There were many updates and improvements to the Funding Manual last year. If you are a home educator that notified with an associate board or associate private (Independent) school, let's make sure that everyone is on the same page to enhance good communication! Here is a summary for reference and where the points are directly addressed in the Funding Manual, Sections C pages 30-31 for associate boards or D pages 59-60 for associate private schools. You can reach out to AHEA if you need any further support.

1.   The parent directed side of the Home Education Grant is exactly $850 - no more and no less. This is tied to the Education Plan receipts that you submit for a refund. (Read this for more details on the Standards for Reimbursement.)

2.   You have two years to use your funds, and this is now mandatory everywhere. It goes without saying that the oldest funds should always be used up first in your records, giving you the most opportunity to utilize funds. This allows for families to plan for a more expensive item that qualifies for reimbursement under the Funding Guide.

(6) An associate board or associate accredited funded private school must offer to the parents of a home education student 50 per cent of the home education funding for the purchase of instructional materials. An associate board or associate accredited funded private school may not reimburse parents of a home education student, whether in a shared responsibility program or not, more than 50 per cent of the home education funding, the reimbursement amount may not exceed $850 per year. Parents have up to two years to access the parental portion of home education funding.

(14) School authorities are not permitted to provide funding, whether by reimbursement, purchase order or direct procurement, to students or families in cases where a student is enrolled in an online or regular school program.

3.   You should receive a 100% refund of your current year's $850 grant portion if you submitted receipts for 75% or more.

1.6 – Home Education and Shared Responsibility Grant
The Home Education Grant supports educational choice for students and parents. For each home education student, the school authority is provided 50 per cent of the funding to support the home education student, and 50 per cent of the funding is provided to the parent and/or guardian as reimbursement for instructional materials and services that support the instructional program at home. Furthermore, parents who submit receipts for at least 75% of eligible expenses will receive the entire $850.00.

4.   If the parent-directed side of the grant remains unused, the Department of Education will claw it back at the end of that time.

(8) If parents decline or do not claim the parent portion of Home Education funding, Alberta Education will recover the unclaimed/declined portion, the year following the previous two year period.

5.   Home education families have the option to donate some or all of their funding to their associate board or associate private (Independent) school if they wish.

(7) Parents will be allowed to transfer some or all of the parental portion of the home education funding to the associate school authority for education supports should they choose to. If parents decide to transfer their funding, they will be required to sign a Parent Declaration Form to facilitate this transfer: (https://www.alberta.ca/assets/documents/edc-home-education-funding-transfer-of-parent-portion-declaration-form.pdf.)

If you have chosen to avail yourself of the Notification Only option for home educators that was offered as of September 2021, you will have No Funding to worry about tracking!

It is so helpful when we work together to keep the funding side of home education functioning in a clean and clear manner.  A big 'Thank You' to all the staff who work so hard with our families to keep things straight and their reimbursements timely. It's great when this topic makes 'cents' to us all!

Where do you have to physically be on the fast approaching Count Date of September 30^th?

Home educators in Alberta have long made adjustments to their plans to accommodate an almost problematic rule which demanded they be in province. When AB Education updated the Funding Manual last week they addressed this issue, which AHEA had been advocating that they review and modify. Clarifying the physical location a home education family on the Count Day of September 30^th, we are very pleased to advise that the manual now states on page 61,

"4. Home education / Shared Responsibility students and their parents who ordinarily reside in Alberta on the September count date of the current school year."

This is a wonderful change from what it previously stated, "Home Education / Shared Responsibility students and their parents must reside in Alberta on the September count date of the current school year."

We hope you all enjoy this additional freedom to make plans that do NOT have to center around Count Day because you count every day!

                                                                          AHEA - Working Hard For You!

This week AB Education updated their funding manual to clarify access to Grade One. We are pleased that this was put into the manual as a note so that consistent application and understanding are ensured instead of case-by-case or call-by-call basis, which has lead to exceptions and misunderstanding in the past. 

