Each state has its own requirements for parents to homeschool their children. Below are the state requirements for Virginia. For information about state requirements for other states, go to the Home School Legal Defense Association website.

1. For a parent to homeschool children, the parent must meet one of the following requirements:


• holds a high school diploma
• is a teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Board of Education
• enrolled the child or children in a correspondence course approved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction
• provides a curriculum that, in the judgment of the division superintendent, includes the standards of learning objectives adopted by the Board of Education for language arts and mathematics provides evidence that the parent is able to provide an adequate education for the child.


2. Parents who will be homeschooling their children must notify the division superintendent by August 15 of each year with a Notice of Intent and provide a description of the curriculum to be followed for the coming year and evidence of having met the requirement above. Any parent who moves into a school division or begins home instruction after the school year has begun shall notify the division superintendent as soon as practicable. The division superintendent shall notify the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the number of students in the school division receiving home instruction.



3. Parents who homeschool their children must provide the division superintendent by August 1 following the school year with either
• evidence that the child has attained a composite score in or above the fourth stanine on any nationally normed standardized achievement test
• an evaluation or assessment that the division superintendent determines to indicate that the child is achieving an adequate level of educational growth and progress.



If a child has not proven successful for a given year, the home instruction program for that child may be placed on probation for one year. Parents should file with the division superintendent evidence of their ability to provide an adequate education for their children and a remediation plan for the probationary year that indicates their program is designed to address any educational deficiency. If the division superintendent accepts the proposal, the home instruction may continue for one probationary year. If the remediation plan and evidence are not accepted or the required evidence of progress is not provided by August 1 following the probationary year, home instruction shall cease and the parent shall make other arrangements for the education of the child.

This requirement does not apply to children who are under the age of 6 as of September 30 of the school year.

4. Parents may take their children out of school due to religious training or belief. They must file requests to acknowledge religious exemption with the local school board chairperson.



5. Any party who does not agree with a decision made by the division superintendent may appeal the decision within 30 days to an independent hearing officer. The independent hearing officer will be chosen from the list maintained by the executive secretary of the Supreme Court for hearing appeals of the placements of children with disabilities. The costs of the hearing shall be apportioned among the parties by the hearing officer in a manner consistent with his findings.



6. School boards shall implement a plan to notify students receiving home instruction and their parents of the availability of advanced placement examinations and preliminary scholastic aptitude tests and the availability of financial assistance to low-income and needy students to take these examinations. School boards shall implement a plan to make these examinations available to students receiving home instruction.

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