Missouri School Choice Options

MOScholars was created in 2021 and expanded in 2024. Taxpayers who donate to a certified educational assistance organization (EAO) may claim a state tax credit equal to the donation, up to 50% of their Missouri tax liability. EAOs use those donations to fund scholarship accounts for qualified students (Missouri State Treasurer: MOScholars; RSMo 135.713).

Award amounts are based on the state adequacy target calculated by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The limits are up to 175% of the target for a student with an IEP, up to 160% for an English learner, up to 125% for a student eligible for free or reduced lunch, and up to 100% for all other qualified students (RSMo 135.714; MOScholars Parent Handbook, 2026-27).

A qualified student is a Missouri resident in elementary or secondary school who either:

• has an approved IEP under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; or
• lives in a household with income at or below 300% of the free and reduced lunch income standard, and also attended public school full time for at least one semester in the past 12 months, is eligible to begin kindergarten or first grade, or is a sibling of a current scholarship student (RSMo 166.700; MOScholars: Parents and Students).

EAOs award grants in a set priority order. Returning students come first, then siblings, then students with an IEP or dyslexia, then income and district-accreditation groups, then military families new to Missouri, then all others (RSMo 135.714).

Homeschool status: Missouri law defines a home school as one that does not enroll children who take part in MOScholars (RSMo 167.012). An FPE school, by contrast, may enroll MOScholars students. An FPE school has a private or religious purpose, charges no tuition, and enrolls no more than four unrelated children. It must keep the same kind of records and offer the same 1,000 hours of instruction as a home school, with at least 400 of the 600 core hours at the FPE school location (RSMo 167.013).

You apply through an EAO, not through the Treasurer. The 2026-27 Parent Handbook lists these steps: choose a school, contact the EAO that partners with it, complete the EAO’s prequalification form, and then complete the full application (MOScholars Parent Handbook, 2026-27). A list of certified EAOs is on the Treasurer’s site (MOScholars: EAOs).

FPE school families should contact an EAO first to learn whether it partners with FPE schools and what it requires. After a prescreening, the family submits an application. The FPE school must agree not to share or rebate account funds with the parent, the student, or close relatives, and must produce its records on request (MOScholars: Schools and FPE Schools).

Each EAO sets its own application and renewal deadlines. Renewing students must coordinate with their EAO each year (Parent Handbook).

Account funds may pay for tuition and fees at a qualified school, required textbooks, educational therapies, tutoring, curriculum, private virtual school tuition, standardized tests and AP or college admission exams, account management fees, public school classes and extracurricular programs, approved computer hardware, summer and after-school programs, and mileage to and from a qualified school (RSMo 166.705).

Funds may not pay for consumable supplies such as paper and pens, out-of-state private school tuition, or payments to anyone related to the student within the third degree (RSMo 166.705). The Parent Handbook also lists field trips, event tickets, memberships, sports equipment, furniture, and musical instruments as ineligible (Parent Handbook).

The EAO deposits the grant into the student’s account either four times a year or in one lump sum at the start of the year, as the parent requests (RSMo 135.714). Money left at the end of a school year stays in the account. If the student leaves the program or graduates, remaining funds go back to the EAO (RSMo 166.705). Scholarship money is not Missouri taxable income to the parent.

A signed MOScholars agreement satisfies Missouri’s compulsory attendance law. The student may not also enroll in a public or charter school in the home district (RSMo 166.705).

The Missouri State Treasurer’s Office oversees MOScholars and certifies the EAOs. It also audits accounts and runs a fraud reporting line (RSMo 166.710; Program rules, 15 CSR 50-5).

Questions about an application go to your EAO. General questions go to the Treasurer’s Office at moscholars@treasurer.mo.gov or (573) 751-8533 (MOScholars FAQs; MOScholars).

Sports and activities: A district or charter school may not bar a home school or FPE school student from trying out for or joining its athletics, fine arts, and related activities because of home instruction. The student must live in the district, provide a physical for sports, follow the same conduct rules, and pay the same fees (RSMo 167.790).

Virtual courses: Home school and FPE school students may enroll in Missouri Course Access and Virtual School Program (MOCAP) courses under an agreement that covers tuition or course fees (RSMo 161.670).

Special education: Districts may not deny special education services to a resident child because the child attends a home school or FPE school (RSMo 162.996).

Missouri appears on the IRS list of states that have elected to take part in the federal scholarship tax credit for 2027, as of October 22, 2026 (IRS: FSTC Participating States). That credit is for donations to scholarship granting organizations. It is not a direct payment to homeschool parents.

See our Missouri Homeschool Laws page for record-keeping, the 1,000-hour rule, and other legal requirements.

• Missouri State Treasurer: MOScholars; Parents and Students; Schools and FPE Schools; EAOs; FAQs; Parent Handbook, 2026-27 (revised January 5, 2026); 15 CSR 50-5
• Missouri Revised Statutes 135.713, 135.714, 166.700, 166.705, 166.710, 167.012, 167.013, 167.790, 161.670, 162.996
• IRS: Federal Scholarship Tax Credit Participating States (as of October 22, 2026)

Last reviewed: November 11, 2026