Homeschool benefits and savings in Scottsdale
Scottsdale residents who qualify for recreation fee assistance receive a 50% discount on approved activities, memberships, and drop-in visits. The 2026 under-18 application offers a financial-document review as an alternative to a school lunch letter, so homeschool families can apply without that letter.
Who qualifies
Lives in Scottsdale
Fee assistance is limited to City of Scottsdale residents. List qualifying household members who live at the same address.
Demonstrates financial need
Provide a free or reduced school lunch letter, or schedule an appointment with human-services staff and bring financial information and qualifying documents.
Lists household income
The application asks for monthly income from all named adults, including wages, assistance, loans or grants, child support, unemployment, and pensions.
Applies before paying
Assistance is not retroactive. Receive approval and follow the registration instructions in your award letter.
What the discount saves
The 2026 application gives approved households a 50% discount; these examples apply that percentage to sample charges, not published class prices.
- A $20 approved charge
- $10
- A $50 approved charge
- $25
- A $100 approved charge
- $50
- A $200 approved charge
- $100
From applying to keeping it
- Before applying
Create a recreation account
Set up your household account at Recreation.ScottsdaleAZ.gov.
- Before approval
Document financial need
Complete the application and provide a school lunch letter or arrange a human-services financial review at a listed city center.
- After gathering documents
Submit the application
Return it with required documentation to Leisure Education by email or drop it off at a city community or senior center.
- After approval
Register with your award letter
Use the letter's instructions for approved activities, memberships, and drop-in opportunities.
- At calendar year-end
Reapply for assistance
Awards expire at year-end. Families qualifying in October, November, or December receive a three-month grace period.
Where the discount applies
Included
- Approved recreation activities
- Approved memberships
- Approved drop-in opportunities
Not included
- Class supplies
- Leagues
- Retroactive assistance
Who to contact
Leisure Education receives fee-assistance applications and answers questions about approval and registration.
LeisureEducation@ScottsdaleAZ.gov 480-312-7957 2026 under-18 application
Homeschool rules and statewide help in Arizona
Within 30 days of starting, file an affidavit of intent and a certified birth certificate or other authorized ID with the county superintendent. The ID rule exempts homeless pupils. Within 30 days, notify the superintendent if you stop or file a new affidavit if you resume.
Arizona sets these rules:
- Subjects: Reading, grammar, math, social studies, and science required.
- Testing: Arizona does not require standardized testing for homeschoolers.
- Records: Arizona does not prescribe routine academic portfolios or attendance reports; required identity documentation is filed with the county superintendent.
- Teachers: Arizona does not require a teaching certificate or degree to homeschool your own child.
Arizona also has an education savings account that home-educated students can use.
- The Empowerment Scholarship Account pays about 90% of the state funding your child's district or charter school would have received, for curriculum, tutoring, and other approved expenses. Using it is a separate path from homeschooling under state law.
- TheHomeschoolingCompany is an approved vendor for it.
Read the Arizona homeschooling guide See statewide programs in Arizona
Questions parents ask
- How much of the approved fee do we pay with Scottsdale fee assistance?
- Your family pays half of an approved charge after the 50% subsidy. The award letter explains how to register using the discount.
- Does the Scottsdale discount include supplies and leagues?
- No. The application explicitly excludes class supplies and leagues from fee assistance.
- Can we get money back for earlier registrations?
- No. Scottsdale states that assistance is not retroactive, so secure approval before relying on a reduced charge.
- When must we renew?
- At the end of the calendar year, when assistance expires. Households that qualify in October, November, or December get a three-month grace period.
Turn support into your child’s next lesson
Camps and local activities give your child new interests to explore. Their discoveries can shape the examples and questions they study at home. We are an approved Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) vendor, so your ClassWallet balance can pay for it.
$149/month per child after the trial.
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