According to Iowa Code § 299.1, “Except as provided in section 299.2, the parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian of a child who is of compulsory attendance age shall cause the child to attend some public school or an accredited nonpublic school, or place the child under competent private instruction or independent private instruction in accordance with the provisions of chapter 299A, during a school year, as defined under section 279.10.”

Compulsory attendance age is described as follows (Iowa Code § 299.1A):

• “Except as provided in subsections 2 and 3, a child who has reached the age of six and is under sixteen years of age by September 15 is of compulsory attendance age. However, if a child enrolled in a school district or accredited nonpublic school reaches the age of sixteen on or after September 15, the child remains of compulsory age until the end of the regular school calendar.
• A child who has reached the age of five by September 15 and who is enrolled in a school district shall be considered to be of compulsory attendance age unless the parent or guardian of the child notifies the school district in writing of the parent’s or guardian’s intent to remove the child from enrollment in the school district.
• A child who has reached the age of four by September 15 and who is enrolled in the statewide preschool program under chapter 256C shall be considered to be of compulsory attendance age unless the parent or guardian of the child submits written notice to the school district implementing the program of the parent’s or guardian’s intent to remove the child from enrollment in the preschool program.”

According to the Iowa Department of Education, there are four options for homeschooling:

1. “Full-time home school with the support of a certified teacher (Competent Private Instruction): Home instruction is supervised by a teacher hired by the family or provided by a district’s Home School Assistance program (HSAP).
2. Full-time home school without the support of a certified teacher (Competent Private Instruction or Independent Private Instruction): The family provides the total educational program with no interaction with a public school or certified teacher.
3. Part-time homeschool with part-time enrollment in a school district (Competent Private Instruction): The student completes some instruction at home and participates in a public school for some instruction or extra-curricular activities.
4. Attendance at a non-accredited school (Competent Private Instruction): A student attends a school that does not meet accreditation standards.”

All options meet Iowa’s compulsory attendance and truancy laws (Iowa Code § 299.1 and Iowa Code § 299.8).

For purposes of this post, the focus will be on Independent Private Instruction (IPI), which meets the following criteria:

• “Is not accredited.
• Not more than four unrelated students.
• No tuition, fees, or other remuneration.
• Private or religious-based instruction as its primary purpose.
• Teaches mathematics, reading and language arts, science, and social studies.
• Provides report on request.
• Not nonpublic school or CPI [Competent Private Instruction]
• Exempt from all state statutes/rules except as otherwise provided in chapter 299 and 299A. Iowa Code § 299A.1 (2) (b).”

For information on the other three homeschooling options, see the “Private Instruction Comparison Chart” and detailed information in the current “Private Instruction Handbook,” both found on the Home Schooling (Private Instruction) page on the Iowa Department of Education website.