Homeschooling in Vermont
What the law requires, what you file and when, and what to keep — with the statute behind each rule.
What Vermont requires
- Notify
- Vermont Agency of Education, Home Study Office (Secretary of Education) - not the local district — At least 10 business days before the home study program starts (AOE recommends early August for a fall start; the child must be enrolled somewhere by the first day of school). Mid-year enrollment allowed; for 2026-27, partial-year enrollments accepted through March 31, 2027. (annual)
- Testing or evaluation
- Required. Assess each child at the end of every school year by one of: a standardized test (given by the district, a testing service, or as the test publisher allows); review by a Vermont-licensed teacher; a parent report and portfolio with at least four work samples; grades from an online academy or school; or passing the GED.
- Subjects set by the state
- Yes — 6 required subjects, listed below
- Teaching time
- 175 days — in detail
- Compulsory school age
- 6 to 16 — in detail
- Records
- End-of-year assessment for each child (AOE advises keeping until age 18) and your curriculum/minimum course of study.
Taking your child out of school in Vermont
First move: Submit the Notice of Intent (and report card or Independent Professional Evidence) to AOE at least 10 business days before starting; keep the child in school until AOE confirms enrollment (it processes within up to 10 business days and notifies the superintendent).
To leave home study, notify AOE in writing within 10 business days.
The legal routes
2 routes exist in Vermont. They carry different duties, and families often do not know the alternatives to the obvious one.
- Home study program (16 V.S.A. § 166b)
- Parent files a Notice of Intent with the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) each year, attests to 175 days of instruction in the required subjects and to an end-of-year assessment, and keeps the records.
- Approved or recognized independent school
- Enrollment in an approved independent school (including some online programs that qualify) also satisfies compulsory attendance; otherwise online programs are used within home study.
The notice, and who receives it
- Goes to
- Vermont Agency of Education, Home Study Office (Secretary of Education) - not the local district
- Deadline
- At least 10 business days before the home study program starts (AOE recommends early August for a fall start; the child must be enrolled somewhere by the first day of school). Mid-year enrollment allowed; for 2026-27, partial-year enrollments accepted through March 31, 2027.
- Renews
- annual
- Form
- Home Study Enrollment Notice of Intent (first year, plus a VT public school report card or Independent Professional Evidence); Home Study Re-enrollment Annual Notice (later years) — official form
Subjects Vermont requires
- reading and writing (basic communication skills, including use of numbers/math)
- citizenship, history and government of Vermont and the U.S.
- English, American and other literature
- natural sciences
- physical education and comprehensive health education (under age 13 only)
- fine arts (under age 13 only)
Compulsory school age
6 to 16 (excused once the child has completed 10th grade).
Teaching time
Equivalent of at least 175 days of instruction per year (parent attests).
Who may teach
Vermont sets no qualification for the parent teaching at home: no teaching certificate, no college degree, and no requirement that you hold a high school diploma.
Testing and evaluation
Assess each child at the end of every school year by one of: a standardized test (given by the district, a testing service, or as the test publisher allows); review by a Vermont-licensed teacher; a parent report and portfolio with at least four work samples; grades from an online academy or school; or passing the GED. No passing score.
Keep the results; do not send to AOE unless asked (or if you want a Verification Letter).
Records to keep
End-of-year assessment for each child (AOE advises keeping until age 18) and your curriculum/minimum course of study. A school may ask for them if the child later enrolls, for placement or credit.
High school, diplomas and transcripts
AOE does not issue diplomas; parents may issue their own. AOE can provide a Verification Letter showing home study enrollment dates.
Home study students can use Vermont's Dual Enrollment vouchers and Early College program (requires submitting a minimum course of study/personalized learning plan).
Public school classes, sports and activities
Home study students may take up to 2 of the 5 core courses plus electives at their local public school and join co-curricular/extracurricular activities and athletics, on the same basis as full-time students as space permits (Act 119). May apply to a regional career and technical education (CTE) center and attend at no cost if accepted.
No special education services from the school while in home study.
Funding: education savings accounts, vouchers and tax credits
No education savings account, voucher or tax-credit program open to homeschool families was found for Vermont. Families fund their own materials.
What changed recently
2023 Acts and Resolves No. 66 (H.461, signed June 14, 2023, effective July 1, 2023): families no longer submit a minimum course of study or end-of-year assessment to AOE; enrollment is now an annual Notice of Intent with attestations (assessment kept at home, 175 days, adaptations for disabilities, sole-custody), filed 10 business days before starting; AOE must acknowledge within 10 business days; the Aug 1 deadline and AOE hearing procedures were removed.
Both parents with legal educational rights must sign unless one attests to sole authority.
What we could not confirm
Text of 16 V.S.A. § 906(b) (subject list) could not be loaded directly; subjects are from AOE's 2023 FAQ and well-known statutory wording. AOE materials name the 2023 bill inconsistently (H-0461 vs 'H261').
Statutory citation for the public school participation rules (referred to as Act 119) was not verified.
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
- 16 V.S.A. § 166b
- 16 V.S.A. § 1121
- 16 V.S.A. § 906