Homeschooling is legal in all 50 states. However, the path to educating your children at home is vastly different depending on the state in which you live. Each state has its own homeschooling laws, guidelines, and regulations. Some states are more friendly to homeschooling than others.

How homeschooling laws may vary from state to state

Homeschooling laws can range from intense to almost non-existent. In some states, if parents decide to homeschool their children, they must file paperwork every year, teach for a set number of hours each day, participate in-home evaluations, teach specific subjects, and participate in state testing each year. Meanwhile, in other states, parents only have to file the initial paperwork. Then they are completely on their own with only minimal requirements from their state government. Your homeschooling strategy will depend on the state you live in.

Check for updates every year to make sure the homeschool laws in your state haven’t changed.  It’s important to always comply with the requirements so that your child can earn a valid high school diploma at the end of your schooling together.

States with the least homeschooling laws

The States of Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Texas virtually have no regulations for homeschooling your child. There is no need to give notice to the school district for homeschooling your child in these states. Although there are some minor rules for homeschooling in these states, they may differ from one another. Make sure that you know what your state requires before embarking on your homeschooling journey.

For instance, in Alaska, there are no requirements to notify the state, get approval, take tests, or to be a certified teacher for homeschooling your child, although standardized testing is recommended. Similarly, parents in Idaho don’t require any particular qualifications for homeschooling their kids, but you still must include the required subjects. In New Jersey, the only requirement is to provide your child with an education equivalent to one they would receive in public school. While in Texas, homeschools are considered private schools and must teach math, reading, spelling and grammar, and a good citizenship course. Apart from that, parents are also required to keep some written curriculum.

Some states have quirky requirements. In the state of Illinois, even though homeschooling is largely unregulated, the department of education recommends that you exhaust all other resources in public education before you attempt homeschooling. Iowa calls homeschool programs Competent Private Instruction by a Non-Licensed Person. Meanwhile, in Michigan, you only need to file extra paperwork if your child has a disability. Missouri lets families homeschool children that don’t even belong to them!

Sometimes, a state may require a specific subject to be taught. Connecticut requires that children learn about town governments as well as state and federal governments. Other states, like South Dakota, let you homeschool up to 22 children.

These states have the least invasive regulations when it comes to homeschooling.

States with moderate homeschooling laws

Most of the states have low to moderate regulations for homeschooling. For instance, if you live in California and decide to educate your child at home, you have 4 legal options:

●      Turn your home into an official private school.

●      Hire a private tutor or teacher. You can also use your credentials if you have them to become your child’s private tutor.

●      Enroll your child in a private school independent study program, also called a Private School Satellite Program.

●      Enroll your child in a public school independent study program. Charter schools offer these as well.

Each of these options has different requirements. You can easily check them online on the official California Department of Education website.

On the other hand, states like Florida have moderate regulations. The Florida Homeschool Law requires you to file a Notice of Intent form your county’s school district superintendent within 30 days of beginning to homeschool. You’ll need to file this notice only once for a child above 6 years of age and yearly. Your Notice of Intent must include the following information:

●      names and birth dates of all homeschooled children

●      address

●      signature of parent

The Florida Homeschool Law does not require you to meet any specific qualifications to homeschool. There is no requirement to teach for a specific number of days per year. There are no particular subjects that you must teach your child. However, you must keep and maintain a portfolio of records and materials for each child you homeschool. You are also required to evaluate your child’s performance annually, and there are five options for such evaluation:-

●      An evaluation of your child and your child’s portfolio by a certified Florida teacher.

●      A national student achievement test administered by a certified teacher.

●      A state student assessment test administered by a certified teacher at a location approved by the school district.

●      An evaluation of your child by a psychologist or school psychologist.

●      Any other valid educational measurement tool that is approved by both the parent and the superintendent

Some states require parents to be high school graduates in order to homeschool their children. Ohio mandates that parents have a high school diploma, a GED, test scores, or something else to prove that they have the equivalent of high school knowledge. The state of West Virginia does not view homeschooling as the equivalent of a private or public school. Meanwhile, in the state of Wyoming, parents must find the guidelines set out by their specific school district.

North Carolina offers no mandatory subjects, but instead, students have to take standardized tests in certain subjects. This rule essentially adds the subjects to your curriculum. The state of Tennessee mandates that the number of days you teach your child corresponds with the number of days children spend in public school per year. Oregon has a list of rules for homeschooling families when it comes to annual evaluation and testing. Only a teacher or someone licensed to administer the tests can give the tests to the students. In North Dakota, parents must administer standardized testing, but if they have religious objections to the tests they are allowed to opt out and find another solution. South Carolina requires the school district board of trustees to approve your decision to homeschool before you can start.

Utah wants parents to submit a notarized affidavit announcing their intention to homeschool at the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, Georgia simply requires a letter to be sent to the state secretary of education. New Mexico has a similar regulation for parents to follow.

Some states differ on when parents can start homeschooling officially. In the state of Nevada, parents may begin when their child turns seven years old.

States with high regulations

Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Colorado, Washington, Virginia, and Vermont have the strictest regulations for homeschooling. Apart from the above-mentioned regulations, the New York Homeschool Law requires you to send a Letter of Intent to your local school district notifying them that you have chosen to homeschool. This letter of intent must be sent every year by the 1st of July. The school district will then send you an Individual Home Instruction Plan (IHIP) form for each child that you will be homeschooling. You must fill out and send back this Individual Home Instruction Plan for each child by August 15th or within 4 weeks of receiving it, providing the following information:

●      Your child’s name, age, and grade level

●      A list of the materials/instruction/resources you will use for each required subject.

●      The dates you will submit your quarterly reports.

●      Your name and the names of anyone else who will be instructing your child

You must teach 180 days/year or the hourly equivalent of 900 hours/year for grades 1-6 and 990 hours/year for grades 7-12. There is also a list of subjects that must be taught by you to your child.

If you decide to go down the homeschooling route, be sure to check your state’s regulations first and check in annually to see if anything has changed.  Your child’s education depends on it!

The state of Colorado requires that parents submit their portfolio every year for review by the local school system. Washington requires parents to have done at least 45 college credits before homeschooling on their own. Virginia is one of the states that require parents to file notices of intent every year before a certain date. While mandatory assessments are required in that state, the PSAT and ACT tests work for high school students as their evaluation.

Homeschooling in Territories

Other territories like Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. have their own sets of rules that parents must follow in order to homeschool their children. The Puerto Rico government has no way of accrediting teachers or curriculums. Therefore, homeschooling in the U.S. territory is treated like an unaccredited nongovernment school. Even though homeschooling is only mildly regulated in Washington D.C., it is still required to file a notification with the education board every year before the school year begins.