Homeschool Records & Compliance Center from SchoolhouseTeachers.com
Homeschool Record Keeping Resources to Support State, Country, and Regional Requirements
Start Here
Every homeschool journey begins somewhere. For many families, the first step is notifying the appropriate school district or government agency of your intent to homeschool. If your student is just beginning school or you’re starting a new homeschool year, a Letter of Intent may be all that’s required. If you’re withdrawing from school during the year, a Letter of Withdrawal may be appropriate. Some jurisdictions also require a Homeschool Affidavit or similar documentation.
Because homeschool regulations vary, always verify your local requirements. These templates are designed to help you prepare your documentation but may need to be modified for your jurisdiction.
SchoolhouseTeachers.com does not provide legal advice or guarantee acceptance of these documents by any school or government agency.
Plan Your Year
Once your paperwork is in place, it’s time for the fun part—planning your homeschool year.
Explore the complete SchoolhouseTeachers.com course catalog by subject, grade level, or through our dedicated Focused Learning Centers. Use the Scope & Sequence documents to help place each student, or choose a School Box if you prefer a ready-made curriculum plan. Then create a personalized education plan for each student with the Education Plan Builder.
Stay Organized
Good organization makes homeschooling less stressful and helps you maintain consistent records throughout the year.
Whether you prefer digital record keeping through Applecore or printable gradebooks and schedules you maintain yourself, SchoolhouseTeachers.com offers flexible options to fit your family’s style. The best record-keeping system is the one you’ll use consistently.
Keep Records
A homeschool portfolio is required by some local regulations. Be sure to know what is required in your district at the beginning of the school year, because it is much easier to keep track of activities and accomplishments as they happen than to recreate them at the end of the year.
The Portfolio Builder guides you through a step-by-step process to organize your records, review your work, and prepare your portfolio to share when needed. Long after the school year is over, your completed portfolio can become a treasured keepsake to share with grandparents, family, and friends.
Homeschool Record Keeping FAQs
Most states require attendance logs, subjects taught, samples of student work, and progress reports. Some may also require standardized testing records.
It varies by state, but a good rule of thumb is to keep documentation for at least two to five years—or longer if your student may apply to college.
In many cases, yes! Digital files, scanned documents, and online portfolios are often accepted. Just be sure to back them up regularly.
Good question! Many reporting forms are designed with printed textbooks in mind, so they ask for curriculum name, publisher, and/or publication date. SchoolhouseTeachers.com offers digital curriculum that’s updated regularly—so there’s no single, fixed publication date like you’d find on a printed book. (That “publication date” field is usually there to show that you used a real curriculum—not to document a formal print edition.)
While we can’t offer legal advice or say what your state specifically requires, here are some practical suggestions other members have used:
Curriculum name: Use the exact title of the course
Author: List the Lesson Designer’s name, as shown on the course
Publisher: The Old Schoolhouse® / SchoolhouseTeachers.com
Date: Choose whichever is most appropriate:
- The date you downloaded or started using the course (like September 2024)
- The most recent revision date shown in the PDF file name (like 7-16-23)
- The school year when the course was used (like 2024–25)
Ready to get started? Open your Records & Reporting Center and begin building your documentation today—step by step, at your pace.
Looking for homeschool support in other countries? SchoolhouseTeachers.com offers Christian homeschooling resources and curriculum to families across the globe. Explore our international homeschool pages for country-specific guidance.
I had to fill out some forms for an educational grant for my oldest child. I panicked when it was asking for proof of compulsory education and gradekeeping, since I don’t typically have formal records of these. The forms on ST (Education Plan Builder and Schoolhouse Gradebook) gave me exactly what I needed, plus it was quick and looked professional. It would have taken me longer (and would have been much more stressful) to create these types of documents independently. Thank you for providing not only the curriculum, but also the additional resources!
Homeschool laws vary by state and region. Families are responsible for reviewing current requirements with their local education authority. SchoolhouseTeachers.com provides structured curriculum and documentation tools to support your record keeping but does not provide legal advice or represent that any document will meet specific local requirements.
