Homeschooling in Illinois
Welcome, Illinois homeschool family. Illinois recognizes home education through the private-school exemption in its compulsory-attendance law. You choose the curriculum and organize the instruction, while making sure your child receives an adequate education in the required branches, in English. Here is the clearest way to build that program and document it well.
Who this applies to
Compulsory attendance begins when a child is age six on or before September 1 and continues while the child is under seventeen, unless the child has already graduated from high school or another statutory exception applies.
A child may satisfy that duty by attending a private or parochial school where children are taught the branches of education taught to children of corresponding age and grade in public schools, with instruction in those branches given in English. The Illinois Supreme Court held in People v. Levisen that home instruction may qualify as that private schooling.
If your child is enrolled right now
Section 26-1 does not require a family using this exemption to submit a state notice, registration, or approval application. If your child is currently enrolled in a school, give that school a dated written withdrawal notice before home instruction begins. Keep a copy and proof of delivery so the school record clearly shows that your child was withdrawn rather than absent.
Withdraw. Plan. Teach. Document.
What Illinois asks for
What Illinois asks for
- Compulsory age
- Legal route
- Education standard
- Language
- Subject areas
- State filing under Section 26-1
- Evidence
How to handle it
- Age six on or before September 1 while the child is under seventeen, unless graduated or otherwise exempt
- Operate through the private-school exemption recognized for home instruction in People v. Levisen
- Provide an adequate course of instruction in good faith, covering the corresponding branches of education
- Teach the required branches of education in English
- Include language arts, mathematics, biological and physical sciences, social sciences, fine arts, and physical development and health
- No state notice, registration, or approval application is required under this exemption
- Keep records capable of showing adequate, good-faith instruction if the program is challenged
What Illinois asks for
How to handle it
- Compulsory age
- Age six on or before September 1 while the child is under seventeen, unless graduated or otherwise exempt
- Legal route
- Operate through the private-school exemption recognized for home instruction in People v. Levisen
- Education standard
- Provide an adequate course of instruction in good faith, covering the corresponding branches of education
- Language
- Teach the required branches of education in English
- Subject areas
- Include language arts, mathematics, biological and physical sciences, social sciences, fine arts, and physical development and health
- State filing under Section 26-1
- No state notice, registration, or approval application is required under this exemption
- Evidence
- Keep records capable of showing adequate, good-faith instruction if the program is challenged
The six subject areas
Illinois requires the branches of education taught to children of corresponding age and grade in public schools. Section 27-1 identifies the principal branches as language arts; mathematics; biological and physical sciences; social sciences; fine arts; and physical development and health.
You select the curriculum and build an age-appropriate course of instruction across those areas, teaching the required branches in English.
Instructional time
Illinois does not place a separate numerical homeschool-day or homeschool-hour total in the private-school exemption. The controlling standard is an adequate course of instruction in the corresponding branches of education.
That gives families flexibility in scheduling, but it does not remove the responsibility to provide a real, good-faith educational program.
Keep evidence of the education you provide
Illinois does not prescribe a particular homeschool portfolio in the private-school exemption. Even so, records are important because Levisen and Scoma place the burden on parents to establish that their home instruction meets Illinois requirements if the program is challenged.
Keep an education plan, course and book lists, schedules or attendance records, samples of completed work, grades or evaluations, and high-school transcripts as appropriate. These are practical recordkeeping choices, not a claim that Illinois mandates one particular portfolio format.
What the court decisions mean for your family
People v. Levisen recognized the home as a place where private instruction may occur. The decision says parents using this method bear the burden of showing that they have provided an adequate course of instruction in good faith.
Scoma v. Chicago Board of Education upheld that allocation of the burden. In ordinary family terms: teach a genuine program that covers the required branches, and keep enough evidence to show what you provided if compliance is ever questioned.
Your home base: SchoolhouseTeachers.com
Illinois gives you flexibility in the manner, time, and materials you use while holding you responsible for an adequate education. SchoolhouseTeachers.com can help you build that program and keep its record together.
One online family membership gives every child unlimited access to hundreds of online, self-paced courses from preschool through twelfth grade, all from a Biblical worldview, with graduation and college-preparation resources.
You will also find Virtual School Boxes, self-grading iST courses, World Book Online, and thousands of family-friendly videos.
The Homeschool Records & Compliance Center gives you tools to plan the year and preserve evidence of the education you provide:
- Education Plan Builder for mapping each child’s year and required subject areas
- Custom Schedule Builder for organizing instruction across the year
- Gradebook and report cards for tracking work and progress
- Portfolio Builder for gathering samples of completed work
- Transcript tools for organizing high-school courses and credits
- Applecore recordkeeping for grades, attendance, courses, and credits
- Certificates of Completion for documenting finished courses
One family membership. Every child in your HOME. No fee per child. No fee per course. No limits.
“SchoolhouseTeachers.com is just amazing! I’ve had my account for almost two years, and I still don’t think I’ve seen everything!”
Ammy Quinn, SchoolhouseTeachers.com member
Questions? Call 1.888.718.HOME or email
customerservice@theoldschoolhouse.com.
A real homeschooler answers.
Requirements vary and change. Confirm current requirements with the Illinois State Board of Education and current Illinois law. SchoolhouseTeachers.com provides curriculum and recordkeeping tools. It is not a school, it is not accredited, and nothing on this page is legal advice.
Sources: 105 ILCS 5/26-1 and 5/27-1; People v. Levisen, 404 Ill. 574 (1950); Scoma v. Chicago Board of Education, 391 F. Supp. 452 (N.D. Ill. 1974).
Last reviewed: August 2026
