The Easiest States To Homeschool Your Child—An Extensive Guide

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What Are the Easiest States To Homeschool Children? Find Out With DoNotPay!

Homeschooling can be a bumpy road, at least in the beginning. Home-based education is heavily influenced by your local homeschooling laws. While some states try to make it easy for parents to teach their children, others turn the process into an ordeal.

What are the easiest states to homeschool in? to find out whether this is the wise option for you and your child.

Is Homeschooling in All 50 States?

Homeschooling became pretty popular during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when many parents began homeschooling in the middle of the year. According to federal law, you can homeschool your child no matter what part of the country you live in.

Even though this is excellent news for many parents who intend to homeschool their children, not all state laws make it easy or convenient.

Some states are homeschooling-friendly because parents can be autonomous and monitor their child's education as they find fit, and the law is not too strict about:

  1. Record-keeping
  2. Testing
  3. Reporting

What Are Homeschool-Friendly States?

If you are taking the entire homeschooling agenda seriously and would consider moving to give your child the best experience, it's crucial to learn about specific rules and regulations. Parents typically favor the least restrictive legislation. Take a look at the table below to see the list of states that meet that qualification according to the Home School Defense Association (HSLDA):

StateEssential Info
Texas
  • You must use a written curriculum
  • Mandatory subjects are
    • Math
    • Reading
    • Spelling and grammar
    • Good citizenship
Oklahoma
  • There is no requirement to test or report
  • You need to teach for at least 180 days each school year
New Jersey
  • You must teach the same subjects offered by local public schools
Missouri
  • You must keep records for all children under 16
  • You should have at least 1,000 hours of teaching during each school term
Michigan
  • There are no regulations about grade levels or the frequency of courses
  • You can choose to homeschool as a nonpublic school, under the state’s homeschooling law, or both
Indiana
  • Homeschooling is equivalent to private schools and must comply with the state’s private school statute
  • You need to teach for the same number of days as public schools (usually 180)
  • You must keep attendance records
Illinois
  • Homeschools don’t need to register with or be recognized by the state
  • Homeschooling is treated as education at private schools
Idaho
  • You don’t have to:
    • Possess specific qualifications
    • Obtain district approvals
    • Do testing
    • Provide information about the homeschool program
  • You need to select an instructor for your children (it can be anybody)
Alaska
  • You don’t have to:
    • Notify the state
    • Get approval
    • Give tests
    • Be a certified teacher
    • Maintain contact with the government

The listed states do not require you to give the school district notice of intent to homeschool.

What Is the Homeschooling Situation in Other States?

You should also learn about the states that are not so lenient with homeschooling. If you are determined to educate your child at home, avoid the following:

States not mentioned on the worst and best lists fall somewhere in between. You can check out DoNotPay’s detailed guides on their homeschooling policies in the table below:

States With Low RegulationStates With Moderate Regulation

If you decide to homeschool your child in any of these states, you’ll need to provide a letter of intent to homeschool, and DoNotPay can help you with this task!

Use DoNotPay To Write a Letter of Intent to Homeschool

You don’t have to bother writing a letter of intent yourself. DoNotPay is here to handle the tedious task for you! We will make sure to include all the essential information this document needs to contain. Here’s how it works:

  1. Choose the Notice of Intent To Homeschool product
  2. Enter some information about your school district
  3. Provide us with some info about you and your child

Once you answer the chatbot’s questions, you can:

  • Have your letter notarized
  • Have the letter sent on your behalf
  • Receive a PDF version

DoNotPay can also answer other homeschooling questions you might have, such as:

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