Homeschool benefits: Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools
Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools (ISD 719) reimburses homeschool families for new, secular textbooks, learning materials, and standardized tests, up to a per-student rate that was $132.98 in 2025-26; Minnesota's 2026-27 rate is $138.43. The aid form is due October 1, and receipts for items bought July 1 to April 30 are due April 30.
Who qualifies
Reports to ISD 719
Send the Initial Registration Form in your first year and the Letter of Intent to Continue by October 1 each later year to the Office of Learning, Achievement and Innovation.
Filed the aid form on time
Turn in the MDE Report for Aid to Nonpublic Homeschool Students at the District Services Center by October 1. Forms submitted after that cannot be processed.
Buys new, secular materials
Items must be secular, designed for your student's individual use, available for public schools to buy, and new.
Buys in the purchase window
Only purchases made in that window, for use in the current school year, are reimbursed.
What it is worth
The district's posted receipt form gives the 2025-26 rate of $132.98 per student, the inventory periods, and what is and is not reimbursed.
- 2025-26 rate on the district form
- $132.98
- Minnesota 2026-27 rate
- $138.43
- Shipping costs
- Reimbursed
- Sales tax
- Not reimbursed
- Workbooks kept on inventory
- 1 year
- Other materials kept on inventory
- 3 years
The posted receipt form is still the 2025-26 version, so ask the district office for the 2026-27 form and confirm the rate before you submit.
From filing to reimbursement
- By October 1
File the aid form
Bring or send the MDE Report for Aid to the District Services Center, 4540 Tower St. SE, Prior Lake.
- Before you buy
Ask for approval if unsure
Email the product link to the district for approval before purchasing, or use the district's Purchase Order Request.
- July 1 to April 30
Buy eligible items
Keep the receipts and list only the items you want reimbursed on the district form.
- By April 30
Submit receipts
Send the District Aid Reimbursement Receipt Form with receipts.
- After reimbursement
Keep the materials
Reimbursed items belong to ISD 719.
What it pays for
Covered
- Textbooks, workbooks, and e-books
- Manipulatives, models, maps, and flashcards
- Educational games, audio books, and magazines
- Current-year subscriptions
- Standardized tests and scoring services
Not covered
- Teacher manuals sold separately
- Writing paper, art, and science supplies
- Calculators, cameras, and musical instruments
- Multiyear subscriptions
- Dictionaries, library books, and other reference books
Teacher's editions count only when your student's textbook can be bought only packaged with them.
Who to contact
The Office of Learning, Achievement and Innovation is the district's designated contact for homeschool forms, aid, and reimbursement questions.
tschuckthorp@plsas.org 952-226-0055 Homeschool page
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
- Do we own what Prior Lake's aid pays for?
- No. Reimbursed items are district property that you keep and maintain, and you cannot sell or give them away.
- Can Prior Lake check an item before I buy it?
- Yes. The district invites you to email the product link for approval before you purchase.
- Will Prior Lake reimburse an online subscription?
- Only for the current school year. A subscription covering several school years is not eligible.
- How is the money paid?
- By check, issued on the timeline set by the district's fiscal services department.
Turn support into your child’s next lesson
TheHomeschoolingCompany offers one subject or a full curriculum. Check the program’s purchasing rules before using funds to pay for a plan.
$149/month per child after the trial.
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