admissions are fundable; memberships and recreational outings are not.
CHE maintains the records necessary to demonstrate compliance through the audit period:
Written CDE confirmation. For novel contractor structures or fact patterns not squarely addressed by statute, rule, or CDE guidance, CHE will seek written confirmation from CDE before committing public funds.
Religious programming. CHE funds only secular, compliant programming. Religious, sectarian, or devotional instruction is a separate, family-paid arrangement that CHE does not fund, host, broker, or bundle.
Questions about this policy may be directed to CHE's Compliance Officer, Renee Miller, at renee@che.school or (970) 876-2205. See also our Policies page.
