Wyoming Education Savings Account (Steamboat Legacy Scholarship)

Education savings account run by Wyoming Department of Education (State Superintendent of Public Instruction).

Last updated October 17, 2026

Official pages: Apply or sign up Handbook What the money can buy Approved vendors

Free during the beta. Record your award, deposits, purchases and receipts, see what each category needs, and print a family record of it. Corral never connects to the program portal, never asks for its password, and never moves money.

Following puts its announced application dates on your My Homeschool page. Email about it is a separate choice.

Homeschool students

WDE describes the ESA as usable for a private school “or through home-based education.” Any Wyoming resident child who is eligible to attend public school (age 5 by August 1 for kindergarten, under 21, no diploma or GED) qualifies if not enrolled in a public school; there is no income limit for K-12. The parent applies for all children on one application, signs the parent contract, and gives the local district written notice within 15 days (annually thereafter). The signed ESA agreement satisfies compulsory attendance, and by statute an ESA student taught in a non-school setting is not treated as a student of a home-based educational program under W.S. 21-4-101(a)(v). The parent must teach reading, writing, math, civics (U.S. and Wyoming constitutions), history, literature and science, and the student must take the state assessment or a nationally normed exam each year and upload results within 14 days. The 2026-27 application closed August 6, 2026. [S5]

Who can apply

• Student is a Wyoming resident and has not graduated from high school or received an equivalency certificate and is eligible to attend public school (K-12), or is at least 4 by August 1 and not yet old enough for public school (pre-K). [S6]
• K-12: age 5 on or before August 1 of the kindergarten year (or 5 by September 15 with a district attendance exception), and younger than 21 as of August 1 of the application year. [S5]
• The student may not be enrolled in a public school while participating, but may contract with a public school district or charter school for individual classes. [S5]
• No income limit for K-12. Pre-K only: household income at or below 250% of the federal poverty level. [S9]
• The custodial parent signs an agreement to use funds only for qualifying expenses, to provide instruction in the required subjects, to have the student take the statewide assessment or a nationally normed achievement exam, and to certify the student is not enrolled in a public school district. [S6]
• Families must reapply (renew) each year. [S5]

How much

$7,000 per eligible student per year (W.S. 21-2-903(a)), the same for K-12 students in any setting.

How it's paid: Scheduled to be deposited quarterly in equal installments into each approved student’s Odyssey account, with the first deposits from September 1, 2026 (WDE lists Q1 early September 2026, Q2 early November 2026, Q3 early February 2027, Q4 early May 2027). Students confirmed eligible for 2025-26 also receive the $1,750 Q4 2025-26 rollover, usable only for 2026-27 expenses. Purchases made before September 1, 2026 are not eligible for reimbursement (WDE, July 30, 2026).

Left over at year end: Unused funds roll over to the next year as long as the student stays in the program and remains eligible. The money remains the state’s property; if the account is closed, the balance reverts to the program account.

Dates

Spending

Spend mainly through the Odyssey account: buy from the pre-approved Marketplace, or pay a registered school’s tuition through the portal. Reimbursement to the family’s bank account is a fallback only when the item or service is not in the Marketplace and the vendor won’t join, and only for core-subject curriculum, student admission to museums and similar institutions, fee-for-service transportation, and internet fees. Requests must be filed in the portal within 30 days of purchase; WDE decides within 30 days. Purchases before September 1, 2026 are not reimbursable. [S8]

How Corral reads each kind of purchase for this program. These are starting points from the program’s own lists, not decisions: the program approves or denies each purchase.

Allowed, as the program lists it

• Tuition and fees at a qualified school; services contracted from a public school district or charter school (individual classes, extracurriculars). [S6]
• Tutoring by an individual or tutoring facility, not by the student’s immediate family. [S6]
• Textbooks, curriculum and instructional materials, including supplies, manipulatives, books and instruments. [S7]
• Computer hardware and devices primarily used for the student’s education; educational software and applications; internet service. [S7]
• Nationally standardized assessments, AP exams, college admission exams and prep courses. [S6]
• Summer education programs and specialized after-school programs (not childcare), including lessons and day camps; student-only field trip admissions. [S7]
• Tuition and fees at an institution of higher education. [S6]
• Tuition and fees for nongovernmental online learning programs. [S6]
• Educational services and therapies (occupational, behavioral, physical, speech-language, audiology). [S6]
• Fees paid to a fee-for-service transportation provider to travel to and from an education service provider. [S6]
• Career or technical school tuition, fees, materials and exam fees; school uniforms required by a private school; any other educational expense approved by the state superintendent. [S6]

Not allowed

• Long WDE list of disallowed items, including appliances, gift cards, groceries, home furnishings, TVs and home theater, phones and smartwatches, video game consoles, entertainment (movies, amusement parks), lodging, restaurants, medical services and medications, vehicles, live animals, pools, playground equipment, non-educational streaming and social media, weapons, and optional or donation fees. [S7]
• Funds may not be refunded, rebated or shared with a parent; refunds go back to the ESA. Personal deposits into the ESA are not permitted. [S6]
• Services may not be provided by the student’s immediate family (parents, step-parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, step- and half-siblings, first cousins). [S5]

Receipts and records

Keep receipts and records of all transactions; accounts are randomly audited. A reimbursement request needs a receipt showing vendor, date, total, an itemized list with full description of items or services, and proof of payment; handwritten receipts are not accepted. Annual assessment results must be uploaded within 14 days of receipt.

