Minnesota treats a homeschool as a kind of private school. You report to your district superintendent, renew by October 1 each year, give a nationally normed test every year, and keep the paperwork that shows you taught the required subjects.
Verified against primary sources November 2026. Laws change; sources are linked at the bottom of this page.
Send your district superintendent a report with your child's name, birth date, and address, the name of each instructor, proof that each instructor qualifies, and the test you plan to use. It is due by October 1 of the first school year after your child turns seven, or within 15 days if you withdraw your child from public school. After that, send a letter of intent to continue by October 1 every year. Your child takes a nationally normed achievement test every year, on a test you and the superintendent agree on, and you keep the results. You also keep class schedules, copies of your materials, and a description of how you assess your child's work. Minnesota sets no days or hours.
The route most families use. Minnesota law counts a home school as a school when instruction follows the compulsory instruction and reporting laws. This is what the rest of this page describes.
A homeschool accredited by an accrediting agency recognized under state law. The Department of Education says it currently recognizes one agency for homeschools, the Home-Based Educators' Accrediting Association, and that using an accredited curriculum does not make a homeschool accredited.
Send the superintendent of the district where your child lives your child's name, birth date, and address, the annual tests you intend to use, the name of each instructor, and evidence that each instructor meets one of the qualification options. It is due by October 1 of the first school year your child receives instruction after turning seven, within 15 days of withdrawing your child from public school after age seven, within 15 days of moving out of a district, and by October 1 after you set up residence in a new district.
Each school year after that, by October 1, send a letter of intent to continue providing instruction for all the students you teach, along with any changes to the information in your first report. The district may offer an online way to file, but it may not require you to file electronically.
Each person who teaches your child must meet at least one of these: hold a valid Minnesota teaching license for the field and grade taught; be directly supervised by someone with a valid Minnesota teaching license; teach in a school accredited by a state-recognized accrediting agency or recognized by the commissioner; hold a bachelor's degree; or be the parent of a child who is tested each year under the assessment law.
Instruction must cover at least: basic communication skills, including reading and writing, literature, and fine arts; mathematics and science; social studies, including history, geography, economics, government, and citizenship; and health and physical education. Instruction, textbooks, and materials must be in English, except as other state law allows.
Every child ages seven through 16 who is not enrolled in public school must take a nationally norm-referenced standardized achievement test each year. So must a 16- or 17-year-old whose first report was filed after turning 16. You and the superintendent must agree on the specific test, how it is given, and where. If the test does not cover every required subject area, the parent assesses the child in those areas, unless the parent holds a Minnesota teaching license or is supervised by someone who does. Accredited homeschools are exempt.
If the results show a total battery score at or below the 30th percentile, or one grade level below children of the same age, the parent must obtain an additional evaluation of the child's abilities and performance to find out whether the child has learning problems.
Keep documentation that the required subjects are being taught and proof that the annual tests were given. It must include class schedules, copies of the materials you use for instruction, and descriptions of how you assess your child's achievement. You make it available to the county attorney if a compulsory instruction case is started. Accredited homeschools are exempt from this documentation rule.
By October 1 of your first year homeschooling in Minnesota, and again in your child's grade 7 year, send the superintendent the immunization statements the law requires. A physician's statement covers a medical reason, and a notarized statement covers your conscientiously held beliefs.
If the superintendent believes your child is being taught in violation of the law, the superintendent must tell you in writing and list the specific problems. If they are not fixed within 15 days, the superintendent asks the commissioner for fact-finding and mediation. If that does not resolve it, the superintendent notifies the county attorney, who may prosecute it as a misdemeanor.
| Within 15 days of leaving public school | If you withdraw a child seven or older from public school to homeschool, send the first report to your district superintendent. The same 15-day rule applies when you move out of a district. |
| By September 15 (optional) | If you want help through the Aids to Nonpublic Students program (loaned textbooks and materials, and nationally normed tests), the Department of Education says to request that year's Student Report form from your resident district. |
| By October 1 | First year after your child turns seven: the first report. Every year after: the letter of intent to continue, with any changes. Immunization statements go in your first year in Minnesota and in the grade 7 year. If you are using the aid program, the completed Student Report form is also due to your district. |
| Once a year, on the date you set | Give the nationally normed test you and the superintendent agreed on. Keep the results with your records; send them only if asked. |
| After a low score | If the total battery score is at or below the 30th percentile, or a grade level behind, arrange the additional evaluation the law requires. |
No approval step appears in the law. You report the required information to the superintendent of the district where your child lives. The one thing you and the superintendent must agree on is the annual test: which test, how it is given, and where.
Not routinely. The law requires you to keep proof the test was given, and the Department of Education says results do not have to be submitted to the district unless requested. If your child later enrolls full time in public school, you give that school the test scores.
No. A degree or license is one way to qualify, but a parent qualifies simply by being the parent of a child who is tested each year under the law. Someone who is not the parent, such as a grandparent or tutor, needs one of the other options, usually a bachelor's degree.
If the total battery score is at or below the 30th percentile, or one grade level below children of the same age, the parent must get an additional evaluation of the child's abilities and performance to find out whether the child has learning problems. The law does not end your homeschool because of a low score.
Yes, if your homeschool has five or fewer students. The district must let those students take part in extracurricular activities on the same basis as public school students, and it may charge the same fees. High school sports also run through the Minnesota State High School League.
Yes. Homeschooled students in grades 10 to 12 can use Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) if they meet the eligibility rules and the college admits them. A homeschool student must register with the commissioner of education first, and the department says to do this every year, even after age 17.
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Make a free parent accountReference 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.