Homeschool questions, answered

Yes, in every state, and every state sets its own rules. Seven states (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota and Texas) have a step-by-step page here, in plain English with its statutes linked to the official text; every other state has a high-school page, until its law page is written: homeschool requirements by state.

Start with your state's own legal steps, then build a year plan and a way to keep the record as you go. The legal half is on your state's page: some states ask for a notice or a yearly report, some ask for nothing at all. The practical half is a year plan and a way to keep the record as you go. In Trellis that is one evening of setup, your school year and your kids, then any curriculum turned into a year of work: the Set Up Your Family and Turn Any Curriculum Into a Year Plan guides walk through it, and the first 30 days are free (see What does it cost): start your family's records.

Tell the school in writing and keep a copy, then follow your state's own starting steps. Some states put the notice first: in Texas a child leaving a public school is withdrawn with a signed, dated letter to the school (TEA's guidance, not a state filing); in Minnesota the initial report goes to the superintendent within 15 days of withdrawing a child over seven (Minn. Stat. § 120A.24); in New York the notice of intent goes to the superintendent within 14 days of a midyear start (8 NYCRR § 100.10(b)). Your state's page has the order and the wording (seven states so far; ask for yours): requirements by state.

Anywhere from almost nothing, with library books, free online courses and used materials, to a few thousand dollars a year for boxed curricula or online classes; curriculum is the variable. Trellis is separate from that choice and turns whatever you use into a year plan; its own price is on the pricing page, and the first 30 days are free.

No. Trellis helps organise records but does not provide legal, educational, accreditation, tax or compliance advice; families remain responsible for meeting the requirements that apply to them. Every state page carries that line, links the statutes it summarises, and names the office to ask about an unusual situation. The terms of service say the same.

A parent sees the whole family's plans and records. A child's own sign-in shows only that child's schedule, records and progress, never a sibling's. Other Trellis families cannot see yours. Trellis does not sell your family's information, use it for advertising, or use it to train AI. The people who run the service can reach stored information only when it is necessary for support, security, backups or running the service; the privacy policy says exactly who and when, plainly. You may export your data and request deletion at any time. The details are in the privacy policy and the children's privacy notice.

It keeps them organised and lines them up against your state's requirements, so a gap shows before a deadline does, and it prints the documents you may need: a year summary, an evidence pack, a transcript, a report or letter written from your own records for you to sign. It never files anything for you. Trellis does not automatically send your records to your school, school district, a state education agency, or another family; any letter or form it helps you prepare is for you to send yourself.

No, in the seven states with a page here, and most other states set no qualification at all. North Dakota asks a question about the parent's own diploma, and Minnesota asks you to declare which qualification path applies to you; most parents use the path for a parent whose child takes the yearly test. Your state's page says what it asks: requirements by state.

No state with a page here requires one. Accreditation is a private review of a school or curriculum; the legal side is your state's own steps, which are about notice, subjects, hours or days, and testing, not about who accredited your materials. Colleges read the transcript and course descriptions, not an accreditation seal.

Many states say so by statute; three with a page here are Minnesota (Minn. Stat. § 123B.49, subd. 4(a)), Wisconsin (Wis. Stat. § 118.133) and South Dakota (SDCL § 13-36-7), which require the resident district to let a homeschooled student take part in activities on the same basis as enrolled students. Each state's page has the details: requirements by state.

Yes. Whether the public school keeps providing services is a state-by-state question. New York has a route, the IESP, for services while a child is home instructed (Education Law § 3602-c(2-c)); Iowa's Pathways 3, 4 and 5 can get special education help through the district by dual enrolling (Iowa Code § 299A.9(3), under § 299A.8); elsewhere, ask your district what it offers a homeschooled child. Trellis keeps the same records either way, and an accommodation belongs in the notes of the course it applies to.

The state you live in now, from the day you arrive; a military family follows the state it lives in too, and the installation's school liaison office is the place to confirm a mid-year move. Several states set a window after a move: Minnesota asks for the report within 15 days of moving out of a district (Minn. Stat. § 120A.24, subd. 1(a)(3)), New York for the notice within 14 days (8 NYCRR § 100.10(b)), North Dakota within 14 days of a move (NDCC § 15.1-23-02), South Dakota a new notification within 30 (SDCL § 13-27-7). Your new state's page has the order: requirements by state.

It depends on the state. Minnesota asks for class schedules, copies of instructional materials and a description of how achievement is assessed; Wisconsin sets hours and subjects and files one report, and because nothing else is submitted your own hour and subject records are what answer a question if one ever comes; New York asks for an attendance record and a set of yearly filings. Your state's page says exactly which: requirements by state. Whatever the state asks, the same ordinary work answers it: a calendar of what was done, a learning log, grades, and for high school a transcript. The Grades, Logs, and Year-End Records guide shows how Trellis keeps them.

It depends on the state. Minnesota asks for a yearly test; North Dakota tests in grades 4, 6, 8 and 10; New York asks for an annual assessment that is a standardized test in some grades and a written narrative in others; Iowa asks for a yearly evaluation on Pathway 3 only; Wisconsin, South Dakota and Texas require no test. Your state's page says which: requirements by state.

Yes. Community colleges and the most selective universities alike admit homeschooled applicants. A homeschooled applicant files the same application as anyone else and supplies the pieces a school's counseling office would normally send: a transcript the parent issues, course descriptions, and often the counselor's report. The college planning page shows what 51 flagship universities publish, state by state, and what a transcript should carry.

At any test center, registered the same way as everyone else. The registration asks for a high school code; homeschoolers use the home-school number each testing company sets aside (the College Board's is 970000, the ACT's is 969999, confirmed on ACT's code lookup). Scores go to the colleges you name.

No diploma, since the parent issues that in every state, but yes to the transcript: Trellis builds it from the courses you plan and the work your children check off, prints it on one page with the grading scale, and reads it against your state's reference table as credits accumulate. What colleges look for is on college planning, state by state, and the High School & Transcripts guide covers the four-year board.

Most homeschooled kids get it from co-ops, sports, church, 4-H, library programs, and the neighborhood. Some states let a homeschooled student join public-school sports and activities under their own rules. The seven step-by-step state guides say whether theirs does; for any other state, ask your district or the state's high-school activities association. Trellis logs activities and service hours so that part of the record is as complete as the academics, and a high-school activity list prints with the transcript.

$79 a year for the whole family: every child, every feature, including high-school planning and the transcript. The first 30 days are free, no card needed. If a trial ends without a subscription, adding and editing pause; your records remain available to view, print and download. The price is on the pricing page.