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🎓 Virginia School Choice, ESAs & Scholarships

Which Virginia education savings accounts, scholarships and tax credits a homeschool family can use, what they pay for, and where Virginia stands on school choice — from our Virginia guide.

Overseen by	Your local division superintendent, under §§ 22.1-254 and 22.1-254.1 of the Code of Virginia. The Virginia Department of Education doesn't approve home schools, and a superintendent may not share your filings outside the school division without your written consent (§ 22.1-254.1(G)).
Who it covers	Children who turn 5 on or before September 30 and haven't passed their 18th birthday (§ 22.1-254). The evidence-of-progress rule doesn't apply to children under 6 on September 30 of the school year.
Notice	Every year, by August 15: notify the division superintendent that you'll provide home instruction, with a list of subjects for the coming year and evidence that you meet one of the four options. Starting after the school year began or moving in mid-year: notify as soon as practicable and complete the requirements within 30 days.
The four home instruction options	The parent (i) holds a high school diploma; (ii) is a teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Board of Education; (iii) provides a program of study or curriculum, which may be delivered through a correspondence course, distance learning program or any other manner; or (iv) provides evidence of being able to provide an adequate education.
Evidence of progress	By August 1 after each year: a composite score in or above the 4th stanine on a nationally normed standardized achievement test (or an equivalent ACT, SAT or PSAT score), or an evaluation the superintendent accepts — a letter from a person licensed to teach in any state or with a master's degree or higher in an academic discipline who knows the child's progress, or a report card or transcript from a college, college distance learning program or home-education correspondence school.
Religious exemption	A school board must excuse a pupil who, with his parents, is conscientiously opposed to school attendance by reason of bona fide religious training or belief (§ 22.1-254(B)(1)). It is a separate route from home instruction, with no annual notice or testing requirement in the statute; the local school board decides requests.
School choice status	As of November 2026, Virginia's only private-choice program is the Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credit: donors get a 65% state tax credit for gifts to approved scholarship foundations, which fund scholarships at private schools (statewide cap 5 million a fiscal year). There is no ESA or voucher, and no state program pays homeschool costs. The IRS lists Virginia as taking part in the federal scholarship tax credit for 2027 (as of October 22, 2026).

Where Virginia stands on school choice (November 2026)

What exists: the Education Improvement Scholarships Tax Credits program (Code of Virginia §§ 58.1-439.25 to -439.28, created in 2012). A person who gives money or marketable securities to a scholarship foundation on the Department of Education's annual list earns a Virginia tax credit of 65% of the donation. An individual must give at least $500, and credits are issued only on the first

25,000 an individual gives in a taxable year (the cap doesn't apply to businesses). The Department of Education issues credits first-come, first-served, with a statewide limit of

5 million a fiscal year. Unused credit carries forward five years.

Who the scholarships serve: Virginia students from lower-income families (the statute's income limits are 300% of the federal poverty guidelines, 400% for students with an IEP) who meet the law's school history rules — for example, attended a Virginia public school for at least half of the current or prior year, are eligible to enter kindergarten or first grade, already hold a scholarship, or just moved from another state. The scholarships pay qualified educational expenses at a nonpublic school, up to the lesser of the actual expenses or 100% of the state's per-pupil share of Standards of Quality costs in the student's home division (higher for certain students with disabilities at licensed special education schools). Homeschool students can't use them.

Sunset: as the Code reads in November 2026, the credit in § 58.1-439.26 applies to taxable years before January 1, 2028. Watch the 2027 General Assembly session for any extension.

What doesn't exist: Virginia has no education savings account, no voucher, and no state tax credit or deduction for homeschool or private school costs paid by parents. Public options the state supports — charter schools, college partnership laboratory schools, governor's schools and virtual programs run by school divisions — are public schools, not homeschooling.

The federal scholarship tax credit: the IRS lists Virginia among the states taking part for 2027 (as of October 22, 2026). From January 1, 2027, a donor may claim a federal credit of up to

,700 ($3,400 if filing jointly) for cash gifts to a scholarship-granting organization on a participating state's list. States elect each year. We did not find an official Virginia page on the election or its list of organizations as of November 2, 2026, and news reports in October 2026 said future years were unsettled; we'll update this when the Commonwealth posts its process.

What it means for homeschool families: no Virginia program pays homeschool costs. You pay your own way, and the money questions that matter are the August 1 evidence of progress (test fees or an evaluator), dual enrollment tuition, and driver's ed.

Read the full section in our Virginia guide

Official sources

Summarized from our Virginia guide (as of November 2026) and articles. Rules change — confirm on the official pages before you act.

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