ChoiceFunded What your state pays

What is a microschool, and which state programs pay for one?

There is no national definition of a microschool. West Virginia’s law calls it a school started by one or more teachers, or by an entity created to run a school, that charges tuition. West Virginia’s Hope Scholarship and Arkansas’s Education Freedom Accounts pay participating microschools, and Idaho’s Parental Choice Tax Credit counts microschool tuition. No other state program page we read names microschools.

Sources read October 8, 2026. Each section links the pages it came from.

What state law says a microschool is

Only a few states use the word in law, and they do not mean quite the same thing.

  • West Virginia: a microschool is a school started by one or more teachers, or by an entity created to run a school, that charges tuition to the students who enroll. The same section defines a learning pod as a voluntary group of parents who group their children together for their studies. A child in either is exempt from compulsory public school attendance.
  • Idaho: for the Parental Choice Tax Credit, a nonpublic school includes a private school, microschool or learning pod that provides academic instruction.
  • Louisiana: Act 885 of 2026 defines a parent-driven learning microschool as a voluntary association of parents who group their children together, of any age, for learning. No government agency may require one to register or report to it. The act took effect when the governor signed it on June 8, 2026.
  • Utah: a home-based microschool is a registered business that, for pay, teaches kindergarten to grade 12 to 16 or fewer students from a home, accessory dwelling unit or residential property. A micro-education entity is a registered business that, for pay, teaches kindergarten to grade 12 to 100 students or fewer, and is not a daycare, a home-based microschool, a private school or a public school.
  • Utah: county land use law treats a home-based microschool or micro-education entity as a permitted use in every zoning district (the version of the statute the State Board of Education posts, effective May 1, 2024).
  • Arkansas: the Education Freedom Account rules define a micro-school as a tuition-based organization that teaches a community of home school students together in the same space and employs its own instructors or facilitators. A learning pod, run by a voluntary group of parents, is a different category.

Sources: West Virginia Code 18-8-1 (exemptions from compulsory attendance), subsection (n); Idaho Code 63-3029N (Parental Choice Tax Credit); Louisiana Legislature, Act 885 of 2026 (HB 1203), enrolled text; Louisiana Legislature, Act 885 (HB 1203) resume digest; Utah Code 53G-6-201, Definitions (effective July 1, 2026); Utah Code 17-27a-305, as posted by the Utah State Board of Education (effective May 1, 2024); Arkansas DESE, Education Freedom Account Program rules (6 CAR Part 35)

Which state programs pay a microschool

West Virginia Hope Scholarship. The Hope Scholarship says microschools do not meet the law’s definition of a participating school, but since July 31, 2024 they sign up through the school side of the Hope online portal and invoice the program there to be paid. A Hope student at a microschool is marked as an Individualized Instructional Program (IIP) student on the county notice of intent.

Arkansas Education Freedom Accounts (EFA). The Department of Education takes applications from micro schools as well as private schools, and families pay a participating private or micro school from the account through ClassWallet.

Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit. The Idaho State Tax Commission lists tuition or fees at a private school, microschool or learning pod that provides academic instruction as a qualifying expense. The law adds a condition: the instruction must come from an accredited school or be documented in a portfolio or learning record that shows the student’s growth.

Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA). The TEFA site does not use the word microschool. To be paid as a private school, a school must be accredited by an organization the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission (TEPSAC) recognizes or by the Texas Education Agency, and must have run a campus for at least two years.

Elsewhere, no official program page we read names microschools. Before you count on a program paying one, ask the program office whether the microschool is an approved school or provider.

