Ohio Homeschooling Laws
Parents who choose to homeschool in Ohio have only three primary regulations. They will need to:
- Notify their local school superintendent every year that they plan to homeschool
- Complete at least 900 hours of instruction each school year
- Teach the following subjects:
- Language arts
- Geography
- Ohio state history and US history
- Government
- Math
- Science
- Physical education
- Fine arts
- Health and safety
- Provide a yearly assessment of the student’s work
On this page, you will learn more about these Ohio homeschooling laws and requirements, including what information to include with your annual notification, what records you should keep while homeschooling, what your high schooler needs to do to graduate, and even how to transfer from homeschool to public school.
- Ohio Homeschool Requirements
- Ohio Homeschool Notification Procedures
- Homeschool Recordkeeping in Ohio
- Ohio Homeschool Graduation Requirements
- Enrolling in Public School after Homeschooling
- Additional Resources Related to Homeschooling in Ohio
*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.
Ohio Homeschool Requirements
To be eligible to homeschool in Ohio, parents must have a minimum of a high school diploma, a general education equivalent (GED) or standardized test scores that exhibit the equivalency of a diploma. Any parent meeting this minimum educational standard can legally homeschool in the state.
Homeschool curriculum choice is completely up to the parents, as are the methods for teaching each of the required subjects. You are also not required to teach any concept or topic that conflicts with your sincere religious beliefs.
In all school districts in Ohio, homeschoolers are eligible to participate in extracurricular (non-graded) activities and athletics sponsored by the school your student would normally attend if enrolled. In specific school districts, homeschoolers are also eligible to be enrolled as part-time students.
More information relating to the home education rules for Ohio can be found at A2ZHomeschooling.com.
Full Details of Ohio’s Homeschool Laws
Ohio Homeschool Notification Procedures
School attendance is compulsory in Ohio for any child between the ages of 6 and 18. That means that if you choose to homeschool a child (or children) within that range, you must notify your local school superintendent’s office each year that you intend to homeschool.
The Ohio homeschool notification form can be obtained from the Department of Education website and requests the following:
- Names, address, and contact information of parents
- Name and birthdate of each child who will be homeschooled
- Your qualification for eligibility to homeschool (either diploma or GED)
- Assurance that you will teach all required subjects
- Assurance that your instruction will be at least 900 hours of home education
- An outline summary of the intended curriculum for the given year
- List of curricula or teaching materials you will be using
After the initial notification has been submitted, each yearly notification must also include an academic assessment of each homeschooler. The assessment should include one of the following:
- Results of a nationally normed, standardized achievement test
- OR a written narrative evaluation of the child’s academic progress by a certified teacher (or other approved person)
- OR an alternative form of assessment agreed on by both the parents and the superintendent
Homeschool Recordkeeping in Ohio
Homeschoolers in Ohio are required to submit annual assessments of their child’s progress to the local school superintendent. One of the most effective ways to keep track of all that your homeschooler is accomplishing within a given school year is with a homeschool portfolio.
The portfolio should accurately reflect not only what instruction you’ve covered, but how your student is retaining what they are learning. Items to add to your portfolio could include:
- The results of any standardized tests your student has taken
- An outline of what curriculum subjects and topics you have covered (Time4Learning makes this easy with customized, printable reports)
- For high schoolers, a homeschool transcript
- Samples of your student’s work
Ohio Homeschool Graduation Requirements
Ohio homeschool parents set their own requirements for graduation and decide when a high school student has fulfilled those requirements. They also administer their own homeschool diplomas. Even so, it is wise for parents to keep in mind what the comparable requirements for graduation are for public school students in the state as well as the academic requirements of any colleges their student may wish to apply to.
Families are often curious about how the homeschool graduation path in Ohio compares with that of traditionally schooled students. The below chart outlines some of the comparisons between the two.
| Public/Private School | Homeschool | |
|---|---|---|
| Ohio diploma requirements | Ohio requires a state minimum of 20 credit hours in specific academic subjects, plus instruction in economics, financial literacy, and fine arts to receive a diploma. | Parents determine when their student has fulfilled graduation requirements and can issue their own homeschool diploma; students of private/online schools may receive diplomas from those institutions. |
| Ohio high school testing requirements | One pathway to graduation in OH is by earning at least 18 points on seven end-of-course state tests | Homeschool students are not subject to testing requirements for graduation. |
| Ohio high school transcripts | Created by and kept on file at individual schools. | Homeschool parents may create their own student transcripts, and may include any information they deem pertinent to colleges, military, and/or future workplace organizations. |
| Ohio high school course credits | Graduation requires a minimum of 20 credit hours of high school coursework. | Parents determine when their student has fulfilled graduation requirements; for the purpose of creating transcripts, some homeschool parents do assign credits to individual courses. |
| High School Equivalency (formerly GED) | The High School equivalency exam is an alternate to an Ohio high school diploma. Students of at least 16 years of age are eligible for the test. | The High School equivalency exam is available to homeschoolers, as well. Any OH student of at least 16 years of age is eligible to take the exam. |
Enrolling in Public School after Homeschooling
Most every family considers the decision to homeschool a year-to-year one. Some families will homeschool from kindergarten through graduation, but many other families will use homeschooling as an alternative for specific grades or in specific circumstances. If, after a period of teaching your child at home, you realize that it is not the right choice for your family anymore, you’ll need to know how to transfer from homeschool to public school.
In Ohio, there are no specific guidelines for entry (or reentry) into the school system. The process will be at the determination of each individual school district. Your child may be tested by their school district for the purpose of placing the child in the grade level deemed most appropriate. Acceptance of high school credits while homeschooling will also be completely at the discretion of individual schools and districts.
Additional Resources Related to Homeschooling in Ohio
Have other questions about homeschooling in Ohio? You may find the following pages helpful.
- Homeschooling in Ohio
- Ohio Homeschool Associations
- Ohio Homeschooling Groups & Co-ops
- Homeschool Field Trips in Ohio
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