Pennsylvania is considered to be one of the most highly regulated states for homeschooling in the U.S. However, with those regulations come some of the most generous provisions for state support of homeschoolers including free access to state-sponsored textbooks and materials, the ability to participate in extracurricular school activities, and the option to receive a state-recognized diploma.
Below, you will find information on the specifics of legally homeschooling in Pennsylvania, what records you’ll want to keep, how to obtain an official homeschool diploma, and even how to transfer from homeschool to public school if you need to end your home education period.
*This should by no means be interpreted as legal advice. It is your responsibility to interpret and understand the laws that you will be homeschooling under.
All children between the ages of 8 and 16 are required to attend school under Pennsylvania’s compulsory education requirements. Families choosing home education to fulfill those requirements must:
More information relating to the home education rules for Pennsylvania can be found at A2ZHomeschooling.com.
Full Details of Pennsylvania’s Homeschool Laws
The first step to legally homeschooling in Pennsylvania is submitting a notarized home education affidavit to the local school superintendent. You can submit your affidavit to homeschool at any time during the school year, but for all following years, affidavits must be submitted no later than August 1. Normally, affidavits must be submitted for any child age 8 or older, unless that child was previously enrolled in kindergarten or first grade, in which case the affidavit must be submitted regardless of age.
The notarized affidavit for each homeschool child should include:
The Pennsylvania Department of Education makes samples of the affidavits available on their website.
Naturally, in a high-regulation state such as Pennsylvania, education requirements for homeschoolers lead to a need for detailed recordkeeping. The ideal way to track the progress of your student year to year is through use of a homeschool portfolio. Items that parents would want to certainly include in their ongoing portfolio are:
As part of Pennsylvania’s homeschool requirements, each student must be evaluated annually by an approved home education evaluator. The written evaluation will be based on the evaluator’s interview with the child and the review of their homeschool portfolio.
Ultimately, the evaluation must certify that the student is receiving an appropriate education, which is defined as a program consisting of instruction in the required subjects, a program meeting minimum instructional timetables, and in which the student demonstrates sustained progress. Acceptable evaluators in Pennsylvania can include:
One of the things that makes homeschooling in Pennsylvania unique is that is it one of the rare states that has created a path toward state-recognized homeschool diplomas. The requirements for receiving a state-recognized homeschool diploma in Pennsylvania are:
If you need to end your period of home education in Pennsylvania for any reason, the policies regarding transfer from homeschool to public school will be up to each individual school or school district. Decisions on grade level placement and transfer of credits will vary from school to school, and is at each school’s discretion. Be aware that any school you are transferring to may request to view your student’s portfolio and may even require the student to submit to school-specific placement testing.
Have other questions about homeschooling in Pennsylvania? You may find the following pages helpful.
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