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Are you considering homeschooling your child? You can do it! As you get started, it’s important to make sure you comply with the education laws where you live. This page helps you understand how to homeschool legally—step by step.
Compulsory school attendance age
When your child reaches his or her 6th birthday, you must start complying with Pennsylvania compulsory attendance.
Once your child turns 18, you do not need to comply with compulsory attendance.
HSLDA believes that a parent-issued diploma and transcript should be sufficient to demonstrate that a child has completed secondary education. However, even if your child is beyond compulsory school attendance age, there may be situations where you would want to continue to follow the requirements of a home education option recognized under Pennsylvania law until your child graduates from high school (filing a home education notice, keeping attendance and other records, etc.).
These records may be requested in some situations, such as obtaining a driver's license if your child is a minor, enlisting in the military, applying to colleges, or demonstrating eligibility for Social Security benefits. If you are a member of HSLDA and would like additional details, please contact us.
**Note: If your child turns 6 before September 1, you must file a homeschool affidavit for that year. If your child turns 6 after September 1st, you may wait till the following year to file a homeschool affidavit.
Class requirements
At the elementary school level, the following courses shall be taught:
English, to include spelling, reading, and writing; arithmetic;
science; geography; history of the United States and Pennsylvania;
civics; safety education, including regular and continuous instruction
in the dangers and prevention of fires; health and physiology;
physical education; music; and art.
At the secondary school level, the following courses shall be taught:
English, to include language, literature, speech, and composition;
science; geography; social studies, including civics, world history,
history of the United States and Pennsylvania; mathematics, include
general mathematics, algebra, and geometry; art; music; physical
education; health; and safety education, including regular and
continuous instruction in the dangers and prevention of fires. Such
courses of study may include, at the discretion of the supervisor of
the home education program, economics; biology; chemistry; foreign
languages; trigonometry; or other age-appropriate courses as contained
in Chapter 5 (Curriculum Requirements) of the State Board of
Education.