Because Pennsylvania does highly regulate homeschooling, there are Pennsylvania homeschool requirements you must satisfy when you homeschool:

• Begin homeschooling by age 6.
• Submit the Home Education Affidavit for Elementary or Secondary homeschool students.
• Teach the required subjects:
  • “Elementary school level (grades K-6), mandatory courses: 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. 
  • Secondary school level (grades 7-12), mandatory courses: English, to include language, literature, speech and composition; science; geography; social studies, to include civics, world history, history of the United States and Pennsylvania; mathematics, to 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” (Pennsylvania Department of Education).
  • Graduation requirements (grades 9-12): “Four years of English 2. Three years of mathematics 3. Three years of science 4. Three years of social studies 5. Two years of arts and humanities” (Pennsylvania Department of Education).
  • See the Pennsylvania Core Standards and Pennsylvania Core Crosswalks for more information regarding the expectations for public school students.
• Provide instruction for the required time: “180 days of instruction or 900 hours of instruction per year at the elementary level (grades kindergarten to 6) or 990 hours per year at the secondary level (grades 7-12) (24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(c))” (Pennsylvania Department of Education).
• Arrange for standardized testing in grades 3, 5, and 8.
• Submit annual evaluations to the school district of residence. “The evaluation of a home education program by a qualified evaluator is the required proof that an appropriate education has taken place, whether from a mid-year request by the superintendent or the evidence due at the end of the school year” (Pennsylvania Department of Education).
• Stay current with homeschooling laws and requirements.

Do I need to administer testing to my homeschooler?

Yes! “A written evaluation of the home education program must be submitted by the home education supervisor to the superintendent of schools in the student’s district of residence no later than June 30 for the closing school year and should be submitted at the close of the program for those programs that do not take place for an entire school year” (Pennsylvania Department of Education).

“The law requires that each home education student be interviewed, and their portfolio reviewed by a qualified home education evaluator each school year. The evaluator’s written certification that an appropriate education is occurring must be submitted by the home education supervisor to the superintendent of the student’s district of residence by June 30 of each school year (24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(e),(h.1))” (Pennsylvania Department of Education).

Note, “The supervisor or the spouse of the supervisor of the home education program is not allowed to be the evaluator for their home education program, regardless of any qualifications (24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(e)(2)). […] The home education supervisor may select anyone to evaluate their student’s portfolios, as long as that individual fulfills one of the five qualifications” (Pennsylvania Department of Education). See the Home Education and Private Tutoring Guide for more information about qualifications of home education evaluators.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, “The Pennsylvania School Code, 24 P.S. §13-1327.1(e)(1) states that the portfolio for home education students in grades 3, 5 and 8 must include the results of the statewide tests for reading/language arts and mathematics or nationally normed standardized achievement tests. If the supervisor of the home education program requests that the student(s) take the statewide tests administered in these grades, the school district must allow the student to take the test at the school building the home education student normally would attend or other accommodations agreed to by the school district and the parent. 

The Department has approved the following nationally normed standardized tests for use by home education programs if they choose not to take the statewide tests:

1. California Achievement Test
2. Comprehensive Testing Program (CTPIV)
3. Iowa Test of Basic Skills
4. Measures of Academic Progress (MAP)
5. Metropolitan Achievement Test
6. Peabody Achievement Individual Test – Revised Version
7. Stanford Achievement Test
8. Terra Nova
9. Woodcock-Johnson Revised Tests of Achievement III
10. Woodcock-Johnson IV
11. Wechsler Individual Achievement Test III (WIAT-III)”

What records do I need to keep when I homeschool my child?

In Pennsylvania, there are certain records that homeschool families need to keep. For example, parents are required to maintain a portfolio of records and materials for homeschool students, including the following minimum portfolio requirements:

• “Samples of any writings, worksheets, workbooks or creative materials used or developed by the student; and
• A log, made contemporaneously with the instruction, which designates by title the reading materials used. The log must demonstrate that the home education program provided a minimum of either (1) 180 days of instruction or (2) 900 hours of instruction per year at the elementary level (grades kindergarten to 6), or 990 hours per year at the secondary level (grades 7-12). See 24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(c). If the choice is to document days, the portfolio does not need to specify the number of hours each day.
• For students in grades three, five, or eight, the results of the statewide tests (PSSAs) or other authorized nationally normed standardized achievement tests. […]
• A written evaluation from a qualified home education evaluator verifying whether the student has had an appropriate education. It is the responsibility of the parent to pay for any charge for this service” (Pennsylvania Department of Education).

Parents should also keep transcripts and consider saving “yearly evaluations as evidence of course completion for the twelfth-grade evaluator” (Pennsylvania Department of Education). The Department also suggests, “a parent may want to ask each year’s evaluator to sign a detailed list of the courses evaluated for that year. This list can be provided to the twelfth-grade evaluator to confirm completion of the mandatory courses, not personally reviewed by the evaluator, in order to sign the diploma.”

In addition to the required recordkeeping, we also recommend you do some personal recordkeeping to provide verification of education in the event you would need to show some form of educational proof to the state or other legal entities or to prepare for re-entry into public school or postsecondary pathways. This includes the following:

• Attendance, required
• Immunization records, required
• Lists of texts and workbooks used
• Other test and evaluation results
• Correspondence with school officials

You may also be able to find more information on Pennsylvania homeschool requirements through your local school district.