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Go to Page Index New York State's homeschooling laws and regulations require reporting to your educational disctrict, except in NYC where all five boroughs report to the central Homeschooling Office of the Department of Education (DoE). This paperwork may seem initally to be a big chore, but gets easier as you go. It gives us each power when we educate ourselves to know the law well, and the resulting paperwork helps to keep us organized and well-documented. Don't rely on overworked bureaucrats to inform you. Take the time to learn what is actually required by the law. A summary of what you need to file each year follows. You can use the papework forms supplied by the DoE, or you can make your own, or use the templates I made.  If you are taking your child out of school, it is helpful to send a copy of the Letter of Intent (the first step in the paperwork) to the school. The Homeschooling Office will not inform your child's school, and accrued absenteeism can lead to problems, so, even though this is not a requirement, it is worth it to inform the school of your intent to homeschool from that date forward. New York State Homeschooling Regulations from the NYS Education Dept.   New York State Education Department's Home Instruction Questions and Answers.   For homeschooling laws in other states, see Homeschooling Laws by State  For a list of homeschool support groups, go to Step Two "I followed the formats you suggested on your website when I homeschooled my daughter last year for 8th grade, and it made my IHIP and Quarterly reports get accepted through the DOE without a hitch. You made our year of homeschooling stress-free. Thank you!!" ~Joan, homeschooling parent <hr width="75% align=" center"=""> Page Index Regulations Filing NYC paperwork Filing Yonkers paperwork For new homeschoolers Summary of NYS required paperwork Letter of Intent (LOI) Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP) Quarterly Reports Year-End Assessment Calendar Required Courses Kindergarten Requirements Access to your child's DoE records See also: Other states' laws Recently Asked Questions (RAQ), including What is the difference between home instruction and home schooling? Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), including NYC age for compulsory education The NYC MetroCard Step 9: Create and keep records FAQ: Getting Started FAQ: Paperwork FAQ: Testing Special Ed Resources Community and High School Superintendents (pdf format)   Back to Index Regulations Note: Every state has different regulations. The entire New York State law (homeschooling regulations) is available online. See also Home Instruction - Questions and Answers  If you live in NYS but outside of NYC and you want to find your local district, check the School District Index

Filing Yonkers Paperwork

In Yonkers, homeschoolers send their paperwork to:

Coordinator of Pupil Support Services
Yonkers Public Schools
1 Larkin Center
Yonkers, NY 10701
(914) 376-8489

For new homeschoolers

You must formally withdraw your child from school in order to avoid harassment from social services. There is nothing in the homeschooling regs about having to inform the school. Sending the school a copy of the letter of intent (LOI) should suffice, but it is best to go down to the school in person, with a copy of your homeschooling paperwork such as the Letter of Intent, and formally withdraw the child from the school in person. You can legally do this at any time during the year.

Parents who are new to homeschooling in NYC, or whose children have never attended a NYC public school, are currently required to submit copies of birth certificates and proof of residence with their initial paperwork only. An insurance card may be accepted in place of a birth certificate. Theoretically, any proof of age, such as a passport or perhaps even tax records, should suffice. Proof of residency can be provided with a copy of a rental agreement, utility bill, or letter written by the landlord or primary tenant.

Summary of NYS required paperwork

Note: this summary is brief and you are advised to study the regulations carefully. Many teachers and adminsitrators in the DoE do not know the homeschooling regs. It helps to be informed! Find someone in a local homeschool support group to help you the first time you do your paperwork.

Letter of Intent (LOI)

You are required to submit a Letter of Intent stating your intention to homeschool your child. The LOI is due by July 1st or within two weeks of your decision to homeschool. The letter must include your child's name, age and grade level and a statement that you intend to homeschool for the coming year. 

Example of Letter of Intent:

• Heading: [child'sname], age, grade level, student ID number, Letter of Intent
• Body: I intend to homeschooling my child, [name], for the coming school year, 20__ to 20__.
• Signed: parent or guardian's name, date and contact information

Although it is not required by law, I strongly advise parents who are taking their kids out of school to send a copy of their LOI (Letter of Intent) to that school or, better yet, deliver it in person and formally withdraw your child from school. Do not rely on the DoE to inform the school that your child is being legally homeschooled.  

Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP)

If you homeschooled the previous year you must submit your IHIP for the next school year by August 15th. OR, you must submit your IHIP within four weeks after submitting your letter of intent (which you should mail within two weeks of commencing homeschooling).

You do not have to use the NYC DoE IHIP forms. You can make your own. Make sure that you include all mandatory subjects for that grade level (see the regulations in detail for your child's grade level), including those pesky little items like bicycle safety, health, patriotism & citizenship, and arson prevention.

Note that homeschoolers do not have to follow a standardized curriculum, or standard New York State guidelines, or the Common Core. Grade level content is not a requirement in your IHIP!

Here are templates in Word format that you can download to fill out and use for your IHIP or Quarterly Report.

• IHIP for grades 1 – 6
• IHIP for grades 7 – 8
• IHIP for grades 9 – 12
• Unschooler's IHIP for grade 5 (see further details)

One parent files the following very simple quarterly report, the same report for each quarter, after filing a detailed IHIP at the beginning of the year.

[student] is progressing at a satisfactory level or above in all subject matter.

We have had instruction in all the following areas, as per Section 100.10 of the Regulations of the New York State Commissioner of Education and Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP): Reading, Writing, Spelling, Language Arts, Arithmetic, U.S. History, Geography, Science, Health, Physical Education, Music, and Visual Arts.

We have covered at least 25% of the planned material for this quarter.

[student] had no absences from instruction this quarter, and has exceeded the required hours of instruction (225).

Quarterly Reports

Four times a year you must submit Quarterly Reports that show progress with the educational goals set forth in your IHIP. These reports must also record the number of hours of instruction (225 per quarter or 900 per year in elementary school , for grades 7-12 that amount increases to 247.5 hours per quarter or 990 per year ) and the child's absences (none since, even when they are sick, homeschoolers continue to learn and are never absent). You may want to comply with your district’s request to have the quarterly reports filed at the usual times (Nov. 15, Jan. 30, April 15 and June 30, approximately), but the law states that you may furnish your own schedule for these reports.

Year-end Assessment / Testing Requirements

Testing is required every other year in grades 4 through 8 and every year in grades 9 through 12. This test serves as a year-end assessment. My kids did not test until grade 5, again in grade 7 and then in grades 9-12. In non-testing years you can still take a test and submit that for your year-end assessment. Or you can submit a narrative assessment.

A Year-end Assessment is required with your fourth quarterly report (June 30). This assessment can be in the form of a narrative statement or home-made report card signed by the parent or instructor, stating that the educational goals for that year have been achieved. If a certified teacher is required and none is available, a peer review committee, made up of at least two experienced homeschooling parents, will suffice. The peer review committee would sign the year-end assessment statement. Starting in 4th grade, a nationally approved achievment test is required every other year, and starting at 9th grade, every year, to serve as the year-end assessment.

See What tests are available for homeschoolers from our FAQ - Testing.

Here is an example of a narrative assessment:

A narrative can be a paragraph or even a sentence, or it can be like a report card with "PASS" or "A" next to each subject. I used one simple sentence for my narrative assessments. I wrote it as a cover letter and included it with my fourth quarterly report. In my third quarterly report I included a cover letter that stated what form my year-end assessment would take (either a narrative or a test if it was required that year).

My narrative assessment statement:

<<[Child's name] has met or exceeded all of the goals as set forth in her/his IHIP for the current school year [year to year].>> And then I signed it.

It is not recommended to state that at least 80% of the goals have been achieved, since you might then have to prove that percentage. I never kept detailed accurate time records, and we strived for proficiency, not a number of hours. It is only necessary to state progress or improvement. One parent writes the following for quarterlies and assessments.

<< [student] is progressing at a satisfactory level or above in all subject matter. >> Then they add the required courses: << We have had instruction in all the following areas, as per Section 100.10 of the Regulations of the New York State Commissioner of Education and Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP): Reading, Writing, Spelling, Language Arts, Arithmetic, U.S. History, Geography, Science, Health, Physical Education, Music, and Visual Arts. >>

(This last paragraph would vary for high school.)