Here is an excerpt from page 139, see 3's Note:https://open.alberta.ca/publications/1485-5542

3. is at least 5 years and 8 months or older and eligible to enter Grade 1 according to the school entrance age policy of the school jurisdiction, but less than 20 years of age on September 1 in the school year in which he/she is counted. 

Note for the 2020/21 school year only: Due to the transition to the new age of entry in kindergarten, a one-time exception will be made to allow students who are at least 5 years 6 months of age to be counted as a home education student if they are starting grade 1 and meet all other funding requirements.

There have been changes to the funding manual this year that have clarified payments from associate boards to parents. Please exercise caution and carefully inquire with whatever associate board you are notifying with if you hear differently. There should not be more than the $850 issued to you as a home educator when you do 100% of the work, and in a shared responsibility situation it will be even less.

Ambiguity about the clarity of the amount will not be allowed. The full and maximum amount of $850 is the parent's to use within the Standards of Reimbursements and your program plan. There is the NEW ability for parents to subsidize their board and sign over some or all of your funds from your $850 portion of the grant for educational supports only. Your signature on a Parent Declaration Form will be required for these transactions to be authorized.

NEW THIS YEAR - Look for the new allowed 100% allowance on lessons and tangible assets! Also 75% receipts = full refund of your grant (no more worrying about yard or secondhand sale purchases receipts being acceptable if they are only 25% of your purchases per child.)

AHEA is working for YOU!!

D1.6 of the 20/21 Funding Manual*

6. An associate board or associate accredited funded private school must offer to the parents of a home education student no less than 50 per cent of the home education funding for the purchase of instructional materials. Parents have up to two years to access the parental portion of home education funding.

13. Reimbursements to parents of students in a Home Education or Shared Responsibility program, may not exceed $850.00 in value per year and are subject to the same reimbursement interpretations as the Standards for Home Education Reimbursement, whether they are reimbursements, ordered by purchase order or directly procured by school or district. 

*AHEA continues to work with the Education Minister, her Office and her Dept. Further revisions are forthcoming as the language continues to be tweaked to ensure everyone understands the guidelines.

                                           AHEA – Working for You!

AHEA is very pleased to announce that the updated version of the Alberta Education Funding Manual for the 2020/21 school year released on June 18^th, 2020 contains many of the great improvements for home educators which we have been busy advocating for. Considering where the discussion started, which was that home education would be included in the weighted moving average policies like school based model funding, we have come a long way. Home education funding, therefore, has managed to successfully maintain many of the necessary considerations for our unique model, and has changes in several areas.

The following are basically quoted from the guide itself, with comments by AHEA's Government Liaison italicized, if given. Some of the information is repeated for your information and clarity in general.

• September 30^th enrollment deadline for home education.
• Must reside in Alberta on the September count date of the current school year.
• 50% of the funding grant is available directly to parents/guardians as reimbursement for instructional materials and services that support the instructional program at home.
• Education plans must be consistent with the learning outcomes… in the Alberta Program of Study or stated in the schedule attached to the Home Education Regulations. Further information will be provided in the coming weeks after the Home Education Regulations are updated, pending the passing of Bill 15 and the clarification on a new option for Notification Only, No Funding (NONF). Currently you can wait or register under any option available, and feel free to move before the Sept. 30^th cutoff date.
• The associate board (that you notify with) must provide the resident board information through PASI and Student records. This is not new, but all home educators should know that their student information and funding is processed this way, without exception.
• An associate board or associate accredited funded private school must offer to the parents of a home educated student no less than 50% of the home education funding for the purchase of instructional materials.
  
  

