Indiana Funding Guide: ESA, Medicaid Waivers, and Homeschool Funding
Facts checked September 18, 2026 · 6-minute read · by the Brainrich Kids team
Indiana's Education Scholarship Account serves students with disabilities and their siblings, and on July 1, 2026 it moved from the Treasurer of State to the Department of Education. Its qualified expenses are services, with no equipment category. The Family Supports Waiver carries the equipment line, with a lifetime cap and a long waiting list.
The quick answer for Indiana: Indiana's Education Scholarship Account (ESA) pays up to $20,000 a year for a student with an IEP, service plan, or choice special education plan, and up to $8,000 for siblings, through ClassWallet. A homeschooler may apply, but once enrolled the child is no longer an independent homeschooler. The qualified expense list covers services, with no equipment category. The Family Supports Waiver covers medically prescribed "Specialized Medical Equipment and Supplies" up to $15,000 over a lifetime, and 11,868 people were waiting as of August 2026.
Please read this first: program rules, amounts, and waitlists change every year, sometimes mid-year, and no vendor can promise that a program will approve a purchase. Every row below was checked against the linked source on September 18, 2026. Before you spend a dollar, confirm the current rules with the program itself.
Jump to: Indiana facts table · Can this fund a Brainrich gym? · Next steps · FAQ · The full guides · Sources
Indiana funding facts at a glance
Three kinds of public money can reach a family in Indiana: an education account or scholarship, a Medicaid waiver for a child with a developmental disability, and any homeschool-specific tax benefit. Here is what each official source says.
| Question | What the official source says (Indiana) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ESA or scholarship program | Indiana Education Scholarship Account (ESA, formerly INESA). Active for 2026-27. | Indiana Dept. of Education |
| Who runs it | Indiana Department of Education, as of July 1, 2026. The Treasurer of State ran it before that. | IDOE 2026-27 FAQ |
| Amount per student | Up to $20,000 a year for a student with a disability and up to $8,000 for a sibling. The formula is 100% of state special education dollars plus 90% of state tuition support, so the actual award depends on the district and disability level. | Indiana Dept. of Education |
| Who qualifies | Indiana residents ages 5 to 22 with an active Indiana IEP, service plan, or choice special education plan, plus their siblings. Not enrolled in a public, charter, or online public school. First come, first served within appropriated funding. | IDOE eligibility summary |
| Can homeschoolers use it? | Partly. Home education is an option, but once enrolled "the student is no longer considered to be an independent homeschooler." The child needs an ESA service plan or IEP and takes the state test. | INESA parent page |
| Curriculum | Allowed: curriculum and supplies, with curriculum vendors in ClassWallet. | INESA parent page |
| Therapies and therapy equipment | Therapy services from approved providers are allowed, including occupational therapy. No equipment category appears in the qualified expense list. | Program agreement |
| PE and play equipment | Not addressed, and no route found. The 2025-26 qualified expense list has ten service categories and no goods or equipment category. We could not read the 2026-27 handbook, so confirm with the program. | Program agreement |
| How purchases work | ClassWallet, with payments to approved providers and marketplace vendors. | IDOE 2026-27 FAQ |
| Medicaid waiver for children | Family Supports Waiver (the entry point for children and adults) and the Community Integration and Habilitation Waiver (priority criteria only). For applicants under 18, parental income is not counted. | Indiana FSSA |
| Equipment category to ask for | "Specialized Medical Equipment and Supplies": medically prescribed items needed for health, welfare, and safety. It excludes items "not of direct medical or remedial benefit" and needs a regular Medicaid denial first. Family Supports Waiver: $15,000 lifetime cap, inside a $26,482 yearly budget for all services. | DDARS waiver module |
| Waiver waitlist | "As of August 2026, there are 11,868 individuals on the Family Supports Waiver Waiting List." | FSSA waiting list page |
| Katie Beckett or TEFRA option | Confirm with the program. We could not verify this on an official source on September 18, 2026. | Ask the program |
| Other homeschool funding | Private School/Homeschool Deduction: a $1,000 deduction from income per qualified child. It is a deduction, not a credit, so it is worth roughly $30 per child at Indiana's flat rate. | Indiana Dept. of Revenue |
A row that reads "Confirm with the program" means we could not verify that fact on an official source, so we left it open instead of guessing.
Can this fund a Brainrich gym in Indiana?
A Brainrich gym is a steel indoor climbing frame: ladders, monkey bars, rings, a rope, and a swing point, for ages 3 and up with a parent in the same room. Programs do not approve brands. They approve categories, one purchase at a time. Here is how each lane looks today.
