How to homeschool in Vermont

Home study program · 16 V.S.A. § 166b

Parents enroll the child in home study with the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE). The program is enrolled only once AOE sends a written acknowledgment, which it must do within 10 business days of receiving a complete notice. Families choose their own curriculum and get no state funding.

Notice

• Send to: the Vermont Secretary of Education (Agency of Education Home Study Office).
• When: at least 10 business days before home study begins; re-enrollment is due on or before the start of each following year, also at least 10 business days ahead.
• How often: annually.
• How: AOE's online Notice of Intent (first year) or Annual Notice (later years), or the paper version mailed, emailed, or faxed to the Home Study Office.

Instruction time

The equivalent of at least 175 days per year.

Required subjects

• Basic communication skills: reading, writing, and the use of numbers.
• Citizenship, history, and government in Vermont and the United States.
• English, American, and other literature.
• Natural sciences.
• Under age 13 only: physical education and comprehensive health education (including the effects of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs).
• Under age 13 only: fine arts.

Records to keep

• Each year's end-of-year assessment.
• Your written minimum course of study (keep it; do not send it to AOE).
• AOE's written acknowledgment of enrollment.
• For a child with a documented disability, the adaptations you provide.

Testing / evaluation

At the end of each school year, using one of: a standardized test (given by the school district, a testing service, or as the test publisher allows); a progress review by a teacher with a current Vermont license; a parent report and portfolio with a summary of what was learned and at least four work samples; grades from an online academy or school; or evidence of passing the GED. Keep it in your records. Since July 1, 2023 it is not submitted to AOE.

Parent qualifications

None.

Also

• For a student with a documented disability, attest that you will provide adaptations to support the student.
• Notify the Secretary in writing within 10 business days after withdrawing a student from home study.

What the notice must include

• Child's name, age, and full date of birth.
• Contact information for every parent or guardian with legal authority over educational decisions, and their signatures (or a sole-authority parent's attestation of that status).
• Attestation that the child's academic progress will be assessed at the end of each school year and that you will keep the assessment records.
• Attestation that the child will receive the equivalent of at least 175 days of instruction per year in the minimum course of study.
• First-time enrollment of a child not previously in a Vermont public school or home study: independent professional evidence on whether the child has a documented disability and how it may affect progress in home study.

Checklist

• Submit the Home Study Notice of Intent (plus independent professional evidence or an accepted alternative for first-time enrollees): at least 10 business days before you start.
• Wait for AOE's written acknowledgment before treating the child as enrolled: within 10 business days of a complete notice.
• Write and keep your minimum course of study: before the school year starts.
• Do the end-of-year assessment and file it with your records: each year, at the end of the school year.
• Submit the Annual Notice to re-enroll: each year, at least 10 business days before the new year starts (AOE recommends early August).
• Notify AOE in writing if you stop home study: within 10 business days of withdrawing.