Ohio Funding Guide: ESA, Medicaid Waivers, and Homeschool Funding
Facts checked September 18, 2026 · 6-minute read · by the Brainrich Kids team
Ohio has no education savings account. The ACE program stopped taking claims in October 2025, and a proposed ESA bill has not passed. What remains is a $250 homeschool tax credit and two special needs scholarships that pay providers, not parents. The developmental disability waivers publish their dollar limits.
The quick answer for Ohio: Ohio has no ESA: the ACE account ended, with the last claims accepted October 15, 2025. The Autism Scholarship and Jon Peterson Scholarship can serve home-educated children, but only by paying a registered provider for IEP services, never equipment. The Home School Expenses Credit is $250 per student, nonrefundable. The Level One, SELF, and Individual Options waivers cover "Specialized Medical Equipment and Supplies" up to $10,000 per item, but the item must not be for recreational purposes.
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: Ohio facts table · Can this fund a Brainrich gym? · Next steps · FAQ · The full guides · Sources
Ohio funding facts at a glance
Three kinds of public money can reach a family in Ohio: 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 (Ohio) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ESA or scholarship program | No ESA. The Afterschool Child Enrichment (ACE) account has ended, and the last day to submit claims was October 15, 2025. A proposed nonchartered ESA bill (SB 68) is still as introduced. | Ohio Dept. of Education and Workforce |
| Who runs it | Ohio Department of Education and Workforce runs the remaining scholarships: EdChoice (private school tuition), the Autism Scholarship, and the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship. | Ohio scholarships |
| Amount per student | No ESA amount. For 2026-27 the Autism Scholarship maximum is $34,000, and Jon Peterson runs from $10,045 to $34,000 by disability category. | Jon Peterson Scholarship |
| Who qualifies | Autism Scholarship: a child identified with autism, with an IEP or an Autism Education Plan, from age 3. Jon Peterson: a student with an IEP from the district of residence. No income limits. | Autism Scholarship |
| Can homeschoolers use it? | Partly. A home-educating family can use either scholarship, but only to pay a registered provider for IEP services. The money never reaches the parent. | Autism Scholarship |
| Curriculum | Not covered for home educators. The parent supplies the curriculum at their own cost. | Jon Peterson Scholarship |
| Therapies and therapy equipment | Therapy services written into the IEP and delivered by a registered provider are covered. There is no goods or equipment category. | Jon Peterson Scholarship |
| PE and play equipment | Not available. Neither scholarship has any way to buy goods or equipment. | Ohio scholarships |
| How purchases work | None. There is no parent account. Registered providers invoice the state directly. | Ohio scholarships |
| Medicaid waiver for children | Individual Options (IO), Level One, and SELF waivers, none with an age requirement, reached through your county board of developmental disabilities. | Ohio DODD |
| Equipment category to ask for | "Specialized Medical Equipment and Supplies" (up to $10,000 per item), "Assistive Technology" ($5,000), and "Participant-Directed Goods and Services" ($2,500 on Level One). The plan must show a medical or remedial benefit, and the item must "not be for recreational purposes." The state lists some sensory items as possibly coverable. Level One and SELF limit a child to $41,424 a year overall. | DODD equipment guidance |
| Waiver waitlist | County level. Each county board runs the waiting list assessment. Statewide count: confirm with the program. | Ohio DODD |
| 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 | Home School Expenses Credit: the lesser of $250 per qualifying student or the amount paid, nonrefundable, for books, supplies, and software. Computers and devices are excluded. | Ohio IT 1040 instructions |
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 Ohio?
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 program to use
Ohio education funding
With ACE closed, Ohio has no account a family can spend on equipment. The special needs scholarships pay registered providers for services only, and the $250 homeschool credit covers books, supplies, and software.
Case by case
Level One, SELF, and Individual Options
Ohio publishes clear limits, and also a clear test: equipment must show a medical or remedial benefit, backed by a clinical assessment, and must not be for recreational purposes. A request has to be framed and documented by your child's clinician around function, and items coverable by regular Medicaid must be pursued there first. 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.
Needs a Letter of Medical Necessity
HSA and FSA dollars (the same in every state)
HSA and FSA rules are federal, so Ohio 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 Ohio families
1. Contact your county board of developmental disabilities for a waiting list assessment if your child may qualify for a waiver.
2. Homeschoolers: claim the $250 per student Home School Expenses Credit for books and supplies on your Ohio return.
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: Ohio
Does Ohio have an ESA (education savings account)? No. The ACE educational savings account has ended, and the last day to submit claims was October 15, 2025. A proposed nonchartered ESA bill has not become law. EdChoice covers private school tuition only.
What funding can Ohio homeschoolers use? The Home School Expenses Credit, $250 per qualifying student, nonrefundable, for books, supplies, and software. A home-educated child with an IEP can also use the Autism or Jon Peterson scholarship, but only to pay a registered provider for services.
Can Ohio education funding pay for a play gym or PE equipment? No. Ohio has no ESA, the special needs scholarships have no goods category, and the homeschool credit covers books, supplies, and software.
Which Ohio Medicaid waiver can fund sensory or adaptive equipment? The Level One, SELF, and Individual Options waivers. Specialized Medical Equipment and Supplies is limited to $10,000 per item, must show a medical or remedial benefit, and must not be for recreational purposes. Waiting lists are run by each county board.
Does Brainrich work with Ohio funding programs? We provide the itemized invoice or quote that Ohio 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. Ohio DEW. ACE program notice. · Ohio DEW. Autism Scholarship. · Ohio DEW. Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship. · Ohio Legislature. SB 68 status. · Ohio Department of Taxation. 2025 IT 1040 instructions. · Ohio DODD. Level One Waiver. · Ohio DODD. SELF Waiver. · Ohio DODD. Specialized Medical Equipment and Supplies.