Vermont Homeschool Cost: What to Budget and Free Resources Available

Vermont home study has no state fees — the Notice of Intent is free to file, the AOE processes it at no charge, and Vermont offers no state funding for home study programs. Your costs are entirely what you choose to spend on curriculum, assessment, and activities. That number can range from near zero to several thousand dollars per year depending on your choices.

The Core Costs: What You Actually Have to Pay

Vermont's home study statute requires:

1. Notice of Intent to AOE: Free. No filing fee.
2. 175 days of instruction: No cost from the state — this is time, not money.
3. Required subjects (16 V.S.A. § 906): You choose the curriculum. Cost varies from $0 (free resources) to $2,000+ (boxed curriculum packages).
4. Annual assessment: Depending on method, this can be free (portfolio assessed by a Vermont-certified teacher you hire) to $30-100 (standardized test fees) to whatever a hiring a certified assessor costs in your area.

There is no mandatory registration fee, no state-mandated curriculum purchase, and no annual licensing cost. Vermont is genuinely one of the lower-barrier states for establishing home study legally.

Curriculum Cost Ranges

Free to low-cost ($0-200/year):

• Khan Academy: free, covers K-12 math comprehensively plus science, history, and test prep
• CK-12: free digital textbooks for middle and high school
• Vermont Virtual Library resources: available free with any Vermont public library card
• Project Gutenberg / LibriVox: free classic literature
• Vermont's public libraries: interlibrary loan means you can access materials statewide
• YouTube (academic channels: CrashCourse, Khan Academy, TED-Ed)
• Starfall: free reading program for early literacy

Budget curriculum ($200-600/year):

• Teaching Textbooks (math, $30-90 per level): online, self-grading, strong middle school and high school options
• All About Reading ($60-100 per level): systematic phonics
• Time4Learning ($25-60/month): online all-subjects subscription
• Individual subject workbooks from Walmart/Amazon

Full boxed curriculum ($800-2,500/year):

• Sonlight (literature-based, $400-900 per grade level for full packages)
• Math-U-See (complete math with manipulatives, $150-200 per level plus one-time manipulative kit)
• Timberdoodle (curated grade-level packages, $400-700)
• Classical Conversations (tuition + materials, $750-1,200/year including community fees)

Most Vermont families spend $300-1,000 per year on curriculum for one child, with costs decreasing as you pass materials to younger children and build a library over time.

Assessment Costs

Vermont's annual assessment options have different cost profiles:

Portfolio (4+ work samples per subject): The materials are already generated by your teaching. If you assess the portfolio yourself and document the assessment, the cost is essentially zero. If you hire a Vermont-certified teacher to assess the portfolio, expect $75-150 per assessment session depending on the evaluator.

Standardized testing: Iowa Test of Basic Skills, Stanford Achievement Test, and similar tests typically cost $15-50 per student through various home study testing services. You can administer some tests at home; others require a proctor.

Teacher assessment by a Vermont-certified teacher: Vermont-certified teachers who provide home study assessments typically charge $75-200 per assessment. Some teachers who work with home study families provide this service — VHEN can help you find contacts.

Online grade reports: If you use an online curriculum program like Time4Learning that generates grade reports, this is included in your subscription cost.

For most families, annual assessment costs $0-150 depending on method and whether they hire outside help.

Activity and Co-op Costs

Beyond curriculum:

Co-op fees: Many informal Vermont co-ops collect small fees for materials and space ($5-20/month per family). More formal programs may charge more.

Field trips: Vermont museum admission ranges from free (Vermont History Museum for residents) to $20-30 per visit (ECHO Leahy Center, Shelburne Museum). Group rates reduce per-child costs for co-op visits.

Sports and activities: Club sports, music lessons, 4-H, Scouting, and similar activities cost what they cost in your community — the same as for any family. Home study status doesn't add a surcharge.

Dual enrollment at CCV: Free under Vermont's Flexible Pathways Initiative (16 V.S.A. § 941). High school students taking college courses at CCV pay nothing — this is one of Vermont's most significant financial advantages for home study families.

The VT529 Tax Credit

Vermont offers a 10% nonrefundable state income tax credit for contributions to a VT529 college savings account used for K-12 qualified educational expenses. This isn't a voucher or a direct subsidy — it's a tax credit on qualifying contributions. The practical benefit: if you contribute $1,500 to a VT529 account and use it for curriculum purchases, you reduce your Vermont state income tax by $150.

There is no ESA (Education Savings Account) or school choice voucher in Vermont. Vermont has no state funding for home study programs. The VT529 credit is the only state-level financial benefit available.

Annual Budget Examples

Budget-conscious family (one child, elementary age):

• Curriculum: free resources + $150 workbooks = $150
• Assessment: portfolio, parent-assessed = $0
• Activities: library programs, free outdoor education = $0
• Total: $150/year

Typical family (one child, elementary-middle):

• Curriculum: Teaching Textbooks math + library + some workbooks = $400
• Assessment: standardized test = $40
• Co-op: $20/month = $240
• Field trips: 6 visits × $15 average = $90
• Total: $770/year

Full-curriculum family (one child, high school):

• Curriculum: structured program + individual courses = $1,200
• Assessment: standardized test + evaluator = $150
• CCV dual enrollment: free
• Activities and sports: $500
• Total: $1,850/year

Vermont's home study costs are entirely within your control. The state imposes no fees and funds no programs. The floor is genuinely low if you use free resources strategically.

Getting Started Without Breaking the Budget

Before any curriculum spending matters, your home study program needs to be legally established. Vermont's Notice of Intent process is free — but the sequence has to be followed correctly to avoid the truancy trap and superintendent pushback.

The Vermont Legal Withdrawal Blueprint covers the NOI process, the withdrawal sequence, and the first-year documentation habits that keep your program in compliance without requiring expensive outside help. Getting the legal foundation right is a one-time investment that protects everything you build afterward.

See more United States homeschool guides →