Homeschooling in Connecticut

What to do now

Under the law in force through June 30, 2027, provide equivalent instruction in reading, writing, spelling, English grammar, geography, arithmetic, United States history, and citizenship, including study of town, state, and federal government.

CSDE asks parents who wish to homeschool to contact the central office of the public school district where they live for local requirements and to provide notice of intent. Its current webpage presents notification, an attendance log, a portfolio, and review of the Connecticut Core Standards as best-practice guidance. The current statute does not establish a mandatory statewide homeschool form, annual filing deadline, portfolio submission, or standardized-testing requirement.

Keep copies of what you send and the district’s response. If a student later returns to public school, the district is not required to award graduation credit for work completed during homeschooling in grades nine through twelve.

What begins July 1, 2027

The amended law begins using the term parent-managed learning. The required subjects remain the same.

For a child enrolled in public school who will be withdrawn for parent-managed learning, the parent or guardian must personally appear at the district office and sign the new withdrawal form. Within two business days, the superintendent or designee must cause the Department of Children and Families to check each person who resides with the child and is eighteen years of age or older to determine whether that person is on the child abuse and neglect registry or is under an active abuse-or-neglect investigation.

If an adult in the home is identified by that check, the withdrawal is not effective and the child may not be withdrawn for parent-managed learning. The superintendent or designee must notify the parent of the result within five business days after the check begins. If the withdrawal is blocked, the notice must give the reason and information for challenging the determination, including DCF contact information.

This statutory check is tied to withdrawing a child who is enrolled in public school. It is not written as a yearly check for every family already using parent-managed learning.

What begins with the 2028–29 school year

The act creates a state intent-to-educate form and an October 1 filing deadline. For parent-managed learning, the enacted provision expressly reaches a child who will be five on or before September 1 or who had an intent-to-educate or withdrawal form in the preceding school year. It also reaches a child for whom an option form was signed in the preceding school year, including a child whose school attendance was delayed under the age-five or age-six option. The completed form goes to the school district office where the parent lives and may be submitted electronically.

A family moving into a district during the school year has fourteen days after establishing residence to file the form when the provision applies. If the district has not received a required form by November 1, the law directs it to make at least three attempts to contact the parent or guardian. If the district is unable to make contact by November 1, it must notify the Connecticut State Department of Education that it has not received the form.

CSDE must develop the new intent and withdrawal forms by July 1, 2027. Because those forms and implementation guidance are not yet available, families should confirm the 2028 procedure with CSDE and their resident district before relying on it, especially for an older child already being homeschooled when the new system begins.

Build the record you may need later

CSDE recommends keeping an attendance log and a portfolio with work samples, projects, assessments, and a list of books and materials used. These records can also help if a student returns to school, applies to college, or needs a transcript.

CSDE does not accredit homeschooling institutions and says it does not recognize credits or credentials earned through homeschooling. Families planning the high school years should preserve course descriptions, grades, credits, work samples, and graduation records and check prospective college requirements early.

Your home base: SchoolhouseTeachers.com

Connecticut leaves the curriculum and day-to-day education with you while requiring instruction in identified subjects and introducing new filing steps on a delayed schedule. SchoolhouseTeachers.com can help you build the program and keep your own records 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 keep your own records:

• Education Plan Builder for mapping each child’s year and Connecticut’s required subjects
• Custom Schedule Builder for laying out the instructional year
• Gradebook and report cards for tracking work and progress
• Portfolio Builder for gathering student work in one place
• 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.