• Parents who submit receipts for at least 75% of eligible expenses will receive the entire $850.00. This will allow purchases between people, garage sales, etc. to focus more on the purchase than the paperwork. Just note that it will not be allowed if you don't provide the first 75% of documented receipts.
• The Standards for Home Education Reimbursement have been updated and are good for you to reference while planning for next year. You should note that items need to be necessary for and related to your student's program (this is important to qualify for the funding) and paid for and supported by invoices. You may reference them anytime, but important to note now are the following items which have been made 100% eligible. (Keep in mind the note about regarding 75% back up provided and 25% backup note required IF the 75% is documented.)
  • Lessons – including, but not limited to, music, swimming and language…
  • Tangible assets – e.g. cameras, telescopes, musical instruments, physical education equipment, sewing machines.
• Parents have up to two years to access the parental portion of home education funding. Parents are guaranteed the option of rolling over their funding by the government, not their associate board. This should not be seen as an allowance but as a right you are entitled to everywhere you may choose to register without exception.
• Parents will be allowed to transfer some or all of the parental portion of the home education funding (your $850) to the associate school authority for education supports should they choose to. If parents decide to transfer their funding, they will be required to sign a Parent Declaration Form to facilitate this transfer. This option allows you to allocate your funding to an associate board instead of having unused funds return to AB Education. Some may choose to easy the tax payer burden. Others may wish to support an associate board, which will be limited in their use of the funds to educational supports, not general or discretionary use. This is important for us all, as we desire clear accountability to parents and the government for funding usage, critical in the reputation of our home education model.
• If parents decline or do not claim the parent portion of the Home Education funding, Alberta Education will recover the unclaimed/declined portion, the year following the previous two year period. You don't have to worry about this, as your associate board will handle the paperwork based on your choice and submissions. Do be aware, however, that the carry-forward allotment should always be considered 'used first' by your associate board, so that you have the maximum flexibility and use of your funds.
  
  

• Home education / Shared Responsibility students are not eligible for severe disabilities funding. We continue to work on special needs funding as an item that should be dealt with apart from their educational model choice. Students should not be discriminated against because of their preference.
  
  

This is a significant clarification by Alberta Education. Many people considering home education, and weighing the choice of parent directed versus teacher directed, have looked at funding differences as a deciding factor. The clarification by the government that NO additional funding be provided by ANY method, was necessary and closes a loophole that had been abused. Any additional funds that a shared responsibility program receives are to be used to pay for the teacher portion only. Parents are not eligible for extra perks – so getting them should make us stop and look harder, not away.

• Students that are coded as shared responsibility students and meet the program requirement outlined in The Guide to Education will be funded at the shared responsibility rate. Shared responsibility programs receive additional funding to address instructional costs.
• In order to qualify for shared responsibility funding, at least 20 percent of the program must be delivered by the school authority, up to a maximum of 80 percent, and be teacher-directed. Below this range, the student should be enrolled as a regular home education student. Above this range, the student should be enrolled as a regular/online student, with the school authority responsible for 100 percent of the program and the parents not eligible for any home education funding.
• School authorities that provide shared responsibility program may use some or all of the parents' 50 per cent funding, only with parent's signed agreement, to pay for the cost of these courses and required instructional materials.
• Reimbursements to parents of students in a Home Education or Shared Responsibility program, may not exceed $850.00 in value per year and are subject to the same reimbursement interpretations as the Standards for Home Education Reimbursement, whether they are reimbursements, ordered by purchase order or directly procured by school or district. Note the lack of exception for payments by another means. Going around direct funding for you as the parents is no longer a loophole to be exploited.
  
  

This is critical to understand, given the recent impact on choices to educate at home. Online school is not the same as home education. There should be no funds provided to the families when the teacher directed program is the model chosen. There should be no exceptions. 

• School authorities are not permitted to provide funding, whether by reimbursement, purchase order or direct procurement, to students or families in cases where a student is enrolled in an online or regular school program.
  
  
  

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Overall, the clarification for home educators in all matters of funding is not only necessary to understand, but critical to ensure that proper stewardship is maintained by everyone. AHEA families would be wise to seek to ensure that there are not instances of exceptions to these guidelines, as that reflects badly on our community, deteriorating trust internally and externally. Help us help you!

AHEA is pleased with the efforts of Education Minister LaGrange and her office to listen well to the comments and the concerns presented. If you have suggestions or recommendations for changes you'd like to see advocated for, you should approach AHEA directly for us to be able to respond appropriately and through the proper channels. We have witnessed and see before us the results of good advocacy and listening by an Education department who wished to ensure parental choice in the system based on respect for all the models under its care. Home education is a valid and valuable choice that all Albertans can and should consider when making education choices for their children.