Approval before buying

Marketplace items are pre-approved. Anything outside the Marketplace must go through the reimbursement process (decided within 30 days) and is limited to the reimbursement categories.

Vendors

Purchases are made through the Odyssey Marketplace from approved education service providers, and private school tuition is paid through the portal. Reimbursement is allowed only after the family checks the Marketplace and asks the vendor to join, and only for core-subject curriculum, student admission fees to museums and similar institutions, fee-for-service transportation, and internet fees, submitted within 30 days of purchase. Expenses must be paid after services are provided or products ship, except enrollment or assessment tuition and fees.

Four separate questions: is the vendor approved by the program, is the kind of purchase allowed, does this item meet the program’s conditions, and did the program approve the claim. A yes to one is not a yes to the others.

Family members as vendors

Parent contract: services may not be provided by the student’s immediate family (parents, step-parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, step-siblings, half-siblings and first cousins).

Links

• Apply or join the interest list (edu.wyoming.gov)
• Handbook (edu.wyoming.gov)
• What you can buy (edu.wyoming.gov)
• Approved vendors (edu.wyoming.gov)
• Help: Program: [email protected] (Mon-Fri 8 a.m.-5 p.m.); ESA program manager (307) 823-0212; Odyssey technical support: [email protected]

Questions to ask the program

The official sources don’t settle these. Ask Wyoming Department of Education (State Superintendent of Public Instruction) before you count on them:

• Has my child's account been funded for 2026-27, or is it still waiting for approval or on a waitlist? WDE scheduled the first deposits from September 1, but money goes only into accounts that have been approved. Ask WDE ([email protected]) to confirm your child’s status before you plan purchases.
• What are the exact dates for the remaining 2026-27 quarterly deposits? WDE lists them only as early November, early February and early May.
• Is any amount held back from the $7,000 for program administration this year? State law allows a share to be withheld, but no official page says whether it is.
• Is there a last day to spend 2026-27 money or submit reimbursements, or do unused funds simply roll over? WDE has not published a year-end date; reimbursements are due within 30 days of each purchase.
• Are there limits on how many computers or other devices I can buy, or how often? The handbook says purchases may be limited by quantity and frequency but gives no specific limits.
• If the court case changes the program, what happens to money already in my child's account? The constitutional challenge is still pending in district court.

Sources

1. [S1] Education Savings Account - Wyoming Department of Education (official program page) · Program status; 2026-27 application; Who qualifies to receive an ESA? · checked October 6, 2026
2. [S2] Wyoming ESA Update: 2026-27 School Year Application Will Close at Midnight on August 6 (WDE bulletin) · Bulletin text · dated July 30, 2026 · checked October 6, 2026
3. [S3] Wyoming ESA Update: Wyoming Supreme Court Reverses Preliminary Injunction (WDE bulletin) · What does it mean? · dated May 14, 2026 · checked October 7, 2026
4. [S4] Degenfelder v. Wyoming Education Association, 2026 WY 54 (Wyoming Supreme Court opinion, Nos. S-25-0203, S-25-0204) · ¶1 and ¶42 · dated May 14, 2026 · checked October 6, 2026
5. [S5] Education Savings Account 2026-27 Family Handbook (WDE) · Introduction; K-12 Eligibility; Educational Expenses; Reimbursement; Managing Your ESA Account; ESA Funding & Payments; Parent Contract Assurances · updated September 2026 · checked October 6, 2026
6. [S6] Wyoming Statutes Title 21, W.S. 21-2-901 through 21-2-909 (Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Act), wyoleg.gov · W.S. 21-2-903(a), 21-2-904, 21-2-905, 21-2-906(a)(xiii) · checked October 6, 2026
7. [S7] Education Savings Account: Allowable and Disallowable Expense Guidance (WDE) · Permitted Expenses (A)-(P); Disallowable Expenses · checked October 6, 2026
8. [S8] Education Savings Account: Reimbursement Guidelines (WDE) · Steps 1-7; Please Note · checked October 6, 2026
9. [S9] Education Savings Account: Families FAQ (WDE) · Income requirements; disbursement; transfers between accounts · checked October 6, 2026
10. [S10] Education Savings Accounts (WDE) · Litigation update · checked October 6, 2026
11. [S11] Education Savings Accounts (WDE) · 2026-27 application · checked October 6, 2026
12. [S12] Wyoming ESA Update: 2026-27 School Year Application Launch Timeline (WDE bulletin) · Bulletin text · dated June 18, 2026 · checked October 9, 2026

Last updated October 17, 2026 · rule version 5 · next check by November 1, 2026. Found something out of date? Tell us.