How to Start Homeschooling in District of Columbia

Yes. Homeschooling is legal in Washington, D.C.

The compulsory attendance law is in D.C. Code Section 38-202. The detailed homeschool rules are in the D.C. Municipal Regulations, Title 5-E, Chapter 52 ("District of Columbia Home Schooling," Sections 5200 et seq.). OSSE administers them.

D.C. is a moderate-regulation jurisdiction. You notify OSSE, meet the program standards, and keep a portfolio that OSSE may ask to review. D.C. does not require standardized testing.

D.C. is a single jurisdiction, so there is one set of rules and one agency to work with.

D.C.'s home schooling rules cover children from age 5 until they reach age 18. OSSE's compulsory education rules apply from age 5, which is younger than many states.

If you moved from a state where school starts at 6 or 7, your five-year-old is already covered in D.C. If you plan a gentle or play-based start, you still file your notification with OSSE once your child reaches compulsory age.

Here is how to start homeschooling in D.C., step by step.

Step 1: Check the instructor requirement. The parent who teaches needs a high school diploma or its equivalent. If you do not have one, you can petition OSSE for a waiver by showing you can provide a thorough, regular education (5-E DCMR 5207). For the waiver form, email OSSE.Homeschool@dc.gov.

Step 2: File your Notification of Intent to Homeschool with OSSE. Use OSSE's official notification form. Submit it at least 15 days, not counting Saturdays, Sundays, or District holidays, before your first day of home instruction (5-E DCMR 5202). The form includes your consent to the home schooling rules. You file it online at homeschool.dc.gov. OSSE's guide to the form says it asks for your information, your child's information, the school your child last attended, the grade, and your first day of homeschool, and you upload your high school diploma or GED document, or request a waiver if you do not have it. OSSE sends you a verification letter after it approves your notification. Keep that letter safe.

Step 3: Withdraw from your current school. If your child is enrolled in a D.C. public or public charter school, notify the school that you intend to withdraw your child, and give the school your OSSE verification letter to begin the official withdrawal. Until your child is officially withdrawn, OSSE says the child stays registered, accrues unexcused absences, and is subject to the school's truancy reporting.

Step 4: Start teaching. Provide thorough, regular instruction of sufficient duration in the required subjects (5-E DCMR 5204). You set your own schedule.

Step 5: Keep your portfolio and records. Keep a portfolio of your child's current work for at least one year (5-E DCMR 5205). Also keep a daily attendance log. D.C. Code 38-203(a) asks teachers of each educational institution, which includes a private instructor, to keep a daily attendance record.

Step 6: Renew every year by August 15. For each year your homeschool continues, file a continuation notice with OSSE identifying each child, by August 15 (5-E DCMR 5203). Set a calendar reminder now.

D.C. asks for two regular filings, plus one more if you stop.

Notification of Intent to Homeschool (first time). Submit it on OSSE's official form at least 15 business days before instruction begins. It includes your consent to the home schooling rules.

Notification of Homeschool Continuation (every year after). Due by August 15 for each year your program continues.

Notification to Discontinue Homeschooling (if you stop). Notify OSSE in writing at least 15 business days before you stop homeschooling, for any reason (5-E DCMR 5203.2).

You do not routinely submit test scores, portfolios, or progress reports. OSSE may ask in writing to review your portfolio.

If your child is enrolled in a D.C. public or public charter school, you must notify the school of your intention to withdraw your child.

Here is the order that works. File your Notification of Intent to Homeschool with OSSE first. After OSSE approves it, it sends you a verification letter. Give that letter to your child's school to begin the official withdrawal. If you cannot find your letter, you can request a copy at OSSE.Homeschool@dc.gov.

A student may not be registered to homeschool while also attending a public or public charter school. Until your child is officially withdrawn, OSSE says the child stays registered at the school, accrues unexcused absences, and is subject to the school's truancy reporting. Finishing the withdrawal promptly avoids that. Keep copies of everything you send.

Under 5-E DCMR 5204, your homeschool program includes, but need not be limited to:

• Language arts
• Mathematics
• Science
• Social studies
• Art
• Music
• Health
• Physical education

You choose your own curriculum, textbooks, and methods. The rules say homeschooling is not required to include the public schools' programs or methods, or to follow their curricular frameworks.

Keep your OSSE verification letter handy. Your school needs it to process withdrawal, and you can request a copy from OSSE.Homeschool@dc.gov if you lose it.

D.C. rules depend on where you live. D.C. has its own homeschool rules, separate from Maryland and Virginia. Follow the D.C. rules if you live in D.C.

Sports. A homeschooled student may petition the District of Columbia State Athletic Association to take part in sports.

Free transit and library benefits. OSSE says homeschooled students are eligible for the Kids Ride Free program and that homeschooling families can get a DC Educator's Library Card.

Special education. OSSE says the right to a free appropriate public education applies only to students enrolled in a D.C. public school. Once your child is withdrawn to homeschool, specialized instruction and related services from the public school end. Make this a deliberate decision if your child has an IEP.

You create the diploma and transcript. You create your child's diploma and transcript. Keep high school records as you go.