Pasco schools look to offer courses to homeschoolers, for a fee

Tampa Bay Times | By Jeffrey S. Solochek | May 7, 2025

Students would be able to enroll in up to three classes per semester.

LAND O’LAKES — Nearly 5,500 Pasco County children receive their education at home.

The school district is looking for ways to bring some of them into classrooms — even if for only one course.

Following the recent lead of the Miami-Dade County school system, Pasco County officials are creating a program in which homeschoolers can take individual classes at their neighborhood schools. Those who receive state-funded vouchers could use that money to cover the cost, estimated to be about $1,000 per course.

State lawmakers paved the way for such a model two years ago, when they lifted income restrictions for vouchers, making all children eligible to receive one. The new law also created a homeschooling voucher, and allowed families to use the money for contracted services from public schools or districts, including classes.

“We are basically becoming a vendor,” Pasco superintendent John Legg said about the district initiative, which he introduced Tuesday during a school board workshop.

The district plans to send surveys to the families this week to gauge their interest. It particularly wants to know what types of courses they would consider taking, and in which schools.

Legg said he anticipated interest would be highest in high school advanced, technical and ROTC courses that they might not have access to otherwise. Nearly half of Pasco’s homeschoolers are high school-aged.

But nothing has been settled, with all options on the table depending on the survey response.

Board members noted that parents might have different desires for their children, perhaps in the younger grades. Vice chairperson Colleen

Beaudoin said that when the district offered individual courses in the past, some families just wanted a social outlet for their youngsters.

“It wasn’t necessarily the most rigorous courses,” Beaudoin said.

Samantha Del Valle, director of the district’s Office of Leading and Learning, said the plan is to start small in the fall but eventually expand to all grade levels.

Legg has talked since before his November election about the district’s need to better connect with families that are choosing other education options. That’s a growing segment, he said, pointing to a projected enrollment decrease even as the number of school-aged children in the county is on the rise.

Providing single courses could bring some voucher money into district coffers, and perhaps attract students back into the schools full-time if they like what they see, Legg said.

Beaudoin called the concept a “win-win,” noting it also would allow schools to offer advanced courses such as physics and calculus that some have not been able to hold because the student counts were too low.

If response is strong, the district anticipates beginning the new service in the fall.