Home / Learn / How to Write an Arizona ESA Curriculum Document
What does an Arizona ESA curriculum document need to include?
A curriculum document for a Tier 2 Arizona ESA purchase must contain five elements: the student's name; the course of study or subject; the learning objectives; the teaching method, with lesson plans or activities; and the required materials within the scope and sequence, with the item among them. A one-line note that says "piano — for music class" is not a curriculum document, and submitting that instead of the real thing is one of the most common Tier 2 rejections.
When you actually need one
You don't write a curriculum document for everything. Tier 1 materials — software, workbooks, books — need only a receipt. The curriculum document is the price of admission for Tier 2 items: musical instruments, gym and activity memberships, museum and venue tickets, PE equipment, and similar purchases that could easily be used for something other than school. For those, the document is what turns "allowable in theory" into "documented and defensible."
The five elements, written out
The student's name. Whose course of study this is. One document per student.
The course of study or subject. What subject the purchase serves — music, physical education, science, and so on. This is where you connect the item to a real part of your child's education.
The learning objectives. What the student is meant to learn or achieve. Not "play piano" but the actual goals — reading music, developing rhythm, building toward pieces at a given level over the term.
The teaching method, with lesson plans or activities. How it's taught and what the student actually does. This is the element thin notes skip — a sketch of the lessons, the practice schedule, the activities that use the item.
The required materials within the scope and sequence. The materials the course needs, with the purchased item listed among them. This is what ties the receipt to the plan: the instrument, the membership, the tickets appear here as part of a real course, not as a standalone buy.
Why the one-line note fails
The whole point of the document is to show the purchase is part of an actual course of study, not a justification written after the fact. "For PE" tells ADE nothing about objectives, method, or sequence — so it reads as a label, not a curriculum. The families who get Tier 2 purchases through are the ones who write the document as if they're describing a real class, because they are.
You don't have to write it from scratch
The five-element format is the same every time, which means it's exactly the kind of thing worth templating. ESAProof has a free curriculum-document generator that drafts the document for common Tier 2 items — instruments, memberships, museum tickets, PE equipment — when you pick the item and subject, so you get a complete, editable document to print or attach to your ClassWallet submission instead of staring at a blank page. ADE also publishes a fillable Parent-Provided Curriculum form you can use.
FAQ
Q: What are the five elements of an Arizona ESA curriculum document? A: The student's name; the course of study or subject; the learning objectives; the teaching method with lesson plans or activities; and the required materials within the scope and sequence, with the purchased item among them.
Q: Which purchases need a curriculum document? A: Tier 2 supplemental materials — musical instruments, gym memberships, venue and museum tickets, PE equipment, and similar items. Tier 1 materials like software and workbooks need only a receipt.
Q: Is a short note enough for a Tier 2 purchase? A: No. A one-line note is one of the most common Tier 2 rejections. The document must show all five elements as part of a real course of study.
Q: Is there an official form? A: Yes. ADE publishes a fillable Parent-Provided Curriculum form, and free generators can draft the five-element document for you to edit.
Not sure whether your item is Tier 1 or Tier 2? Check it free, with the official rule behind it: https://esaproof.com/check/
Rules change every July 1. Get a plain-English heads-up when they do: https://esaproof.com/esa-watch/
Homeschool like the state isn't watching. Because we are.
Sources: ADE ESA Parent Handbook SY2025-26 (curriculum documentation requirements for Tier 2 supplemental materials; Parent-Provided Curriculum form). Educational information, not legal advice. Verify against the official database at azed.gov/esa/esa-allowable-items.