Moderate regulation

Homeschool Records Requirements in Delaware

In Delaware a homeschool is a nonpublic school. You open it online with the Department of Education, then send two short reports a year: enrollment by September 30 and attendance by July 31. No testing, no curriculum approval, no portfolio review.

Verified against primary sources November 2026. Laws change; sources are linked at the bottom of this page.

What Delaware requires, in short

Open a homeschool with the Delaware Department of Education through its online Nonpublic School system and enroll your child in it. The law treats a homeschool as a nonpublic school, and every nonpublic school reports two things a year: a statement of enrollment by September 30 and end-of-year attendance by July 31. If you are leaving a public school, the school needs the Acknowledgement Letter from the system before it will withdraw your child. Delaware sets no test, no minimum days, and no curriculum approval for a single-family or multi-family homeschool.

Delaware notice and withdrawal letter Deadlines calendar Attendance and hours log

RegistrationOpen a homeschool in the Department of Education's online Nonpublic School system

Enrollment reportBy September 30 each year

Attendance reportBy July 31 each year: days open and days each child attended

Testing or evaluationNone required

Days or hoursNo minimum set

Compulsory ages5 to 16 in the statute

Your legal options in Delaware

Single-family homeschool

A parent or legal guardian teaches their own child, mainly in their own home. This is the route most families use, and the rest of this page describes it.

Open the homeschool and enroll your child in the Department of Education's Nonpublic School system
Statement of enrollment by September 30 each year
End-of-year attendance report by July 31 each year
No testing, curriculum approval, or portfolio review

Multi-family homeschool

Parents or guardians teach children who are not all brothers and sisters, mainly in one or more homes or other facilities. One person acts as the liaison to the Department of Education and reports enrollment and attendance for every family in the group.

The liaison registers the homeschool, enrolls the students, and files both yearly reports
The liaison gives each family a copy of the Acknowledgement Letter
Parents contact the liaison to enroll

Single-family homeschool coordinated with the local school district

A parent teaches their own child at home using a curriculum approved by the local superintendent or a designee. The superintendent must decide in writing that the child is getting regular and thorough instruction in the subjects taught in the public schools, suited to the child's age and stage. Choose this only if you want the district involved.

Curriculum approved by the local superintendent or designee
Written determination by the superintendent that instruction is regular and thorough
The same yearly enrollment and attendance reports as any nonpublic school

What the law actually requires

Open a homeschool and enroll your child

A homeschool is a nonpublic school under Delaware law, and a student homeschooled in any of the three ways the law defines is exempt from public school attendance. The Department of Education says this means opening the homeschool in its Nonpublic School system through an EdAccess account, adding your children as students, and waiting for the Department to approve it. It costs nothing. The Department will deny an application while a truancy case is active.

14 Del. C. 2703 and 2703A(a); Delaware Department of Education, Register for a Nonpublic School

Get the Acknowledgement Letter before you withdraw from public school

Your child must be enrolled in an open homeschool before leaving public school. The Department says public schools will not withdraw a child to a nonpublic school without the Acknowledgement Letter printed from the system, and a child who leaves without it is treated as truant. A family new to Delaware, or with a child just reaching kindergarten age, has nothing to withdraw from.

Delaware Department of Education, Register for a Nonpublic School

Report enrollment by September 30

Every person running a nonpublic school submits a statement of pupil enrollment each year, no later than September 30, on the Department's forms. The Department says a school that misses the enrollment report is closed and its students are marked withdrawn.

14 Del. C. 2704(b)

Report attendance by July 31

Every person running a nonpublic school reports end-of-year attendance to the Department on or before July 31. For homeschools the Department asks for totals, not a daily record: how many days the school was open, how many days each student attended, and any withdrawal or graduation dates. The reporting window opens June 1.

14 Del. C. 2704(a); Delaware Department of Education, Annual Reporting and Data

Multi-family groups report through one liaison

When children who are not all siblings are taught together, one person acts as the liaison to the Department and reports enrollment and attendance for all the families involved.

14 Del. C. 2703A(b)(1)

Your compliance calendar

Before your child leaves public school	Open the homeschool in the Nonpublic School system, enroll your child, and print the Acknowledgement Letter. Give it to the public school to withdraw.
August 1 to August 11	The Department closes the system each year to roll it to the new school year. You cannot make changes or report enrollment during this time.
By September 30	Submit the statement of enrollment for the new school year.
During the year	Keep a running count of the days your school is open and the days each child attends. Nothing is filed until summer.
June 1 to July 31	Submit the end-of-year attendance report. You may also file next year's enrollment at the same time.

