Maryland Funding Guide: ESA, Medicaid Waivers, and Homeschool Funding
Facts checked September 21, 2026 · 6-minute read · by the Brainrich Kids team
Maryland has no education savings account. Its BOOST scholarship pays nonpublic school tuition and nothing else. On the Medicaid side, the Family Supports and Community Supports Waivers no longer exist: both merged into the Community Pathways Waiver on October 6, 2025, and its assistive technology category names adapted toys and specialized equipment.
The quick answer for Maryland: Maryland has no ESA. BOOST is a means-tested nonpublic school tuition scholarship: "Funds must be used for tuition and required fees for enrollment." For a child with a developmental disability, the Community Pathways Waiver (which absorbed the Family Supports and Community Supports Waivers on October 6, 2025) lists "Assistive Technology and Services," a definition that includes "adapted toys and specialized equipment such as specialized car seats and adapted bikes," with no dollar cap and an assessment plus three estimates above $2,500. A play gym is case by case.
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: Maryland facts table · Can this fund a Brainrich gym? · Next steps · FAQ · The full guides · Sources
Maryland funding facts at a glance
Three kinds of public money can reach a family in Maryland: 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 (Maryland) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ESA or scholarship program | No ESA. The BOOST Scholarship (Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today) continues for 2026-27 as a means-tested nonpublic school tuition scholarship, about 2,500 awards from a $9 million estimate. Maryland had not opted into the 2027 federal scholarship tax credit when checked. | MSDE BOOST guide, FY2027 |
| Who runs it | BOOST: Maryland State Department of Education. Waivers: the Developmental Disabilities Administration. | MSDE BOOST guide |
| Amount per student | BOOST awards are set each summer by the advisory board and reduced to the tuition owed; no fixed figure. FY2026 actuals: 2,796 students and $9.5 million. | MSDE budget testimony |
| Who qualifies | BOOST: K to 12 students enrolled or enrolling in a participating nonpublic school with household income within free and reduced-price meal limits. | MSDE BOOST guide |
| Can homeschoolers use it? | No program to use. BOOST funds go to tuition at a participating nonpublic school, and there is no homeschool tax credit or deduction on official sources. | MSDE BOOST guide |
| Curriculum | Not applicable. Maryland has no family-directed education account. | Ask the program |
| Therapies and therapy equipment | Not applicable. Maryland has no family-directed education account. | Ask the program |
| PE and play equipment | Not applicable. BOOST pays tuition and required enrollment fees only. | MSDE BOOST guide |
| How purchases work | None. | Ask the program |
| Medicaid waiver for children | DDA Community Pathways Waiver, effective October 6, 2025 (the Family Supports and Community Supports Waivers merged into it and closed to enrollment October 5, 2025). Also the MSDE Autism Waiver (ages 1 to 21, chronological registry) and the Model Waiver for medically fragile children (child's income only). | DDA guide to October 2025 changes |
| Equipment category to ask for | "Assistive Technology and Services": includes "adapted toys and specialized equipment such as specialized car seats and adapted bikes" and aids for daily living; excludes Medicaid DME, environmental and vehicle modifications, and smartphones. No dollar cap; items of $2,500 or more need an AT assessment and three estimates, and other funding sources must be exhausted first. | Community Pathways Waiver |
| Waiver waitlist | The DDA operates a waiting list with reserved categories. The Autism Waiver registry is full and enrolls chronologically. The Model Waiver has a wait list. Counts: confirm with the program. | Maryland Dept. of Health |
| Katie Beckett or TEFRA option | Confirm with the program. We could not verify this on an official source on September 21, 2026. | Ask the program |
| 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 Maryland?
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
Maryland education funding
BOOST pays a nonpublic school's tuition, and no family-directed account or credit exists.
Case by case
Community Pathways Waiver
The waiver's assistive technology definition names adapted toys and specialized equipment, excludes items covered as Medicaid DME, and has no dollar cap. Above $2,500 an assistive technology assessment and three estimates are required, and insurance, the State Plan, MSDE, and DORS must be exhausted 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. The DDA waiting list still operates, so apply now.
Needs a Letter of Medical Necessity
HSA and FSA dollars (the same in every state)
HSA and FSA rules are federal, so Maryland 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 Maryland families
1. If your child has a developmental disability, apply to the DDA for the Community Pathways Waiver. The older Family Supports and Community Supports Waivers closed to enrollment on October 5, 2025.
2. For a child with autism, register for the MSDE Autism Waiver; enrollment is chronological and the registry is full, so the date matters.
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: Maryland
Does Maryland have an ESA (education savings account)? No. Maryland's only K to 12 choice program is BOOST, a means-tested scholarship that must be used for tuition and required fees at a participating nonpublic school. The state had not opted into the 2027 federal scholarship tax credit when checked.
What funding can Maryland homeschoolers use? No state education program applies, and there is no homeschool tax credit. Families of children with disabilities can use the Community Pathways Waiver, the Autism Waiver, or the Model Waiver, plus HSA and FSA dollars with a Letter of Medical Necessity.
Can the Maryland Community Pathways Waiver pay for a play gym? Case by case. Assistive Technology and Services has no dollar cap and its definition includes adapted toys and specialized equipment such as adapted bikes, but items covered by Medicaid as DME are excluded, and purchases of $2,500 or more need an assessment and three estimates.
Which Maryland Medicaid waiver can fund sensory or adaptive equipment? The DDA Community Pathways Waiver, effective October 6, 2025, which merged the Family Supports and Community Supports Waivers, lists Assistive Technology and Services. The Autism Waiver and the Model Waiver for medically fragile children have no equipment category.
Does Brainrich work with Maryland funding programs? We provide the itemized invoice or quote that Maryland 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. MSDE. BOOST Scholarship Program information guide, FY2027. · Maryland DBM. MSDE FY2027 budget testimony. · Maryland DDA. Guide to the October 2025 waiver changes. · Maryland DDA. Community Pathways Waiver, effective October 6, 2025. · Maryland DDA. Medicaid waiver programs. · Maryland Department of Health. Autism Waiver. · MSDE. Autism Waiver fact sheet. · Maryland Department of Health. Model Waiver.