Homeschool reimbursement and benefits in Rhode Island

Textbook loans are a benefit, not cash reimbursement or a homeschool tax credit. Local programs can still help with specific costs and services.

By Andrew Garber, founder of TheHomeschoolingCompany. Reviewed August 25, 2026.

What public funding exists, and what it asks of you

Your local school committee must lend textbooks to your homeschooled child free of charge. The loan covers grades K-12 in mathematics, science, modern foreign languages, English language arts, and history or social studies, and each book must appear on the State Approved Textbook List that the Commissioner publishes every year. The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) says the loan includes e-books and other digital materials the public schools use as textbooks in those subjects. You buy any other materials yourself.

If your child has an IEP or a Section 504 plan, RIDE says districts must provide homeschooled students with FAPE, a free appropriate public education, in a similar way as students whose parents placed them in private schools. Each school committee decides whether your child may join public school extracurricular activities.

If you save in CollegeBound Saver, the state's 529 plan, it says withdrawals for qualified K-12 expenses are free from federal and Rhode Island income tax, up to $20,000 a year starting January 1, 2026. Those expenses must relate to enrollment or attendance at a public, private, or religious school.

Local help in Rhode Island

The local programs we have checked across the state cover library resources, school services, and recreation. Each local program sets its own rules for who qualifies. Search your ZIP code to see the ones that serve your address.

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The state's homeschool rules

You must seek approval from local school committee.

• Subjects: Provide instruction in English in reading, writing, geography, arithmetic, US and Rhode Island history, American government, civics, health, and physical education. Instruction must be thorough and efficient.
• Testing: Agree on an evaluation method with the local school committee during approval. Rhode Island does not prescribe a single statewide annual homeschool test.
• Records: Keep attendance records and return them to the local school committee. Provide progress reports or evaluations as agreed during approval.
• Teachers: Rhode Island does not require a teaching certificate or degree to homeschool your own child.

Read the Rhode Island homeschooling guide