Homeschool benefits: Fertile-Beltrami School District
Fertile-Beltrami School District (Independent School District 599) loans or provides textbooks, teacher materials that come with them, learning materials, software, and standardized tests to resident homeschooled children on formal request, and provides health and counseling services, up to the state funding it receives. For 2026-27 that state funding is $138.43 per student for materials.
Who qualifies
Lives in Fertile-Beltrami
Policy 611 covers resident home-schooled children. The person in charge of your homeschool must meet Minnesota's compulsory instruction requirements.
Makes a formal request
The state counts requests made on or before September 15, reported to the district by October 1.
Has immunization records filed
Submit the required immunization statements to the superintendent by October 1 of your first homeschool year in Minnesota and of the grade 7 year.
Home school of five or fewer
Children in a home school with five or fewer students can take part fully in district extracurricular activities.
What the district provides
The services come from Fertile-Beltrami Policy 611, Home Schooling, last revised in 2022, and the per-pupil amounts come from the Minnesota Department of Education's 2026-27 rate memo.
- Textbooks, materials, software, and tests
- Up to $138.43 per student
- Electronic part of a curriculum
- If cost is incidental
- Health services
- Up to $89.75 per student
- Counseling and guidance, grades 7-12
- Up to $376.69 per student
- District classes through shared time
- As space allows
- Activity fees
- No higher than public students pay
Policy 611 does not give a request form or deadline, so ask the district office how to submit a formal request and when.
How to request materials
- By September 15
Make a formal request
Ask the district in writing for the materials, technology, tests, health services, or counseling you want.
- By October 1
File reports
Return the state Student Report for Aids to Nonpublic Students and any required immunization statements to the superintendent.
- During the year
Receive materials
The district loans or provides the items you requested, within the state funding it receives for your child.
- Each year
Request again
Requests and state funding cover one school year at a time.
What it includes
Included
- Textbooks and accompanying teacher materials
- Individualized or cooperative learning materials
- Software and educational technology
- Standardized tests
- Health services and counseling
- Shared-time classes and extracurricular activities
Not included
- Spending above the state funding amount
- Only the electronic part of a curriculum that also has physical parts, and only if it costs no more than an incidental amount.
- Minnesota State High School League costs for cooperative homeschool teams
Who to contact about homeschool services
The district office and superintendent receive homeschool reports and requests for materials and services.
bclarke@isd599.org 218-945-6983 Policy 611, Home Schooling
Homeschool rules and statewide help in Minnesota
You must file the initial report by October 1 of the first instructional year after the child turns seven, or after establishing a new resident district. You must file within 15 days of withdrawing a child seven or older from public school, or of moving out of a district. You must file annual continuation letters by October 1 for the required ages.
Minnesota sets these rules:
- Subjects: Teach reading, writing, literature, fine arts, math, science, history, geography, economics, government, citizenship, health, and PE. Instruction and materials are in English unless the statutory language-program exception applies.
- Testing: Annual nationally normed achievement test for ages 7–16, plus certain 16–17-year-olds first reported after age 16. Agree on the test, administration, and location with the superintendent. State-recognized accredited instruction is exempt.
- Records: Unless the accreditation exemption applies, keep schedules, materials, assessment methods, and proof of testing. Keep immunization or exemption records for five years after adulthood. File immunization statements by October 1 of the first homeschool year and grade 7.
- Teachers: A parent may teach without a degree if the assessment requirements are met. Other instructors need a qualifying license, licensed supervision, bachelor’s degree, or recognized accredited-school route.
Read the Minnesota homeschooling guide See statewide programs in Minnesota
Questions parents ask
- Will Fertile-Beltrami pay for an online curriculum?
- The district makes that part accessible on request.
- Can my child take classes at a Fertile-Beltrami school?
- Yes. A resident home-schooled child can enroll in district classes on the same basis as other nonpublic students, and the district may limit enrollment based on capacity.
- Can my child play sports?
- Only if your homeschool has five or fewer students. Then your child can take part in extracurricular activities on the same basis as public school students and cannot be charged higher fees.
- Does the district provide busing?
- Possibly. The district may provide nonregular transportation to home-schooled children, and the school board decides routes, stops, and methods.
Turn support into your child’s next lesson
Put eligible education funds toward a curriculum that teaches the courses and grades the work. Check the program’s purchasing rules before paying.
$149/month per child after the trial.
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