Caveat Co-Op · Free guide
Homeschool requirements
vary by state.
What states regulate in homeschooling, the questions to answer for yours and where to find the answers. We make no claim about any one state; its own sources do.
Seven questions to answer for your state
Answer each from your state’s own sources, write the answer down with the date you checked, and check again each year.
- Do I have to tell anyone?Some states ask for a notice or registration each year, some only once, and some not at all. Find out to whom it goes, by what date, what it must say and whether there is an official form.
- Which subjects?Some states list required subjects; others leave it to the family. If yours lists them, plan the year so each one shows up in the courses you record.
- How much instruction time?Some states set a number of days or hours a year, and some say how to count them. Others set none. If yours sets one, write it in the record and log attendance against it.
- Is there an assessment or evaluation?Some states ask for a standardized test, a portfolio review or an evaluation by a certified teacher at certain grades or every year, and say who receives the result. Find the options, the grades and the deadline.
- What records do I keep, and for how long?Some states name the records: attendance, a portfolio of work samples, test results. Even where none are required, keeping them makes a return to school, a transcript and college applications easier.
- Who may teach?A few states set a qualification for the parent or teacher, such as a diploma, or offer different options with different requirements.
- What else applies to us?Services for a child with a disability, sports or classes at the local school, dual enrollment, testing access, and options such as an umbrella or private school, a public charter or a state program all have their own rules.
Where to find the answers
- Your state education agency. Search for your state’s department of education with the words "homeschool" or "home instruction". Its page usually names the law, the forms and the office that receives a notice.
- The statute itself. The agency page usually cites the section of state law. Reading it is the surest way to know what it says and what it does not.
- A homeschool legal organization. National organizations publish state-by-state summaries of homeschool law, for example the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and the Coalition for Responsible Home Education (CRHE). They hold different views on policy, so read the summary, then the statute it cites.
- A statewide homeschool group. Many states have one or more, often with a plain guide to the first year and to the forms.
- Your local school district. For questions about classes, sports, testing or special education services for a homeschooled child.
Whatever you read, note the source and the date. Laws change; a summary from a few years ago may be out of date.
Keep the records most rules ask for
Whatever your state requires, the same records come up again and again: attendance, the subjects or courses taught, work samples through the year, grades or progress notes, test or evaluation results, and for high school, a transcript with course descriptions.
The Homeschool Records Year keeps all of them for each learner, with a worksheet for your own state’s rules, a notice letter template and weekly reminders. Private, in your browser. $49 for the school year.
More for homeschool families
From Caveat Co-Op.
Free2
From Caveat4
- Caveat Homeschool All-in-One, yearlyEvery Caveat Academy course for every student in the family.$249 a year
- The Caveat Homeschool Transcript KitPrintable transcript, course description and diploma templates.$27
- Homeschooling High School: A Course for ParentsCredits, transcripts, testing and admissions for homeschooled teens.$29
- Homeschool StudioA custom unit or a full-year plan built around your child, with records.From $12
This guide is general information, not legal advice, and it does not describe the law of any state. For a question about your family’s situation, read your state’s statute and agency guidance, or talk with a homeschool legal organization or an attorney licensed in your state.
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