Skip to main content

Montana Homeschool Requirements Checklist

Everything you need to do to homeschool legally in Montana, based on MCA 20-5-109 (Home Schools). Montana is classified as Low regulation.

This is the general checklist for Home School Under MCA 20-5-109, the most common of Montana's 2 pathways. Our free wizard customizes this for your family, including grade, pathway, enrollment status, and IEP.

Your compliance checklist

Do first

File your Notice of Intent

Submit to county superintendent of schools (NOT the local school district superintendent). Deadline: once in each school fiscal year (July 1 to June 30); statute sets no specific date.

Deadline: once in each school fiscal year (July 1 to June 30); statute sets no specific date

Ongoing

Required subjects

The subjects Montana public schools must teach as their basic instructional program, set by the Board of Public Education in its accreditation standards (MCA 20-7-111) Conditions: Montana law does not list the subjects itself; it incorporates the public school basic instructional program defined by the Board of Public Education (Administrative Rules of Montana, Title 10, chapter 55). You choose how to teach them (MCA 20-5-111). The subjects are set by reference to the public school basic instructional program (MCA 20-7-111), not by grade-by-grade content.

More details

Conditions: Montana law does not list the subjects itself; it incorporates the public school basic instructional program defined by the Board of Public Education (Administrative Rules of Montana, Title 10, chapter 55). You choose how to teach them (MCA 20-5-111)..

Review instructional-time requirements

Check the cited source for the school-term or instructional-time rule that applies to your pathway. Conditions: Minimum aggregate hours by grade (MCA 20-1-301(2), applied by 20-5-109): 360 half-time or 720 full-time kindergarten; 720 for grades 1 through 3; 1,080 for grades 4 through 12. 1,050 hours may suffice for graduating seniors (20-1-301(1)).

Keep basic records

You must maintain: attendance records. Records may be reviewed by the district.

Renew each year

You must renew your homeschool notice each year.

Good news

No testing or assessment required

No standardized testing or assessments required under this pathway.

Filing requirements

What to file
simple notice
Send to
county superintendent of schools (NOT the local school district superintendent)
Deadline
once in each school fiscal year (July 1 to June 30); statute sets no specific date
How often
annual
Practical tip: MCA 20-5-109(2)(a) requires you to notify the county superintendent of schools of the county where your home school is located, in each school fiscal year, of your child's attendance at the home school. The statute does not prescribe a form or set a specific date.

MCA 20-5-109 (annual notification to county superintendent)

Ongoing requirements

Required subjects

  • ✓The subjects Montana public schools must teach as their basic instructional program, set by the Board of Public Education in its accreditation standards (MCA 20-7-111)
  • Montana law does not list the subjects itself; it incorporates the public school basic instructional program defined by the Board of Public Education (Administrative Rules of Montana, Title 10, chapter 55). You choose how to teach them (MCA 20-5-111).
Practical tip: Under MCA 20-5-111, the parent is solely responsible for the educational philosophy of the home school, the selection of instructional materials, curriculum and textbooks, the time, place and method of instruction, and the evaluation of the home school instruction.

MCA 20-5-109; MCA 20-7-111 (subjects required of public schools as a basic instructional program)

Recordkeeping

  • ✓Attendance records

Records may be reviewed by the district.

Practical tip: Keep attendance records and make them available to the county superintendent on request.

MCA 20-5-109 (attendance records; inspection by county superintendent)

Reporting

Varies by pathway. Home School Under MCA 20-5-109: true; Non-Public (Private) School: null

Annual renewal
Required

MCA 20-5-109 (annual notification to county superintendent)

What you don't need to worry about

No testing or assessment required

No standardized testing or assessments required under this pathway.

Other ways to homeschool in Montana

This checklist covers Home School Under MCA 20-5-109, the most common pathway. Montana offers 2 different ways to homeschool, each with different requirements:

  • •
    Home School Under MCA 20-5-109(this checklist) : You notify the county superintendent of schools in your county once in each school fiscal year (July 1 to June 30), keep attendance records that the county superintendent may ask to see, provide at least the minimum aggregate hours of instruction (720 hours for grades 1-3 and 1,080 hours for grades 4-12), and provide an organized course of study that includes the subjects required of public schools (MCA 20-5-109(2); MCA 20-1-301). Montana sets hours, not a number of days. No testing is required.
  • •
    Non-Public (Private) School : Your child attends a nonpublic (private) school. To qualify its students for exemption from compulsory enrollment, a nonpublic school keeps attendance and immunization records available to the county superintendent on request, provides at least the minimum aggregate hours of instruction under MCA 20-1-301, is housed in a building that meets local health and safety regulations, and provides an organized course of study that includes the subjects required of public schools (MCA 20-5-109(1)). Section 20-5-109(1) does not include a notice or testing requirement for nonpublic schools.

Our wizard helps you choose the right one. Compare all pathways for Montana

Get your personalized checklist

This is the general checklist for the most common pathway. The wizard customizes it for your family's specific situation, including grade, pathway, and IEP status.

Get your Montana checklist

Requirements sourced from MCA 20-5-109 (Home Schools). Last reviewed October 2026