Unless I'm misunderstanding you, are you saying that where you live college classes DON'T have tuition/book fees for high school students? Because around here, classes on a college campus are at least a few hundred dollars per credit hour, and possibly more -- whereas AP classes are free to take and $90 for the test.
According to California law, high school students can take community college classes for free through dual enrollment. See
this page for more information. I'm not sure what "minor cost" means on that page; it might refer to "you have to find a way to get to the college yourself."
One of my kids is enrolled in a program called Middle College (these programs exist all over the US). The first time he signed up for classes, I had to go with him. He took 3 classes and the "bill" the registrar gave me said $0.00. The high school pays for all his books, including expensive math and science textbooks. It pays for access to online homework systems. I can't remember if I had to buy safety goggles and a lab coat for chemistry, but I don't think I did.
Massachusetts has
a similar policy, except that four-year-colleges are also included but books aren't always.
New York also has one of these programs. I found a link to
information about dual enrollment in each state. This link includes information about homeschooler eligibility. I don't know how current the information is.
ETA: schools don't go out of their way to advertise these programs, at least not around here. If anyone is interested, I recommend doing a web search and then contacting the people in charge of the program directly (or better yet, have your high-schooler or 8th grader contact them). I got incorrect information from other people in the district.
