Colorado Funding Guide: ESA, Medicaid Waivers, and Homeschool Funding
Facts checked September 21, 2026 · 6-minute read · by the Brainrich Kids team
Colorado has no education savings account; voters turned down Amendment 80 in 2024. The Children's Extensive Support Waiver is one of the few in the country that names adaptive recreational equipment, and its yearly limit for that category is $1,000.
The quick answer for Colorado: Colorado has no ESA and no homeschool tax benefit. Amendment 80 failed on November 5, 2024 with 49.3% yes. The state has elected into the 2027 federal scholarship tax credit, which funds scholarship organizations. For a child with I/DD, the Children's Extensive Support (CES) Waiver (ages 0 to 17, child's income only) lists "Adaptive Therapeutic Recreational Equipment and Fees," limited to $1,000 a year, plus "Specialized Medical Equipment and Supplies" and "Assistive Technology." A play gym is case by case, above the recreational cap.
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 21, 2026. Before you spend a dollar, confirm the current rules with the program itself.
Jump to: Colorado facts table · Can this fund a Brainrich gym? · Next steps · FAQ · The full guides · Sources
Colorado funding facts at a glance
Three kinds of public money can reach a family in Colorado: 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 (Colorado) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ESA or scholarship program | No ESA, voucher, or tax-credit scholarship. Amendment 80 (a constitutional right to school choice) failed on November 5, 2024: 1,507,236 yes (49.32%) to 1,548,679 no. Colorado is on the IRS list of states electing into the 2027 federal scholarship tax credit. | Colorado election results |
| Who runs it | Not applicable. Medicaid waivers are run by the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) through Case Management Agencies. | Colorado HCPF |
| Amount per student | Not applicable. Colorado has no family-directed education account. | Ask the program |
| Who qualifies | Not applicable. Colorado has no family-directed education account. | Ask the program |
| Can homeschoolers use it? | No program to use. No K to 12 tax credit or deduction found on official sources. The federal scholarship tax credit Colorado joined funds scholarship organizations, not family accounts. | IRS participating states |
| Curriculum | Not applicable. Colorado has no family-directed education account. | Ask the program |
| Therapies and therapy equipment | Not applicable. Colorado has no family-directed education account. | Ask the program |
| PE and play equipment | Not applicable. Colorado has no family-directed education account. | Ask the program |
| How purchases work | None. | Ask the program |
| Medicaid waiver for children | Children's Extensive Support (CES) Waiver, ages 0 to 17, for children with I/DD (or a developmental delay under 5) and intensive needs, using the child's income only. Also the Children with Complex Health Needs Waiver (CHCBS and CLLI merged, July 2025) and the Children's Habilitation Residential Program. | Colorado HCPF |
| Equipment category to ask for | CES: "Adaptive Therapeutic Recreational Equipment and Fees" (adapted to the child's disability, such as adaptive bicycles, strollers, and toys), $1,000 a year combined for FY2026; "Specialized Medical Equipment and Supplies" (devices that increase ability to perform daily living activities, up to CCB thresholds before prior authorization); "Assistive Technology" ($10,000 combined with home and vehicle modifications per five-year waiver period). | CES rate schedule FY2026 |
| Waiver waitlist | HCPF makes no waitlist statement for CES. Secondary sources report no typical waitlist. Confirm with your Case Management Agency. | Colorado HCPF |
| Katie Beckett or TEFRA option | No TEFRA. The nearest equivalent is the Health First Colorado Buy-In for Children with Disabilities: under 19, disability per SSA listings, family income up to 300% of the poverty level, premiums $0 to $120 a month (effective April 1, 2026). The children's waivers use the child's income only. | Colorado HCPF |
| Other homeschool funding | None found on official sources. | Ask the program |
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 Colorado?
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
Colorado education funding
There is no account, voucher, or credit a Colorado homeschool family can spend on equipment. The federal scholarship tax credit the state joined flows to scholarship organizations for 2027.
Case by case
Children's Extensive Support Waiver
CES names adaptive recreational equipment, defined as equipment adapted to the child's disability rather than what a typical peer would use, with a $1,000 yearly limit. Specialized Medical Equipment and Supplies has no fixed cap but must enable activities of daily living, with prior authorization above Community Centered Board thresholds. Ask your case manager which category a specific item would fall into. 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 Colorado 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 Colorado families
1. If your child has an I/DD diagnosis or a developmental delay under 5, apply for CES through your Case Management Agency. Eligibility uses the child's income only.
2. If family income blocks regular Medicaid and CES does not fit, look at the Health First Colorado Buy-In for Children with Disabilities (under 19, up to 300% of the poverty level, premiums from $0 to $120 a month).
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: Colorado
Does Colorado have an ESA (education savings account)? No. Amendment 80 failed in November 2024 with 49.32% voting yes, and no program has been created since. Colorado has no homeschool tax credit. It did elect into the 2027 federal scholarship tax credit, which funds scholarship organizations.
What funding can Colorado homeschoolers use? No state education program applies. For a child with a developmental disability, the Children's Extensive Support Waiver and the Children with Complex Health Needs Waiver are the lanes, plus HSA and FSA dollars with a Letter of Medical Necessity.
Can the Colorado CES Waiver pay for a play gym? Case by case. CES lists Adaptive Therapeutic Recreational Equipment and Fees, limited to $1,000 a year for FY2026, and Specialized Medical Equipment and Supplies for items that enable daily living activities. A steel frame costs more than the recreational cap, so it would have to qualify under another category in the child's plan.
Which Colorado Medicaid waiver can fund sensory or adaptive equipment? The Children's Extensive Support Waiver (ages 0 to 17) lists Adaptive Therapeutic Recreational Equipment and Fees, Specialized Medical Equipment and Supplies, and Assistive Technology. The Children with Complex Health Needs Waiver, formed by merging CHCBS and CLLI in July 2025, serves children who meet a nursing facility or hospital level of care.
Does Brainrich work with Colorado funding programs? We provide the itemized invoice or quote that Colorado 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 21, 2026. Colorado election results. Amendment 80. · Colorado HCPF. Children's Extensive Support Waiver. · Colorado HCPF. CES Waiver brochure. · Colorado HCPF. DD, SLS, CES rate schedules, July 2025 to June 2026. · Colorado HCPF. LTSS benefits and services glossary. · Colorado HCPF. Children with Complex Health Needs Waiver. · Colorado HCPF. Medicaid Buy-In for Children with Disabilities. · IRS. Federal Scholarship Tax Credit participating states.