Wyoming ESA renewal guide
Wyoming ESA renewal: what returning families do for 2026-27
Quick answer
Wyoming ESA renewal is an annual re-application, not an automatic rollover. For families who were enrolled in 2025-26, the 2026-27 application prepopulates your previous information for you to confirm, and you sign and submit a renewal contract. The 2026-27 application opened July 6, 2026 and closed August 6, 2026, and WDE said funds for approved students would be available in student accounts by September 1.
This is the program’s first-ever renewal cycle, so nobody has done this before — including the state. This page walks through what renewal actually involves under the Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Act (W.S. 21-2-901 through 21-2-909), what returning families receive, and what you have to keep doing to stay eligible.
One housekeeping note first: if your student is not returning to the program, WDE asks that you contact [email protected] to unenroll rather than simply letting the application lapse.
The 2026-27 application closed August 6, 2026
WDE closed the 2026-27 application on August 6, 2026 and said applicants would receive an email with their application status by September 1. If you are unsure whether your student is enrolled, WDE says you can email [email protected] to confirm. WDE has not announced dates for the 2027-28 application; families can sign up for WDE email updates to hear about future application opportunities.
What returning families get for 2026-27
The award is $7,000 per eligible student, set in statute and paid in quarterly installments. On top of that, students who were confirmed enrolled for 2025-26 receive an additional $1,750 in rollover funds — the fourth-quarter 2025-26 payment that couldn’t be fully used because the injunction’s lifting wasn’t retroactive. That $1,750 can only be spent on eligible 2026-27 expenses.
Don’t confuse that one-time $1,750 with the program’s general rollover rule, which is separate and uncapped: any unused funds stay in the student’s account into the following school year for as long as the student remains enrolled and eligible. If the account closes, remaining funds revert to the state.
WDE said 2026-27 funds for approved students would be available in student accounts for Marketplace purchases by September 1. WDE now lists the 2026-27 quarterly disbursement dates as early September 2026, early November 2026, early February 2027, and early May 2027. WDE gives only the month, not an exact day, so don’t plan around a specific deposit date.
How renewal works, step by step
This is how the 2026-27 renewal worked. That application is now closed, and WDE has not announced the 2027-28 process, so check the live WDE ESA page before the next cycle.
- Open the 2026-27 application from the WDE ESA webpage. It runs through the state’s ESA portal — WDE’s page currently identifies the platform as Odyssey, but confirm the login link on the live WDE page.
- Confirm your prepopulated information — residency, educational status, and (for pre-K only) income — and update anything that changed.
- Sign and submit the renewal contract by the deadline WDE communicates. Missing it means the student may lose access to ESA funds.
- Send your annual notice of ESA participation to your local school district, which satisfies compulsory attendance.
- Watch for verification — funding priority attaches from the time a student is verified eligible.
What you must keep doing all year
- Teach the required subjects: reading, writing, mathematics, civics (U.S. and Wyoming Constitutions), history, literature, and science. Nothing that conflicts with your family’s religious doctrines is required.
- Complete the annual assessment: the state assessment (grades 3-10, available at your local school) or an approved nationally norm-referenced exam. Results or confirmation of completion must reach WDE within 14 days of you receiving them; missing that risks continued eligibility.
- Keep every receipt. Accounts are randomly audited, and WDE may request documentation.
- Follow the spending rules: Marketplace purchases are pre-approved; anything outside the Marketplace needs pre-approval from the WDE ESA Finance Manager, and reimbursement requests must be filed within 30 days of purchase with an itemized receipt and proof of payment.
- Stay out of public-school enrollment. K-12 students can’t be enrolled in public school while participating, though contracting with a district or charter for individual classes is allowed.
Priority rules if applications exceed funding
The program has a $30 million appropriation, with 80% of ESAs reserved for K-12 students and 20% for pre-K (unawarded pre-K funds can shift to K-12). If applications exceed available funds, statute gives preference to students who received ESA funds in the immediately preceding year and to their siblings; everyone else is first-come, first-served from the time a student is verified eligible.
Translation for returning families: you have statutory priority, but only if you actually complete the renewal. Priority protects verified renewals, not intentions.
Where the lawsuit stands
On May 14, 2026, the Wyoming Supreme Court decided Degenfelder v. Wyoming Education Association, 2026 WY 54, reversing the district court’s preliminary injunction and sending the case back for further proceedings. That ruling was about the injunction — it was not a final decision that the program is constitutional, and the underlying case continues in district court.
For families weighing whether to renew: WDE states it can make payouts while the case is litigated, and that there is no indication participating parents would be held personally liable to repay properly disbursed funds if the law were later overturned. Statute also gives ESA parents the right to intervene in the case to defend the program.
A note for pre-K families
The pre-K ESA is a one-year-only kindergarten-readiness program — it does not renew. If your child used it in 2025-26 and turns 5 by August 1, the path forward is applying under the K-12 program, which has no income cap. Pre-K is also the only track where income is re-verified (at or below 250% of the federal poverty guidelines) for new applicants.