As a result of COVID-19, homeschooling is on the rise. For some, this is a short-term arrangement, and others have discovered that homeschooling is perfect for their family. In case you don’t know, homeschooling is simply the practice of educating your kids from home. Some families choose to collaborate through homeschooling cooperatives and extracurricular leagues to enrich the home school experience.

Homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, including the District of Columbia. When exploring the homeschooling route, please be aware that the laws and policies that govern homeschooling differ by state. If you wonder if homeschooling is a good fit for your family, you probably have questions about how to begin the process and what resources are available. Because of this, we created a series entitled, How to Start Homeschooling. In each installment, we will discuss homeschooling rules and resources for each state. In today’s installment, we will discuss homeschooling in Delaware.

What you need to know:

• The Delaware Homeschool Law requires you to open a non-public school through the Department of Education officially. This is where you must report the enrollment of your kid(s) and their attendance info.
• If you need to remove your kid, you will need first to open a non-public school with the Department of Education, and then you will receive an acknowledgment page, which you will bring to the school to remove your kid.
• There are no required requirements for homeschool teachers.
• There are no minimum required hours per day or days per year that a homeschool kid needs to attend.
• You must keep a record of your kid’s attendance throughout the year.
• Homeschool learners are not required to participate in yearly testing.
• If you re-enroll your child in a public school, you should be aware that the school may not accept the classes your learners have been working in. It is up to the school district to decide what grade level to place your kid in.

Resources

You can also check out the Delaware Department of Education’s Homeschooling page, Home School Legal Defense Association – Delaware, and Tri-State Homeschool, Inc. (DE, MD, PA, and NJ areas).