Homeschooling in Vermont? Here’s your plan.

You send a notice of intent to the Secretary of Education, using the Agency of Education's form, at least 10 business days before you begin home study. The notice includes your child's name, age, and date of birth; contact information for the parents or guardians with legal custody; an attestation that you will assess your child's progress at the end of each school year and keep the record; and an attestation that your child will receive the equivalent of at least 175 days of instruction in the minimum course of study each year. If your child has not been enrolled in a Vermont public school or Vermont home study before, the notice also includes independent professional evidence about whether your child has a documented disability. Within 10 business days of a complete notice, the Secretary sends a written acknowledgment, which serves as your enrollment verification.

The minimum course of study comes from 16 V.S.A. Section 906: basic communication skills (reading, writing, and the use of numbers), citizenship, history, and government in Vermont and the United States, physical education and comprehensive health education, English, American, and other literature, the natural sciences, and the fine arts. For a child 13 or older, only basic communication skills, citizenship and government, literature, and the natural sciences apply.

Annual assessment is required, and you have five options: a standardized assessment, a review by someone with a current Vermont teacher's certificate, a parent report and portfolio with a summary of the year and at least four work samples, grades from an online academy or school, or evidence of passing the GED. You keep the assessment record yourself. Since July 1, 2023, results are no longer submitted to the Agency of Education, and state law does not provide for review of your home study records. Each following year, you file an annual notice at least 10 business days before your intended start date.

Vermont's compulsory attendance law applies to children between 6 and 16 years of age (16 V.S.A. Section 1121).

Vermont law lets a child of school age attend a public school, an approved or recognized independent school, an approved education program, or a home study program (16 V.S.A. Section 1121). For teaching at home, the Home Study Program under 16 V.S.A. Section 166b is the pathway with its own enrollment notice, course of study, and annual assessment. Enrolling in an approved independent school under 16 V.S.A. Section 166 is another way to meet the attendance law. In that route the school, not your family, carries the state duties: it reports its enrolled students to the Secretary of Education each October 1, provides the minimum course of study, keeps the daily attendance register and student progress records, and runs at least as many instructional hours as a public school. State law does not require your family to file a notice, test, or keep records. Your child attends for the full number of days the school is held (16 V.S.A. Section 1121).

File your enrollment notice early. Submit it at least 10 business days before starting home study, using the Agency of Education's form. The Agency recommends submitting by early August if you plan to start at the beginning of the school year.

Wait for your acknowledgment before withdrawing. The Agency of Education advises keeping your child in school until you receive confirmation that your home study enrollment is complete.

Choose your assessment method. You have five options each year: standardized assessment, certified teacher review, parent report and portfolio, online academy grades, or evidence of passing the GED. Keep a copy of the result in your records.

Public school courses and activities. Each school board must have a policy that lets home study students take courses and join cocurricular and extracurricular activities (16 V.S.A. Section 563(24)). Your school board's policy sets the details.

Plan ahead for special needs. IEP services may end when you withdraw for home study. For a child with a documented disability, your enrollment notice includes an attestation that you will provide adaptations to support your child. Contact your district to ask what services are available.

Keep your assessment records. Vermont requires you to keep the record of each year's assessment. Keeping curriculum notes and work samples as well helps with college applications later.