Calendar for NYS required paperwork

Note: The dates for Quarterly Reports are only suggestions, as the law states that you may furnish your own schedule for these. See the DoE's calendar for homeschooling paperwork and links

From Home Schooling (by parents) :

5. Required courses.
   1. For purposes of this subdivision, a unit means 6,480 minutes [108 hours] of instruction per school year.
   2. Instruction in the following subjects shall be required:
      1. For grades one through six: arithmetic, reading, spelling, writing, the English language, geography, United States history, science, health education, music, visual arts, physical education, bilingual education and/or English as a second language where the need is indicated.
      2. For grades seven and eight: English (two units); history and geography (two units); science (two units); mathematics (two units); physical education (on a regular basis); health education (on a regular basis); art (one-half unit); music (one-half unit); practical arts (on a regular basis); and library skills (on a regular basis). The units required herein are cumulative requirements for both grades seven and eight.
      3. The following courses shall be taught at least once during the first eight grades: United States history, New York State history, and the Constitutions of the United States and New York State.
      4. For grades 9 through 12: English (four units); social studies (four units), which includes one unit of American history, one-half unit in participation in government, and one- half unit of economics; mathematics (two units); science (two units); art and/or music (one unit); health education (one-half unit); physical education (two units); and three units of electives. The units required herein are cumulative requirements for grades 9 through 12.
      5. Education Law, sections 801, 804, 806 and 808, also require the following subjects to be covered during grades kindergarten through 12:
         1. patriotism and citizenship;
         2. health education regarding alcohol, drug and tobacco misuse;
         3. highway safety and traffic regulations, including bicycle safety; and
         4. fire and arson prevention and safety.

Attendance need not be mentioned in your paperwork, but the number of total hours per quarter is required in each quarterly report (225 hours for grade 1-6, or 247.5 hours for grades 7-12).

Kindergarten Requirements

In New York State you must begin filing the year your child turns six by December 1st. BUT, New York City is no longer using Dec. 1 and instead uses December 31. This can change the year you must start filing as a homeschooler. To be certain that the December 31 date is in effect, contact the homeschooling office in June of the year your child will turn 6. Here is more info on the confusion of December birthdays.

Kindergarten is usually age five, so filing is not mandatory for this year. If you do choose to file, the requirements are slim and include the following: health education regarding alcohol, drug, and tobacco misuse; highway safety and traffic regulation, including bike safety; and fire and arson prevention and safety. These requirements remain for K-12.

Suggestions to cover this content at this age include the following. Take a trip to a local fire station, or visit the fire safety exhibit in Rockefeller Center: , or the NYC Fire Museum in Soho. Or you can just talk about fire safety in your own kitchen.

For drug education that is age-appropriate, you can talk to a pharmacist or a pediatrician, perhaps about why you should follow the doctor’s dosage and be careful about medicines, or you could explain why cigarettes are bad for you. As you walk through the city you can pay attention to traffic signs (walk/don’t walk), right of way, bicycle lanes, why cyclists need helmets, etc. There is also a police museum in lower Manhattan, which can be very interesting.

Of course, your five-year-old child need not be limited to the content required by the DoE. You can also visit libraries and museums and parks and have as big a learning adventure as you like. For more suggestions for this age, visit the Early Childhood page.

Access your child's DoE records

To gain access your child's DoE file, go to the Homeschool Office in person and ask for your ARIS Parent Link password. Bring official NYS photo I.D. (such as a driver's license). Make sure that you are going during regular office hours (9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.) when there is no school holiday, and make sure that your paperwork is all up-to-date and has been filed. You will be given your password which will allow you to check and make sure that your child's grade level and information is accurate, from the comfort of your own computer. If you find any inaccuracies, notify the DoE in writing, and be patient and persistent about asking for your child's records to be corrected. If your child decides to apply to a NYC public school at some point in the future, having accurate grade levels (past and present) on his or her record will be important.

This is Step 1 of the Ten Steps to Successful Homeschooling
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