This year, for the first time, Steph’s kids are technically public school students. In this episode she shares why her family enrolled in a hands-off online charter school while she keeps choosing curriculum and teaching at home. She explains how the funding decision compared to Idaho’s new Parental Choice Tax Credit, and her honest feelings about state testing. If your plans changed this year, this one’s a reminder that adjusting isn’t failing.

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Our curriculum this year:

• Language Arts and Handwriting: The Good and the Beautiful: https://www.goodandbeautiful.com/pre-k-8-curriculum
• Math: Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/math
• Typing: TypingClub: https://www.typingclub.com

Funding options for Idaho families:

• Braintree Academy (the program we use, also available in Indiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Wyoming): https://www.braintree4me.com
• Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit (official program site): https://myschoolchoice.idaho.gov/
• Idaho State Tax Commission, credit details and advance payment: https://tax.idaho.gov/taxes/income-tax/individual-income/popular-credits-and-deductions/parental-choice-tax-credit-and-advance-payment/
• Homeschool laws by state (HSLDA): https://hslda.org/legal

Note for Idaho families: you can’t claim the Parental Choice Tax Credit for any semester your child is enrolled in a public school, charter school, or virtual charter, so check before you enroll.

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Corrections and updates (as of October 3, 2026)Texas ESA: Texas Education Freedom Accounts actually fund students for the first time this school year, 2026-27. Homeschool students get $2,000 a year. Check the official site for next year's dates.Maryland and Iowa: I described these funding bills as moving through committee right now. Both states' 2026 legislative sessions ended in the spring. Iowa's homeschool tax credit didn't make the list of bills that passed, and I couldn't find any record of Maryland's HB 1204 passing. Watch for them to come back next session.Ten Commandments case: I said an appeal to the Supreme Court was planned. It's already happened: the ACLU and Texas families asked the Supreme Court to review the case on August 17, 2026. The Court hasn't said yet whether it will take it. I'll share updates as they come.

Sources: NCES, public school enrollment projections: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cga/public-school-enrollment K-12 Dive, birth rate decline (citing Bellwether): https://www.k12dive.com/news/where-and-why-public-school-enrollment-keeps-declining/826269/ New Hampshire HB 1268 (NHPR): https://www.nhpr.org/education/2026-07-13/ayotte-signs-bill-loosening-homeschooling-requirements Texas Education Freedom Accounts (official site): https://educationfreedom.texas.gov/ Iowa 2026 session recap (Iowa Capital Dispatch): https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/05/04/the-2026-legislative-session-is-over-heres-what-passed-failed-and-what-is-already-iowa-law/ https://machemd.org/legislative-update-what-maryland-homeschoolers-need-to-know/ https://hslda.org/post/hb-5468 https://www.eastidahonews.com/2026/03/gov-brad-little-signs-public-school-moment-of-silence-bill-into-law/ https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/split-fifth-circuit-oks-texas-ten-commandments-in-classroom-law https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/supreme-court-asked-to-review-texas-law-requiring-the-ten-commandments-in-public-schools https://ballotpedia.org/State_policies_on_cellphone_use_in_K-12_public_schools https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB108/text/CHAP0331

Brittanie Bates is Senior Vice President of Crimson Global Academy, a fully accredited private online school serving 2,800+ students in 70 countries. As founding Academic Head of CGA's US Diploma Pathway, she's grown the US program to a global community of 400+ students, and she's also a parent of a CGA student herself. In this episode she talks with Steph about how online school can still build real connection, how credits transfer back to homeschool and local high school programs, and how CGA partners with families rather than replacing them.

Connect with Brittanie Bates / Crimson Global Academy:

• Website: https://www.crimsonglobalacademy.school/us/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crimsonglobalacademy/ (school account; no personal IG on file for Brittanie)
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crimsonglobalacademy/
• LinkedIn (school): https://www.linkedin.com/school/crimsonglobalacademy/
• LinkedIn (Brittanie personally): https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanie-bates-82399829/