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State guide

Microschools in Colorado

The legal pathways, operator types, funding programs and licensing agencies Colorado recognizes, with links to the state code and agency pages that set the rules.

Sources last checked August 25, 2026·19 sources, 13 from law and government·See every source

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Which operator model are you in Colorado?

Answer below. You get a ranked list of the operator models that fit here, what each would mean for you, and what would change the answer. A ranking of fits, not a licensing determination.

1. Who holds legal responsibility for each child's education?

Determines your operator model.

2. Ages served

Used for regulatory routing and market targeting.

3. Children with disabilities

May trigger state licensing requirements.

4. Days per week
5. Daily hours
6. Instructor credentials
7. Is your program's mission explicitly religious or faith-integrated?

Distinguishes a Religious Community School from a secular private school. Leave blank if it doesn't apply.

8. How will your program be accredited or authorized?

Operating under an established school's umbrella points to an Umbrella School Satellite. Leave blank if it doesn't apply.

9. How will your program be funded?

Some statutory micro-models require no tuition or no public funding. Leave blank if it doesn't apply.

10. How many students do you expect to serve?

Some statutory micro-models cap enrollment (for example, Iowa's 4-student Independent Private Instruction). Leave blank if it doesn't apply.

0 of 6 required questions answered.

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This is general information, not legal advice. We're not attorneys. Colorado law and agency rules change, and how they apply depends on how your school is built: the ages you serve, your hours, and who holds legal responsibility for each child's education. Before you open, read the state rules linked on this page, talk to the agencies that administer them, and get advice from a licensed attorney in Colorado.

Compulsory attendance

Legal pathways Colorado recognizes

How a family satisfies compulsory attendance outside public school. Your operator type maps to one of these, and the statute linked on each card is what defines it.

Home Instruction

C.R.S. § 22-33-104.5 (Home-Based Education)

A parent may provide home-based education to satisfy compulsory attendance. Support hours (materials, enrichment, supervised practice alongside parent-delivered instruction) are one thing; being the instructor of record is another, and the second one is a private school.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Read the source:colorado.public.law ↗ed.cde.state.co.us ↗ed.cde.state.co.us ↗

For founders

Operator types in Colorado

What each type is, and who to talk to. The requirements to hold each designation are set by the statute and agency pages linked on the card; read them before you choose.

Independent Private School

An independent private school model where your school assumes full legal responsibility for enrolled students under C.R.S. § 22-33-104(2)(b).

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Certified Tutor Practice

Home-based education must be supervised by a parent, legal guardian, or parent-designated adult relative (§ 22-33-104.5(3)(e)). Tutoring is fine as SUPPLEMENTAL support alongside instruction a parent actually delivers in a home — it simply earns no compulsory-attendance credit.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Read the source:colorado.public.law ↗

Religious Community School

A faith-integrated model operating as a parochial school under C.R.S. § 22-33-104(2)(b).

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Childcare Preschool Program

Home-based family child care and center-based programs each have their own rule-sets (12 CCR 2509-8 and 2509-9).

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Colorado Department of Early Childhood, Division of Early Learning Licensing and AdministrationWho licenses this type

Umbrella School Satellite

If an existing Colorado private school wishes to operate multiple campuses, it can simply do so as additional locations under its own entity.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Read the source:colorado.public.law ↗ed.cde.state.co.us ↗

Check before you open

Could childcare rules apply to you?

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In Colorado, childcare licensing is administered by Colorado Department of Early Childhood, Division of Early Learning Licensing and Administration. The governing rules are cited as 1 CCR 304-1 (Rules for the Administration of the Facility Schools Act, Facility Schools Board); C.R.S. § 22-2-403 et seq.; SB23-219 (Specialized Day Schools). 8 CCR 1402-1 is CDEC's child-care facility licensing rule set, not the facility-school approval rules — this page previously cited it here.; C.R.S. § 26.5-5-301 et seq.; 12 CCR 2509-8 (Family Child Care Homes); 12 CCR 2509-9 (Child Care Centers).

Agency and rules:cde.state.co.us ↗ed.cde.state.co.us ↗leg.colorado.gov ↗cdec.colorado.gov ↗cdec.colorado.gov ↗cdec.colorado.gov ↗

Common triggers. Not a complete list:

  • caring for children below the state's compulsory school age
  • parents drop off and leave
  • before- or after-school care, or full-day hours
  • care in a home rather than a school space
  • the number of unrelated children in your care

Childcare rules can reach school-age children as well as preschoolers, and a microschool that fits a pathway above can still fall under them. Only the agency can tell you whether your program needs a license. Ask them before you open, and confirm with your attorney.

For families

Funding programs

Looking for money to start a school?

Grants and loans that aren't tied to one state, each linked to the funder's own page.

See the national list →

The state programs that can pay toward tuition or expenses at a program like yours. Award amounts, eligibility rules and application windows change often, so plan from the program pages, not from this summary.

Scholarship granting organization

Federal Education Freedom Tax Credit

Administered by No Colorado agency

Scholarships may fund K-12 tuition, tutoring, educational therapies for students with disabilities, and other education-related services.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Award amounts, eligibility rules and application windows change often. Check the program pages before you plan tuition or enrollment around them.

Program pages:cpr.org ↗coloradosun.com ↗ballotpedia.org ↗irs.gov ↗leg.colorado.gov ↗

Calendar

Where to find Colorado dates and deadlines

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We don't publish filing windows or due dates. A wrong date can cost a school year. These pages set them; check them directly, and again before you file.

Legislation

Law changes in Colorado

1 listed · Show

Bills the Colorado legislature passed that touch microschools, learning pods or education savings accounts, each read before it is listed. The sections above describe the law as we last verified it; a law listed here may change them.

  • CO SB023

    School Finance Act

    Publicly funded part-time programs for homeschool students, including microschools run by or for a district, charter school or BOCES, may not pay for private purchases for families, may not enroll students who attend an independent or parochial school, and need authorization to operate outside the provider's boundaries. A fully private microschool's students no longer count for part-time public funding.

    Became law May 28, 2026 · Takes effect May 28, 2026

    Became lawMicroschools and learning pods

Bill data from LegiScan LLC, CC BY 4.0. Updated Sep 26, 2026. Every law listed was read before it was listed. The summaries are ours and are not legal advice. Read the act on the legislature's site before you rely on it.

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Verification

Sources

Every source this page draws on, split by who published it. Check which group a link is in, and who published it, before you rely on it.

Law and government publications (13)

Government-published — which is not the same as state-published. Most are this state's own code, regulations, agency and legislature pages. Others are federal, and some of those only SUMMARISE this state's rules rather than setting them; a few are city or county government. A summary of the law is not the law, and neither a federal nor a local page is a source of state obligation — so check who published any you rely on.

Unofficial reproductions of the law (3)

Private publishers reproducing this state's statute and regulation verbatim. Faithful, and often the only free full text where a state runs no official code server — but not the official record, and not maintained by anyone the state answers for. Where exact wording decides something, confirm it against the state's own publication.

Supporting sources (3)

News coverage, program directories, advocacy and association publications. Useful context, and listed so you can see what this page drew on — but they are not the law and they are not the state speaking. This list is not mapped claim by claim, so if a specific fact matters to a decision, confirm it against a government source rather than assuming it came from one.

Explore nearby state guides

Founders often compare pathways, funding programs and operator types across nearby or high-demand states before choosing a launch path.

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Browse all 50 states and DC
General information only; not legal advice. The MicroSchool Lab is not a law firm. Consult a licensed attorney in Colorado and the agencies linked above before opening a school. Sources last checked August 25, 2026.
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