Homeschool benefits and savings in Denver
Denver Public Library’s Educator Card lets homeschool teachers who live or work in Denver borrow up to 100 items for professional use, with loan periods up to six weeks. You can apply at any library location and keep classroom borrowing separate from your personal card.
Who qualifies
Teaches in a home school
The Educator Card includes homeschool teachers and other formal or informal educators. It is for professional-use borrowing on an account separate from your personal card.
Lives or works in Denver
The library’s card guide says educators who reside or work in Denver may apply for an Educator Card.
Applies at a library location
Sign up at any Denver Public Library location. The general in-person card instructions ask for official photo identification and current proof of Colorado address; the educator page does not list a separate homeschool document requirement.
What the card gives you
Denver Public Library’s Educator Card page publishes the borrowing, renewal, hold, and digital-resource terms.
- Items checked out
- 100 total
- Combined media items
- Up to 50 within the 100-item total
- Extended loan period
- Up to 6 weeks
- Automatic renewals
- Up to 3, if no holds
- Items on hold
- 50
- Digital resources
- Access to library digital resources
The Educator Card is not eligible for interlibrary loan or Prospector borrowing.
How to get and use the card
- Before visiting
Confirm your Denver connection
The Educator Card is for educators who live or work in Denver. Call the library about which documentation it needs for your homeschool educator status, since the program page does not specify it.
- At any library location
Request an Educator Card
Bring official photo ID and current address proof under the library’s in-person registration instructions. Ask for the professional-use account.
- When borrowing
Keep within item limits
Check out no more than 100 items, including at most 50 combined media items, and use the due date shown for each loan.
- At the due date
Watch for renewals and holds
Eligible items renew automatically up to three times at the extended loan period when no other borrower has a hold.
What it includes
Included
- Professional-use borrowing
- Extended loan periods
- Automatic eligible renewals
- Library digital resources
Not included
- Interlibrary loan
- Prospector borrowing
Who to contact about the card
The library reference service answers card questions and can direct you to a branch for educator registration.
Homeschool rules and statewide help in Colorado
Give written notice to a Colorado school district 14 days before starting and each year the program continues. Notice is not required before age 6; instruction need not begin until age 7 or continue after age 16.
Colorado sets these rules:
- Subjects: Provide at least 172 days of instruction averaging four instructional contact hours daily, covering reading, writing, speaking, mathematics, history, civics, literature, science, and regular instruction in the U.S. Constitution.
- Testing: Academic evaluation in grades 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11: standardized test or evaluation by a qualified person.
- Records: Permanently keep attendance, test or evaluation results, and required immunization records; produce them on 14 days’ written notice when the superintendent has probable cause to believe the program is noncompliant.
- Teachers: Instruction is provided by a parent or legal guardian, or an adult relative designated by the parent; no teaching license is required.
Read the Colorado homeschooling guide See statewide programs in Colorado
Questions parents ask
- What do I bring to get a Denver Educator Card?
- Official photo ID and current proof of Colorado address. The educator page lists no separate homeschool document, so call ahead to ask what proof of homeschool status the library wants.
- Does every item on the Educator Card stay out for six weeks?
- Not necessarily. Six weeks is the maximum extended loan, so follow each item's assigned due date.
- Can I borrow from other libraries on this card?
- No. The educator account cannot use interlibrary loan or Prospector, though it includes Denver Public Library's own digital resources.
- Can I apply online?
- No. The educator page directs you to sign up at a library location; online eCard registration is a different card.
Turn support into your child’s next lesson
Books and library resources give your child something to explore. We turn their interests into coursework, so library discoveries can lead to deeper study at home.
$149/month per child after the trial.
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