Wyoming Microschool Facilitator Contract: What to Include

Hiring a facilitator is the single largest operational decision a Wyoming microschool makes. It is also the relationship most likely to create serious legal and financial problems if not properly documented from the start. A handshake agreement or a vague email chain is not adequate protection when a facilitator leaves mid-year, claims they were misclassified as a contractor, or disputes what they were expected to teach.

A Wyoming microschool facilitator contract is not a bureaucratic formality. It is the document that defines the entire working relationship — what the facilitator will do, how they will be compensated, how the relationship can be ended, and what happens to any materials they develop. Getting this right before instruction begins costs almost nothing. Getting it wrong can cost the pod its entire year.

The Core Elements of a Wyoming Microschool Facilitator Contract

1. Parties and Effective Date

The contract should name the parties precisely: the legal entity operating the microschool (LLC name, nonprofit name, or named individual if operating without an entity), the facilitator's full legal name, and the date the contract takes effect and its intended term (typically one academic year, with an option to renew).

If your Wyoming microschool has not yet formed an LLC, the pod founder personally becomes a party to the contract. This is a reason to form the LLC first — so that the contract's liabilities rest with the entity, not with the founding family's personal assets.

2. Employment Classification: Independent Contractor or Employee

This section is the most legally consequential part of the contract. As discussed in detail elsewhere, Wyoming's workers' compensation requirements, federal payroll obligations, and unemployment insurance rules all turn on whether your facilitator is genuinely an independent contractor or an employee.

The contract should state the classification explicitly and include language that accurately reflects the actual working relationship. If the facilitator controls their schedule, works for multiple clients, and supplies their own materials, contractor language is appropriate. If you set their hours, direct their work daily, and they are your exclusive educational staff, employee language reflects reality — and the contract should be structured accordingly.

Do not simply label someone a "contractor" while exercising employer-level control over their work. Wyoming's Department of Workforce Services and the IRS both look at the substance of the relationship, not the label.

3. Compensation Structure

State the pay rate explicitly: hourly rate, number of expected hours per week, payment schedule (weekly, biweekly, monthly), and payment method. For independent contractors, include the total expected annual compensation and state that no benefits (health insurance, paid time off, retirement contributions) are included unless explicitly listed.

Wyoming microschool facilitators typically earn $17 to $19 per hour in Casper and Cheyenne, $26 to $31 in Cody and Big Piney, and $34 to $38 in Jackson. These rates should be anchored to a written agreement — verbal compensation agreements break down when a facilitator leaves and claims they were promised more.

If compensation includes any non-cash components — use of curriculum materials the pod purchases, reimbursement for specific expenses, access to professional development resources — document these explicitly in the contract.

4. Scope of Work and Curriculum Responsibilities

Describe specifically what the facilitator is responsible for teaching and how. This section should cover:

• Subjects or subject areas: Which of Wyoming's seven mandated subjects (reading, writing, mathematics, civics, history, literature, science) is the facilitator responsible for, and at what grade levels?
• Curriculum: Will the facilitator use a curriculum you have purchased, or design their own? If you supply the curriculum, who owns it? If they design curriculum, does the pod retain the materials?
• Student age range and number: Be specific about how many students the facilitator will be working with and the age/grade range.
• Instructional format: Is this primarily group instruction, small group rotation, individual tutoring, or a combination?
• Planning and documentation requirements: How much planning time is expected per week? What student progress documentation is required, and in what format?

For Wyoming microschools with students working toward the Hathaway Scholarship, include explicit language about the facilitator's responsibility to document course completion using appropriate Hathaway Success Curriculum nomenclature and provide records in a format suitable for a notarized transcript.

5. Schedule and Location

Specify the days and hours of instruction, the location where instruction will take place, and any provisions for schedule changes. Include a clear statement about snow days and weather cancellations — Wyoming winters make this a practical necessity, not a theoretical one.

For pods that use a rotating home model (instruction moves among participating families' homes), specify how the schedule will be communicated and how much advance notice the facilitator receives of location changes.

6. Background Check and Certification Requirements

Wyoming does not require home-based educational programs to use credentialed teachers. However, your pod should require a criminal background check for any hired facilitator, and this requirement should be written into the contract. Specify who bears the cost of the background check (the pod typically does), what type of check is required (state criminal, national criminal, sex offender registry), and what outcomes would disqualify a candidate from the position.

If you are requiring any specific professional credentials, certifications, or training (CPR certification, first aid, specific curriculum training), list these explicitly.

7. Confidentiality and Privacy

A Wyoming microschool handles sensitive information about children and families: learning profiles, behavioral considerations, health information, family financial situations. Your facilitator contract should include a confidentiality provision prohibiting the facilitator from disclosing student information to third parties and specifying how student records are handled if the working relationship ends.

This section also protects the pod: a facilitator who leaves and shares information about your program, your students, or your operational details with a competing microschool or a critical former family creates real problems.

8. Termination Provisions

Clear termination language protects both parties. Include:

• Notice requirements: How much advance notice does either party owe the other for a non-cause termination? Two weeks is common for part-time facilitators; four weeks provides better protection for pods that need time to recruit a replacement.
• Immediate termination: Define what behaviors or failures warrant immediate termination without notice — safety incidents, criminal conduct, persistent curriculum non-compliance.
• Final pay: State when and how final compensation will be issued in the event of termination. Wyoming has wage payment laws that apply to employees; for contractors, the contract terms govern.

The termination section matters enormously in mid-year scenarios. A facilitator who decides to leave in November for a different opportunity without adequate notice leaves participating families in crisis. The more clearly your contract specifies obligations, the more leverage the pod has if a facilitator departs without meeting them.

9. Dispute Resolution

Include a provision specifying how disputes will be resolved. For small Wyoming microschools, a mediation-before-litigation clause is reasonable — it requires the parties to attempt mediated resolution before filing a lawsuit, which saves everyone time and money. Specify Wyoming as the governing law jurisdiction.

Getting the Contract Right the First Time

The Wyoming Micro-School & Pod Kit includes a facilitator contract template built for Wyoming's specific employment environment: no state income tax, Wyoming workers' comp requirements, and the contractor-versus-employee classification nuances that apply to small educational operations. It also includes the parent agreement templates and liability waivers you need to formalize relationships with participating families alongside the facilitator relationship.

A professionally drafted contract reviewed for Wyoming-specific requirements is the foundation of a microschool that can survive personnel transitions without dissolving. Build it before your first facilitator starts, not after the first dispute.

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