Homeschooling in Pennsylvania.

Regulation level

High. You file an affidavit before you start and every August 1, keep a portfolio, test in grades 3, 5 and 8, and send an evaluator's certification each June 30.

Statute citation

24 P.S. § 13-1327.1 (Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes, Home Education Program), last amended by Act 55 of 2022, and 22 Pa. Code § 11.31a. No 2025 or 2026 law has changed it.

Compulsory attendance age

From age 6 (if your child is 6 by September 1) until age 18 or high school graduation. (24 P.S. § 13-1326)

Who you notify (if applicable)

The superintendent of your school district of residence. Once your paperwork is filed, you don't need the district's approval to begin.

How and when

File before your home education program begins, then by August 1 every year. If you move, ask your current superintendent for a transfer letter by registered mail 30 days before you relocate.

What you file

A notarized affidavit (the Pennsylvania Department of Education, PDE, also offers an unsworn declaration form) with your and your child's names, age, address and phone, an English-instruction assurance, objectives by subject, and immunization and health-services proof.

Background statement

The affidavit certifies that you, every adult living in your home and anyone with legal custody have no conviction in the past five years for the offenses listed in 24 P.S. § 1-111(e).

Subjects, grades K–6

English (spelling, reading, writing), arithmetic, science, geography, U.S. and Pennsylvania history, civics, safety and fire-prevention education, health and physiology, physical education, music and art.

Subjects, grades 7–12

English (language, literature, speech, composition), science, geography, social studies (civics, world, U.S. and Pennsylvania history), mathematics (general math, algebra, geometry), art, music, physical education, health, and safety and fire-prevention education.

Instruction time

180 days, or 900 hours at the elementary level or 990 hours at the secondary level, each year. Time counts only after your affidavit is filed.

Records required

A portfolio: a log made as you teach that lists reading materials by title, samples of your child's work, and test results in grades 3, 5 and 8. You keep it; it isn't sent to the district.

Testing

In grades 3, 5 and 8: reading/language arts and math, using the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) at your district school on request, or a test from PDE's approved list. A parent may not give the test.

Annual evaluation

Each year an evaluator interviews your child, reviews the portfolio and certifies in writing whether an appropriate education is occurring. You send that certification, not the portfolio, to your superintendent by June 30.

Who can evaluate

A licensed clinical or school psychologist, a Pennsylvania-certified teacher with two years of grading experience, or a nonpublic teacher or administrator with two years of Pennsylvania teaching in the last ten. Never you or your spouse.

Parent qualification

The supervisor (a parent, guardian or legal custodian) must have a high school diploma or its equivalent.

Special education

If your child has been identified as needing special education, PDE says the program must address those needs and be approved in writing by a certified special education teacher or a licensed or certified psychologist, filed with your affidavit.

If the district has concerns

A late certification brings a letter giving you 10 days. A superintendent with a reasonable concern can ask for an evaluation within 30 days. A hearing can follow, and a program found out of compliance can be ended for 12 months.

Diploma

For grades 9–12: four years of English; three each of math, science and social studies; two of arts and humanities. You can issue a diploma signed by the 12th-grade evaluator, or use a PDE-approved diploma-granting organization.

School classes and activities

Your district must let your child join cocurricular activities and take academic courses (up to at least a quarter of the school day) and career and technical education programs, under district policy. You provide transportation.

Another route

Pennsylvania also allows instruction by a qualified private tutor (24 P.S. § 13-1327). It has separate rules; this page covers the home education program.