Below is a summary of Delaware Homeschool Laws to help you ensure your homeschool is compliant.
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Note: The information below is not to be considered legal advice. I’m a homeschool mom with an interest in helping you, not a lawyer. I strongly recommend that you contact your state education department if you have questions specific to your circumstances.
Delaware has two options available for homeschool: Single-Family Homeschool and Multi-Family Homeschool. I summarized them together below because the requirements are essentially the same.
Single-Family or Multi-Family Homeschool
Delaware has homeschool registration, enrollment, and attendance reporting requirements.
Can I Teach?
There is no state requirement for you to meet in order to teach.
A Single-Family Homeschool is one in which a child’s parent or guardian provides instruction mainly in their own home.
A Multi-Family Homeschool is several families being taught by parents in one or several residences or other buildings. One person from this group must act as a liaison to the Department of Education to handle reporting requirements.
Do I Have to Notify the State?
Yes. There are three things Delaware requires for homeschools:
- You or your liaison must register as a nonpublic school. Delaware has instructions for registration here.
- You or your liaison must report enrollment no later than October 5th each year, which can be done here.
- You or your liaison must report attendance no later than July 31st each year. This reporting can be done here.
How Many Days a Year do I Have to Teach?
There is no requirement for the number of school days or hours. Delaware’s public school year is 180 days, so it would be a good idea to stay close to that number for your homeschool and remember to keep attendance.
Compulsory Attendance Age
The compulsory attendance age is the age range in which your child must be attending school of some type.
In Delaware, this range is 5 years (by August 31) to 18 years.
Public School Sports
The Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) doesn’t have specific guidance for allowing homeschoolers to participate in sports or other activities. I would recommend contacting your school district and/or nearby schools to see if they would allow it.
Wrapping Up
Hopefully this summary of Delaware Homeschool Laws gets you started on your homeschool journey with your family!
If you’re just getting started, you’re probably feeling a bit overwhelmed.
The Home Learning Kit can help!
It’s a package of handy learning tools to make your homeschool more fun and engaging, curated by yours truly. Check it out!
