HOME ED FUNDING
Standards for Reimbursements
Reimbursements are based on three conditions:
Necessary for and related to the student’s program;
Paid for and supported by invoices; and
Not usually paid for by parents of students in a brick-and-mortar school or not a form of remuneration to the parent
Not recommended for home education reimbursement:
Expenses that are considered a cost of operating a home school and not associated with the program and/or usually required to be paid for by a parent of a student enrolled in a school operated by a board or private school.
See The Standards for Home Education Reimbursements and our more comprehensive list
Eligibility for Funding for Home Education
Each child registered under Home Education, a parent led program, by September 23rd of the coming school year will be eligible for $901.00 of Alberta Education Funding. Those students in the Online Program, do not receive funding by Alberta Education.
Funding is provided by the Alberta government to Hope Christian School in two increments. Half of the funding is released in November of the current school year and the second half of the funding is released in February of the current school year. Therefore, for our first funding period in November, a parent is entitled to claim receipts up to half of their funding and then in our second funding period in February, a parent is entitled to claim the remaining funding.
Kindergarten Eligibility for Funding for Home Education
Children registered under Home Education, a parent led program, by September 29th of the coming school year will be eligible for $450.50 of Alberta Education Funding. For a child to be registered in the kindergarten program, that child must turn 5 by the end of December of the current school year.
Funding is provided by the Alberta government to Hope Christian School in two increments. Half of the funding is released in November of the current school year and the second half of the funding is released in February of the current school year. Therefore, for our first funding period in November, a parent is entitled to claim receipts up to half of their funding and then in our second funding period in February, a parent is entitled to claim the remaining funding.
Guidelines for Reimbursements
All reimbursable items must be accounted for on the Home Education Program Plan.
Each funding claim must be submitted with a signed Expense Claim form and the corresponding detailed, original receipts. Original receipts and the Expense Claim form must be submitted by mail or original digital receipts and the Expense Claim form can be submitted by email.
3. Group or individual tutoring must be accompanied with a statement indicating the qualifications of the instructor/tutor.
4. All receipts must coincide with the Home Education Program Plan and must be dated within the context of the current school year. Please note the dates to which receipts must be submitted by on the Home Education Calendar. Considerable processing of receipts is involved, therefore receipts must be turned in a month before the actual cheque is written.
5. If you wish to have your reimbursement by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) please see the Direct Deposit Form for you to fill in and return to the school by mail or email.
Funding Cut off Dates
As the funding process is a considerable one, funding receipts must be turned in a month before the actual cheque or EFT is released. Each year a new Home School Calendar will show the cut off dates for each of the four funding periods. Unfortunately if receipts are delayed by mail, they will be processed for the following funding period.
Please see this year's Home School Calendar that shows the receipt cut off dates in yellow.
Reimbursement Dates
There are 4 funding periods throughout the school year: November, February, April and June. You can receive your claim by cheque which will be mailed to you or by Direct Deposit or EFT, which will be deposited much quicker than waiting for the mail.
If you claim up to 75% of your funding, you will receive the remaining amount of funding available to you without having to turn in any more receipts.
If your child will not be returning to Hope Christian School for the next school year, you can fill out the Parent Declaration form which will allow your unclaimed funding to be used by Hope Christian School or else your funding will be returned to the Alberta Government.
Claiming Field Trip Costs
Every registered child under the Home Ed program is eligible for a $25 reimbursement for Field Trip Admission costs, whether that Field Trip is provided by Hope Christian School Hope at Home or a Field Trip accessed by the family themselves.
You may fill out the Expense Claim form for Field Trips the same way you fill out the Expense Claim for Home Ed funding. Please fill out the form and attach the receipts for the admission to the field trip and then you can email secretary@hopechristianschool.ca throughout the year to be reimbursed. Unlike the four reimbursement periods for Home Ed funding, Field Trip reimbursements can be done at any time.