Home Education Funding
Funding Claims Form – Parent Led Program or Shared Responsibility Program ONLY
Click the button to access the Funding Claims Form. Please read below for instructions and other information regarding submitting your funding claims.
Home Education Available Funding
Home education students will receive up to a maximum of 850$ per child. I say “a maximum of” because the amount is affected depending on whether you are part of the Home Education program (parent-led) or if you have chosen the Shared Responsibility program (parent-led and teacher-led).
Shared responsibility funding is related to the percentage of courses that are teacher led (online) vs. parent led. For example, if a student is doing 50% of their courses online, the student will only receive 50% of the $850 home education funding (850-50%=$425) or if the student is completing 75% of their courses online, they will only receive 25% of the $850 home education funding ($850-75%=$212.50).
Again this year, if you submit qualifying receipts for 75% of your allotted funding amount you will be issued a reimbursement of your full allotted amount. For example if your full allotted amount is $850 and your qualifying receipts add up to $637.50, we will send you a cheque for $850.
Receipt Submission Instructions
We will again be accepting submissions electronically through a google form. Prior to beginning the reimbursement process, please make sure that:
+ you qualify for funding
+ the items purchased are related to your student’s plan and have been added to the reimbursement column of your student’s plan
+ that you have receipts available for the items being claimed for.
To make this as easy as possible please make sure that you have scanned and labeled your receipts as separate PDF documents (one receipt per pdf document).
For anything that is not in Canadian funds, you will also need the Visa/Mastercard statement showing the amount you paid in Canadian dollars. If that is not available, you can use https://www1.oanda.com/currency/converter/ as proof of currency for the day of purchase. All you need to do is to click on the website link, adjust the currency and date boxes, and then select the print link. This will open the print dialog box where you can choose to save as pdf.
Receipt Requirements
On your receipt, you must be able to see:
+ vendor name
+ date (we will only process receipts dated from May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024)
+ detailed list of items purchased – items purchased must be shown to make it clear what items were purchased.
+ proof of payment: Visa, Master Card, Debit, Cheque or Cash
+ total of purchase
Mastercard/Visa statements do not qualify as receipts.
Costly Items
When submitting receipts, costly items are always great for reimbursement. For example, if you have a receipt for a swim pass, ski pass, microscope, computer, printer, it allows you to be able to access your full funding sooner being that you might be able to reach your 75% allotment and be reimbursed your full amount sooner.
Internet Receipts
Internet receipts are fantastic also. You can claim 50% of your monthly fee for the entire year in one go. For your internet bill submission, scan all the pages of your September internet bill, multiply the internet portion of your bill by 12 months, divide the total by 2 and submit that amount when filling out your form. This is a great big ticket item.
Items the qualify for Reimbursement ONLY on Receipt
We are asking that receipts are submitted with only the items that are being reimbursed for on them. For example, if I go to Dollarama to purchase pencils, paper, rulers, duotangs, and colouring crayons and realize I need a few groceries and some cleaning products, I need to proceed to the till and make two separate purchases, one purchase for the items needed for my child’s program and another transaction for my own household needs. This way the receipt being submitted to PACeS only has the items relating to your students claims on it.
Splitting Receipts
If you have a receipt where different items apply to different students, please be sure that the items are properly labeled with the students initials next to the item that applies to that student, and with the total amount you wish to have reimbursed for that student.
Splitting Specific Items
For bigger ticket items, we completely understand if some items are split, as at times this helps to balance out the students used/unused funding. When submitting these receipts, please be sure to label and give the specific amounts you wish each student to claim.
For smaller ticket items such as a book being used by many students, the item does not need to be split by all the students using it, it can be claimed by just one of the students. For example, If “Owls in the family” is purchased, and all the students in that home will be using the book in the year, the book total does not need to be divided and claimed between all the students. It is absolutely fine that it is reimbursed only for the one student. This will make submissions a little easier for you.
Reimbursement Guidelines
What items are covered by student funding?
+ Consumables – paper, pencils, art supplies, general workbooks, ink
+ Curriculum based – workbooks, textbooks, reading books
+ Online curriculum programs – learning programs on CD
+ Learning aids – manipulatives (supported in the program plan)
+ Computers, technology equipment (i.e., printers), including repairs and upgrades
+ Internet services (per household) – 50% of monthly fee from September to end of August
+ Tutoring – Group or individual lessons necessary for the student’s program delivered by a subject matter expert who is not an immediate family member
+ Lessons – including, but not limited to, music, swimming, and language lessons taught by a certified instructor and in relation to the student’s program
+ Tangible assets – e.g., cameras, telescopes, musical instruments, physical education equipment, sewing machines
+ Home economic edibles
+ Admissions/field trips (up to a maximum of 50% of the funding provided to parents) – Ensure reimbursements are for activities related to the student’s program, which may include zoo admission, theatre tickets related to literature study, museum admissions, science centre entrance fees, and multi-use recreation centres.
+ Multiple admissions or annual passes are acceptable for activities when directly related to the student’s home education plan. Reimbursement for parent admissions and travel costs are not acceptable.
+ Postage/shipping and handling from vendors to the home education family
What items will not be covered by student funding?
– Furniture
– Warranties/insurance
– Competitions – including, but not limited to, swim meets and tournament costs
– Registration fees – including, but not limited to, sports teams, community leagues, and summer camps
– Per Section 7(4)(b)(ii) of the Home Education Regulation, reimbursements to parents are not acceptable for personal remuneration and payment for travel costs or other expenses usually required to be paid by a parent of a student who is enrolled in a school operated by a board or independent school.
Deadlines
2023/2024 School Year
Home Education Funding receipts for the 2023-2024 school year should be submitted by April 30, 2024. These receipts must be dated between May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024 and must apply to the 2023/2024 program plan in order to qualify. However, Alberta Education will allow parents up to two years to access Home Education funding but any receipts submitted after the April 30, 2024 deadline may not be processed until after October of 2024.
2022/2023 School Year
Home Education Funding receipts for the 2022-2023 school year should be submitted by April 30, 2023. These receipts must be dated between May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023 and must apply to the 2022/2023 program plan in order to qualify. However, Alberta Education will allow parents up to two years to access Home Education funding but any receipts submitted after the April 30, 2023 deadline may not be processed until after October of 2023.
Direct Deposit Form
Direct Deposit is a fast and secure way to receive reimbursements from PACeS directly into your bank account. The form linked below helps to provide account information to set up direct deposit. Simply print, complete and email it to Corene Glover at cglover@albertaadventist.ca along with a voided cheque or a “Direct Deposit Form” from your bank.
Direct Deposit Form
Unused Funding
Do You Want to Transfer your Unused Parental Portion of Home Education Funding to the School?
The Home Education Grant supports educational choice for students and parents. For each home education student, the school authority (excluding third-party home education providers) is provided 50 per cent of the funding to support the home education student, and 50 per cent of the funding is provided to the parent and/or guardian as reimbursement for instructional materials and services that support the instructional program at home. Furthermore, parents who submit receipts for at least 75 per cent of eligible expenses will receive the entire $850. Parents have up to two years to access the parental portion of the home education funding.
Parents will be allowed to transfer some or all of the unclaimed parental portion of the home education funding to the associate school authority for education supports should they choose to. If parents decide to transfer their funding, they are required to sign the Parent Declaration below to facilitate this transfer.
The deadline for this declaration form is June 30 of the current academic school year for the school’s year-end accounting purposes.
Please submit the form below to viceprincipal@pacescanada.org
Transfer of Parental Portion of Home Education Funding Parent Declaration Form