No equipment category
Education Scholarship Account
The qualified expense list is made of services: tuition, classes, therapies, tutoring, camps, and transportation. Nothing in it buys goods or equipment. Plan on a different lane for a gym.
Case by case
Family Supports Waiver
Specialized Medical Equipment and Supplies must be medically prescribed, of direct medical or remedial benefit, and denied by regular Medicaid first, and the lowest bid normally wins. Approval is decided case by case in your child's individual service plan, usually with an OT or PT recommendation attached, and most waivers pay only after regular Medicaid or private insurance has said no. No state approves play equipment automatically. With 11,868 people waiting, apply as early as you can.
Needs a Letter of Medical Necessity
HSA and FSA dollars (the same in every state)
HSA and FSA rules are federal, so Indiana families follow the same path as everyone else: with a qualifying diagnosis and a Letter of Medical Necessity, a play gym may be eligible. Your plan administrator makes the final call. Start with is a play gym HSA/FSA eligible? and the Letter of Medical Necessity template.
What Brainrich does, and does not do. We never promise that a program will approve a purchase. That decision belongs to the program. Applications, service plans, and therapist letters are the family's and their professional's work.
The one document we provide is an itemized invoice or quote. Email info@brainrichkids.com with (1) your full name, (2) your address, and (3) the model and color. We send back the invoice with shipping, applicable taxes, and the full total, ready for a case worker or a program portal.
🧩 A budget does not have to cover the whole build
Every Brainrich gym is modular. A Model T3 that fits this year's budget becomes a Spider V3 the day you add the Monkey Bars, and each add-on is its own purchase with its own invoice. Families fund the frame from one budget cycle and the expansion from a later one, out of pocket, or as a gift. That means matching real purchases to real budget cycles. It never means splitting a single purchase to slip under a review threshold, which programs treat as a red flag.
Next steps for Indiana families
1. If your child has a developmental disability, apply to the Bureau of Disabilities Services for the Family Supports Waiver and track your place on the waitlist portal.
2. ESA families: use the account for therapies, tutoring, and classes from approved providers.
3. When a case worker, support broker, or program portal asks for pricing, request an itemized invoice from us: email info@brainrichkids.com with your full name, your address, and the model and color. We reply with shipping, applicable taxes, and the full total.
Frequently asked questions: Indiana
Does Indiana have an ESA (education savings account)? Yes, for students with disabilities and their siblings. The Education Scholarship Account pays up to $20,000 a year for a student with an IEP, service plan, or choice special education plan, and up to $8,000 for a sibling. The Indiana Department of Education has run it since July 1, 2026.
Can Indiana homeschoolers use the ESA? Partly. Homeschoolers may apply, but once enrolled the student is no longer considered an independent homeschooler. The child needs an ESA service plan or IEP and takes the state test.
Can the Indiana ESA pay for a play gym or PE equipment? No route was found. The qualified expense list covers services such as tuition, therapies, tutoring, and camps, and has no goods or equipment category.
Which Indiana Medicaid waiver can fund sensory or adaptive equipment? The Family Supports Waiver covers medically prescribed "Specialized Medical Equipment and Supplies" up to $15,000 over a lifetime, inside a $26,482 yearly budget. As of August 2026, 11,868 people were on the waiting list.
Does Brainrich work with Indiana funding programs? We provide the itemized invoice or quote that Indiana programs and case workers ask for: email info@brainrichkids.com with your full name, your address, and the model and color, and we send it back with shipping, applicable taxes, and the full total. We do not prepare applications or service plans, and we never promise that a program will approve a purchase. That decision belongs to the program.
📚 The full funding guides
Can You Buy PE and Play Equipment With ESA Funds? · State Disability Waiver Programs: All 50 States · Homeschool Grants and Funding, State by State · Is a Play Gym HSA/FSA Eligible? · Letter of Medical Necessity Template · Financial Assistance: every door in one place · Funding guides for other states
Sources
All sources checked September 18, 2026. Indiana Department of Education. Education Scholarship Account. · Indiana Department of Education. 2026-27 ESA FAQ. · Indiana Department of Education. 2026-27 ESA funding levels and eligibility. · Indiana Treasurer of State. INESA parent page. · INESA. Parent program agreement, July 1, 2025. · Indiana Department of Revenue. Deductions. · Indiana FSSA. HCBS waiver waiting list information. · Indiana Medicaid. DDARS HCBS waivers provider module.