The Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship for Home-Educated Ohio Children, in Plain English
By My Learning Source · November 2, 2026 · Scholarships, Guides
If your child has an IEP and you homeschool in Ohio, or you're thinking about it, someone has probably told you the Jon Peterson Scholarship "follows the child." That's partly true. It can pay for therapy, intervention and aide services while you keep teaching at home. But it runs on rules most homeschool families have never dealt with, and it doesn't pay for homeschooling itself. Here's what it is, who qualifies and what it pays for in the 2026–27 school year, in plain English. Our Ohio homeschool options guide keeps the official links in one place.
What the scholarship is
The Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship (JPSN) is a state program in Ohio Revised Code sections 3310.51 to 3310.64, run by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (DEW). It pays an approved provider for the special education services written into your child's individualized education program (IEP), in place of the services your school district would deliver. The money doesn't land in an account for you to spend however you like. It pays a provider DEW has registered.
Providers come in a few types: private schools, public entities and businesses. A homeschool family uses a business provider. DEW's JPSN page puts it in one sentence: "If they are enrolling with a business provider the parent will be responsible for Home Educating their child." You keep teaching math, reading and the rest. The provider delivers the IEP services.
Who qualifies
The definition of a "qualified special education child" is in ORC 3310.51. Boiled down, your child needs all of these:
- Age 3 through 21. DEW says children ages 3 and 4 have been eligible since September 30, 2025, with a compliant evaluation team report (ETR) and IEP.
- Identified as a child with a disability by your school district of residence, with an ETR saying the child needs special education or related services.
- A current IEP from that district. DEW says the IEP must be finalized, with everyone, including you, in agreement.
- No EdChoice scholarship or Autism Scholarship approved for the same school year. You pick one.
- You and your child in compliance with Ohio's compulsory attendance law. For a homeschool family, that means your home education notice is on file with the superintendent.
That last point trips people up. JPSN isn't a substitute for the homeschool notice. File the notice first, keep the superintendent's acknowledgment letter, then apply. The law also bars DEW from requiring income verification for JPSN (ORC 3310.52), so household income doesn't matter.
How much it pays for 2026–27
The award depends on the primary disability listed on your child's ETR. DEW's FY2027 category amounts (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027) set these maximums:
- 0,045: speech or language impairment. Related services in the IEP only, no tuition.4,080: vision impairment or major other health impairment.3,069: specific learning disability, intellectual disability or minor other health impairment.0,069: hearing impairment or emotional disturbance.
Those are ceilings, not checks. The scholarship pays the lesser of the provider's fees or the maximum for your child's category. If the provider charges more, you pay the difference. DEW also says a student must be in the program the entire year to receive the full amount, so a mid-year start means a prorated award.
What it pays for, and what it doesn't
For a home-educated child with a business provider, DEW's comparison document (July 2025) describes three kinds of billable services: intervention services tied to the child's IEP goals, aide services, and related services listed in the IEP. Think speech therapy, occupational therapy, a reading intervention specialist or an aide. The statute also lets you use more than one provider, and lets services be delivered virtually by licensed teachers, permitted aides and credentialed providers.
What it doesn't cover: your general homeschool curriculum, services before DEW approves the scholarship in writing, and anything above the category maximum. A business provider also doesn't issue report cards, transcripts or diplomas. Those stay with you as the home educator.
Your district stays in the picture
Under ORC 3310.53, your district still develops the IEP for a JPSN student, and you keep a continuing right to one. But while your child uses the scholarship, the district isn't obligated to provide a free appropriate public education. If you stop taking the scholarship and enroll your child in the district's special education program, that obligation comes back.
That trade matters because DEW's Home Education Fact Sheet says home-educated children aren't eligible to receive IEP services from their district of residence. For a family that keeps homeschooling, JPSN or the Autism Scholarship is the state-funded route to those services.
The strings attached
- Testing to renew. To keep the scholarship, your child must take the state achievement tests for the child's grade unless the IEP or federal law excuses them (ORC 3310.522). Most Ohio homeschoolers never test. JPSN families do.
- An approved provider. A tutor or therapist you like can't bill the scholarship unless the business is registered with DEW for that year.
- A current IEP. You stay in contact with your district for evaluations and IEP meetings, and the provider sends progress reports on IEP goals to the district.
One family's year
The Okonkwos live outside Hilliard and withdrew their son, a third grader with a specific learning disability, from public school last spring. They filed their home education notice that week, and the superintendent's acknowledgment came back about ten days later. A neighbor told them JPSN would "pay for homeschool." It doesn't. What it did pay for was a reading intervention specialist from an approved business provider, three sessions a week, billed against the
(A composite example — names and details are illustrative, drawn from situations homeschool families commonly describe.)
Checklist before you apply
- File your home education notice and keep the acknowledgment letter.
- Confirm your child has a current, finalized IEP from your district of residence.
- Find the primary disability on the ETR and look up the FY2027 maximum.
- Search DEW's Scholarship Provider Directory for business providers near you.
- Ask each provider what it charges, what it bills and how state testing will be handled.
- Decide between JPSN and the Autism Scholarship. You can't hold both in the same year.
- Browse therapists and tutors in our vendor directory, and track DEW dates on our education calendar.
Questions go to DEW at peterson.scholarship@education.ohio.gov or 614-728-3480.
My Learning Source is an independent marketplace and is not affiliated with the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Program or any Ohio school district. Amounts and rules change each year — confirm details with DEW and your provider before you act. Family examples are composites, not real individuals.