Pennsylvania Homeschool Laws

Pennsylvania Homeschool Requirements

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:

• Be taught by a parent (or legal guardian) with a high school diploma (or equivalent) who has not been convicted of any major criminal offenses in the previous five years.
• Submit a notarized affidavit yearly to the superintendent’s office of the student’s home school district (more info below).
• Have each homeschooled child interviewed and evaluated annually by a state approved home education evaluator.
• Have each homeschooled child take a state-approved standardized test in grades 3,5, and 8
• Comply with immunization requirements.
• Comply with mandatory course requirements, depending on grade level and an agreement that those subjects will be taught in the English language
• Comply with minimum graduation requirements to receive a state-recognized diploma (more info below)

More information relating to the home education rules for Pennsylvania can be found at A2ZHomeschooling.com.
Full Details of Pennsylvania’s Homeschool Laws

Submitting Your Pennsylvania Homeschool Affidavit

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:

• Name of the homeschool supervisor and a statement affirming that they have received at least a high school diploma
• Name and age of child
• Homeschool address and phone number
• Affirmation that homeschool instruction will be in the English language
• Affirmation that child has received requisite immunizations (with attached evidence)
• Affirmation that child has received requisite health and medical services (with attached evidence)
• Affirmation that the homeschooler will receive instruction in all required courses for their grade level
• Affirmation that instruction will equal a minimum of 180 school days or 900 hours
• Affirmation that no adult living in the home or in legal custody of the homeschooler has been convicted of the listed criminal offenses in the previous five years
• An attachment of education objectives by subject matter

The Pennsylvania Department of Education makes samples of the affidavits available on their website.

Homeschool Recordkeeping in Pennsylvania

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:

• An attendance log
• A reading log of all books read
• Samples of writings, worksheets, and other creative works completed during the homeschool year
• The results of required standardized tests in grades 3, 5, and 8
• The yearly written student evaluation (see below)

Yearly Pennsylvania Homeschool Evaluations

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:

• Licensed clinical psychologist
• school psychologist
• Pennsylvania certified teacher with two years grading experience at the level they evaluate
• Nonpublic school teacher or administrator with two years Pennsylvania teaching experience within the last 10 years at the level they evaluate
• Other qualified persons who have received previous approval from the superintendent

Pennsylvania Homeschool Graduation Requirements

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:

• Having a submitted affidavit for the 12th grade homeschool year
• Completion of the graduation requirements of the law
• Use of an approved and adequate home education evaluator
• A completed evaluation for the 12th grade year by an approved evaluator and a co-signed diploma by that same evaluator
• Use of a standardized diploma form developed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education

Enrolling in Public School after Homeschooling

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.

Additional Resources Related to Homeschooling in Pennsylvania

Have other questions about homeschooling in Pennsylvania? You may find the following pages helpful.

• Homeschooling in Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania Homeschool Associations
• Pennsylvania Homeschooling Groups & Co-ops
• Homeschool Field Trips in Pennsylvania

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