Records to keep

Acknowledgement Letter. The Department's official proof that your homeschool is open and your child is enrolled. Print a new copy any time your school or student status changes; you need it to withdraw from public school and for free driver education.
Day counts. Days the school was open and days each child attended. The law asks only for the yearly totals in the July report, so a simple tally is enough.
Copies of your yearly reports. The system lets you print the enrollment and attendance reports you submitted.
Academic portfolio (recommended). Not required by law. The Department keeps no student records and recommends a portfolio of grades, attendance, and test scores, which public schools use when deciding grade placement if your child returns.
Transcript and diploma (high school). The homeschool issues both. The Department issues no diplomas or transcripts and keeps no copies.

Printable logs for Delaware Transcript builder

What nobody can require of you

No standardized test, evaluation, or portfolio review.
No curriculum approval for a single-family or multi-family homeschool. Only the district-coordinated option uses an approved curriculum.
No minimum number of days or hours.
No parent qualification, such as a diploma or teaching license.
No registration fee.
No daily attendance submissions. Attendance is reported once a year as totals.

Questions Delaware families ask

Do I have to register to homeschool in Delaware?

Yes, for a child of compulsory school age. A homeschool is a nonpublic school under Delaware law, and a child is exempt from public school attendance only when enrolled in one. The Department of Education says you open the homeschool and enroll your child through its Nonpublic School system, reached through an EdAccess account. There is no fee.

What do I report each year?

Two things. A statement of enrollment no later than September 30, and end-of-year attendance on or before July 31. For homeschools, the attendance report asks how many days your school was open and how many days each student attended, plus any withdrawal or graduation dates. The Department says a school that misses either report is closed and its students are withdrawn.

Is there a required number of school days?

No. The Department's FAQ says it does not require a specific number of days. Many families follow the public school pattern of about 180 days, but that is a choice. You do need to count days, because the attendance report asks for totals.

Does my child have to take a state test?

No. Delaware law sets no testing for homeschool students, and the Department says it does not give state assessments to nonpublic school students. Families can arrange private testing, the PSAT, SAT, ACT, or AP exams on their own.

Can my homeschooled child play public school sports?

Not under current rules, according to the Department. Its FAQ points to Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association regulations 1008 and 1009, which require a student to be enrolled full time at a member school to represent it.

Can my homeschooled child take driver education?

Yes. The Department's FAQ says a Delaware resident enrolled in a Delaware homeschool is entitled to one free driver education course through an adult education program under Department Regulation 540. Bring the Acknowledgement Letter and a recent report card or grades.

Can my child still get special education help?

The homeschool law says homeschool students count as parentally placed private school children under the federal special education law (IDEA). That means the public school district can offer equitable services from a set-aside share of federal funds. It is not the same as a full public school program, so ask your district what it offers.

Common myths about Delaware homeschool law, corrected

An online school or virtual curriculum counts as your child's school, so you do not need to register.

The Department treats any online school or program as your chosen curriculum, not a Delaware school. You still open a homeschool and keep it open by filing the yearly reports.

Switching to homeschool ends a truancy case.

The statute lets the Justice of the Peace Court keep a truancy case that was filed before the student withdrew, and the Department says it will deny a homeschool application while a truancy case is active.

Delaware requires 180 days of homeschool.

No law or Department rule sets a number of days. The Department uses 180 only as an example in its attendance form, and says the number of days is up to each school.

The state will provide a transcript or verify graduation.

The Department issues no diplomas, report cards, or transcripts for nonpublic school students and keeps no academic records. The homeschool issues them.

Recent and pending changes

The enrollment report deadline moved from October 5 to September 30. The Department says the General Assembly approved the change in June 2023, and the current statute reads September 30. Some older Department pages still say October 5; the statute controls.
No other change to the homeschool sections was confirmed in this review. Check 14 Del. C. 2703A and 2704 before each school year.

Free tools for Delaware families

Transcript builder: the Delaware Department of Education issues no diplomas, report cards, or transcripts for homeschool students and keeps no academic records, so the diploma and transcript you issue are the record.
GPA calculator: weighted and unweighted, computed the way colleges do it.
Course description builder: what selective colleges ask homeschool applicants for, written as you go.

Other state guides

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See all state guides.

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Sources

Reference information reviewed August 2026 against primary sources (statutes, NCAA and Common App published requirements). This is general information, not legal advice; requirements change, so verify anything load-bearing for your family against your state's current law.