Programs whose official sources mention microschools, or set the rule a small school must meet
StateProgramWhat the official source says
West VirginiaHope ScholarshipParticipating microschools are paid through the Hope portal
ArkansasEducation Freedom AccountsMicro schools apply to take part and are paid from the account through ClassWallet
IdahoParental Choice Tax CreditMicroschool tuition or fees are a qualifying expense, if the instruction is accredited or documented
TexasTEFAPays accredited private schools that have run a campus for two years; microschools are not named

Sources: West Virginia Hope Scholarship (State Treasurer), FAQ; Arkansas DESE, Education Freedom Accounts: Information for Private and Micro Schools; Arkansas DESE, Education Freedom Accounts: Information for Families; Idaho State Tax Commission, My School Choice (Parental Choice Tax Credit); Idaho Code 63-3029N (Parental Choice Tax Credit); Texas Education Freedom Accounts (Comptroller), Schools

Running a microschool in West Virginia

A parent starts by giving the county superintendent or county board a notice of intent to take part in a learning pod or microschool. Whoever teaches must show at least a high school diploma or the equivalent. Each year the instructor must get an academic assessment of the child for the year before, such as a nationally normed standardized test or a portfolio review.

Source: West Virginia Code 18-8-1 (exemptions from compulsory attendance), subsection (n)

How to find a microschool

In West Virginia, the Hope Scholarship’s School/Provider Search lists every participating school and every education service provider with approved services, and gives each a type, including Microschool. The list we read on October 8, 2026 was last updated August 10, 2026 and named 80 microschools: 69 with a West Virginia address and 11 out of state.

ChoiceFunded has a page for each Hope microschool we could place on a map with contact details; they are listed below. For the rest, use the Hope list itself.

In other states there is no official microschool list. A small private school may still appear on its state’s program list, which we show on each state page.

Source: West Virginia Hope Scholarship, Participating Schools (School/Provider Search)

Sources and dates

Common questions

What is a microschool?

There is no national definition. West Virginia law calls it a school started by one or more teachers, or by an entity created to run a school, that charges tuition. Idaho counts a microschool that provides academic instruction as a nonpublic school for its tax credit, and Louisiana defines a parent-driven learning microschool as a voluntary group of parents.

Can I use an ESA or scholarship to pay a microschool?

In West Virginia, yes, if the microschool takes part in the Hope Scholarship: it invoices Hope through the online portal. In Idaho, microschool tuition counts for the Parental Choice Tax Credit when the instruction is accredited or documented in a portfolio. Texas TEFA pays only accredited private schools that have run a campus for two years. No other state program page we read names microschools, so ask the program office.

Is a microschool the same as homeschooling?

Not in West Virginia law, which defines microschools, learning pods and home instruction separately. A West Virginia Hope student at a microschool is marked as an Individualized Instructional Program student on the county notice of intent. Other states treat them in their own way: see our state homeschool law pages.

Related

West Virginia Hope microschools with a page here (22)

Each is on the Hope Scholarship’s participating schools table as a microschool. Being on the list is not a seat: ask the microschool about room, grades and cost.

SchoolGradesStudentsPer teacherAffiliation
Airborne Christian AcademyOn the state list; not in the federal survey
City on A Hill Christian AcademyOn the state list; not in the federal survey
Coalfield Family ServicesOn the state list; not in the federal survey
Community Pathways FoundationOn the state list; not in the federal survey
Da Capo Classical AcademyOn the state list; not in the federal survey
Eyes and Brains STEM CenterOn the state list; not in the federal survey
Faith Baptist Christian SchoolOn the state list; not in the federal survey
Grace Bible AcademyOn the state list; not in the federal survey
Harman SchoolOn the state list; not in the federal survey
Jaydee's AcademyOn the state list; not in the federal survey
Lester Baptist ChurchOn the state list; not in the federal survey
Little Learners MontessoriOn the state list; not in the federal survey
New Life Christian AcademyOn the state list; not in the federal survey
On Target Church AcademyOn the state list; not in the federal survey
Pathfinder InstituteOn the state list; not in the federal survey
Pisgah MicroschoolOn the state list; not in the federal survey
Preston County Youth CenterOn the state list; not in the federal survey
Princeton Church of GodOn the state list; not in the federal survey
The Clarksburg Childrens HousePreK-5157.5Nonsectarian
The Learning CottageOn the state list; not in the federal survey
Timothy Education CenterOn the state list; not in the federal survey
Wellbright SchoolOn the state list; not in the federal survey

Looking at free options too? Public charter schools are listed separately: they charge no tuition, so no scholarship is involved. Charter schools near you.

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