Alden House. Parent Center

Homeschooling in New York

What the law requires, what you file and when, and what to keep — with the statute behind each rule.

approval and review 9 sources Verified 12 October 2026

What New York requires

Notify
Superintendent of the local public school district (in New York City, the NYC Department of Education home schooling office) — July 1 each year, or within 14 days of starting home instruction or moving into the district mid-year (annual)
Testing or evaluation
Required. Every year, filed with the 4th quarterly report.
Subjects set by the state
Yes — 5 groups of required subjects, listed below
Teaching time
180 days, 900 hours, 990 hours, 108 hours — in detail
Compulsory school age
6 to 16 — in detail
Records
Attendance records (provided to the district on request).

Taking your child out of school in New York

First move: Send the district superintendent a written letter of intent to homeschool within 14 days of starting.

Within 10 business days the district must send a copy of 100.10 and an IHIP form; the IHIP is due within 4 weeks of receiving it (or Aug 15, whichever is later). Quarterly report dates are set in proportion to the remaining school year.

The legal routes

2 routes exist in New York. They carry different duties, and families often do not know the alternatives to the obvious one.

Home instruction under 8 NYCRR 100.10
Parents provide 'substantially equivalent' instruction (Educ. Law 3204) and follow the Commissioner's regulation: annual notice, an Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP), quarterly reports and an annual assessment filed with the local school district.
Nonpublic (private/religious) school
Enrolling in a private school is a separate route. NYSED says a group of families that uses a tutor for most instruction is operating a nonpublic school, not home instruction; correspondence or online programs still require filing an IHIP.

The notice, and who receives it

Goes to
Superintendent of the local public school district (in New York City, the NYC Department of Education home schooling office)
Deadline
July 1 each year, or within 14 days of starting home instruction or moving into the district mid-year
Renews
annual
Form
Letter of intent (no state form); the district then sends the IHIP form

No official state form was found online for this route; the body above supplies it, or a letter serves.

Subjects New York requires

  • Grades 1-6: arithmetic, reading, spelling, writing, English language, geography, U.S. history, science, health, music, visual arts, physical education (and bilingual education/ESL where needed)
  • Grades 7-8 (over both years): English 2 units, history & geography 2, science 2, math 2, art 1/2, music 1/2; plus regular PE, health, practical arts, library skills
  • Once in grades 1-8: U.S. history, New York State history, U.S. and NY Constitutions
  • Grades 9-12 (over 4 years): English 4 units, social studies 4 (incl. American history 1, participation in government 1/2, economics 1/2), math 2, science 2, art and/or music 1, health 1/2, PE 2, electives 3
  • All grades: patriotism and citizenship; alcohol, drug and tobacco misuse; highway and bicycle safety; fire and arson prevention

See which courses here cover these subjects →

Compulsory school age

6 to 16. A child who turns 6 on or before Dec 1 must start that September; attendance runs through the end of the school year in which the child turns 16.

Under Educ. Law 3205(3) any district board may require unemployed 16- and 17-year-olds to attend through the end of the year they turn 17 (New York City does). District kindergarten mandates for 5-year-olds do not apply to home instruction.

Teaching time

Substantial equivalent of 180 days per year; 900 hours/year (grades 1-6) or 990 hours/year (grades 7-12). A unit = 6,480 minutes (about 108 hours) per year.

Who may teach

None. Districts may not require proof of credentials; parents may also use tutors.

(Under probation, a district may require a remediation plan.)

Testing and evaluation

Every year, filed with the 4th quarterly report. Option 1: a standardized test from the 100.10(h) list (Iowa Test of Basic Skills, California Achievement Test, Stanford Achievement Test, Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, Metropolitan Achievement Test, a State Education Department test, or another approved test), given at a public school, at a registered nonpublic school, or by a NYS-certified teacher or other qualified person with the superintendent's consent (a parent only with superintendent consent); adequate = composite above the 33rd percentile on national norms or one year of academic growth over a prior test.

Option 2: a written narrative by a NYS-certified teacher, a home-instruction peer review panel, or another person approved by the superintendent who interviews the child and reviews a portfolio - allowed every year in grades 1-3 and no more than every other year in grades 4-8; grades 9-12 must use a standardized test. An inadequate assessment puts the program on probation for up to two school years with a remediation plan. NYSED's 2026 regulatory agenda lists a planned change to the approved assessment list (no rule proposed yet).

Deadline: With the fourth quarterly report (on the date set in the IHIP)

Records to keep

Attendance records (provided to the district on request). Quarterly reports to the district on IHIP dates: hours for the quarter, material covered in each subject, a grade or narrative per subject, and an explanation if less than 80% of planned material was covered.

Keeping a portfolio is wise for narrative evaluations.

High school, diplomas and transcripts

Districts cannot award local or Regents diplomas to home-instructed students. Parents may issue their own diploma, but NY colleges follow NYSED rules on proof of high school completion: options include a superintendent's letter of substantial equivalency (discretionary for the superintendent), passing a high school equivalency exam, 24 college credits toward a degree, or passing specified Regents exams.

Public school classes, sports and activities

Very limited. NYSED says part-time attendance in public school classes is not authorized, and interscholastic sports and intramurals require enrollment; clubs, band/music and facility use are at district discretion.

Special education evaluations (and certain special education services under Educ. Law 3602-c) are available on request. Bills to open sports to homeschoolers have been introduced but none found enacted.

Funding: education savings accounts, vouchers and tax credits

New York has no ESA, voucher or tax-credit program for homeschool families.

What changed recently

No enacted change to NY home instruction rules found for 2023-2026. PENDING only: NYSED's 2026 regulatory agenda lists an amendment to 100.10(h) to expand/modify the list of approved annual assessments (no proposed rule yet); S10714 (introduced Oct 2, 2026, in Senate Rules) would require extra district review within 60 days for children who start home instruction after missing 20%+ of school days; A323D/S4037 (2025-26) would lower the compulsory age to 5 (in Assembly Codes since May 27, 2026); S199/A2326 would require superintendents to issue substantial-equivalency letters to completed home-instructed students within 30 days (in Senate Education).

None has passed either house.

What we could not confirm

NYSED's Q&A page is undated and notes it is not fully updated. Which districts besides NYC require attendance to 17 varies by district policy.

The exact NYC office/portal for filing was not confirmed from the page text.

Listed because a legal summary that hides its gaps is harder to trust than one that names them. How these pages are checked.

Statutes and sources

Statute and regulation

  • N.Y. Educ. Law § 3204
  • N.Y. Educ. Law § 3205
  • 8 NYCRR § 100.10

Statute text

State agency

Secondary sources