Colorado · high school · 2026-2027 school year
Colorado homeschool graduation requirements, diploma, and transcript
Trellis has no step-by-step law page for Colorado yet. The state's own statute and agency sources at the end of this page are the primary references.
Colorado's homeschool statute requires notice, instruction in state-mandated subjects, and periodic assessment, but sets no graduation credit requirements. The parent decides when the student has finished and issues the diploma.
The short version
- Who sets the requirement: the state's graduation rules bind public schools, not homeschools. The parent issues the diploma.
- What colleges actually look for: the universities in the table below publish their own course expectations.
- What a transcript must show: courses by year, credits, and grades, kept by the parent, with the same subject headings the reference table uses.
- Across states: compare what 51 flagship universities ask.
The public-school credit table, for reference
A homeschool is not held to it. It is shown as the reference a transcript is commonly read against. A recruited athlete also registers with the NCAA Eligibility Center, which grades home-school core courses against its own worksheet, separate from this table.
| Subject | Credits | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| English | — | No statewide figure; districts decide. |
| Math | — | No statewide figure; districts decide. |
| Science | — | No statewide figure; districts decide. |
| Social studies | — | No statewide figure; districts decide. |
| Foreign language | — | No statewide figure; districts decide. |
| PE and health | — | No statewide figure; districts decide. |
| Arts | — | No statewide figure; districts decide. |
| Electives | — | No statewide figure; districts decide. |
| Other | — | No statewide figure; districts decide. |
Assessments in the public-school rules: No separate statewide exit exam; public-school students must meet a Menu of Options 'measure' in reading/writing and in math under the state's Graduation Guidelines. These exams bind public-school students; a homeschooled student is not required to take them.
What Colorado colleges ask a homeschooled applicant for
Colorado leaves graduation requirements to local districts, so there is no single state credit chart; the statewide HEAR college-admission recommendations below are the most useful reference for a homeschool transcript. The number Trellis once held in each row was one district's (Jeffco) and is no longer shown as the state's.
Years of each subject. 0 means the university lists no requirement in that subject; a dash means it publishes no figure for it.
flagship Colorado statewide Higher Education Admission Recommendations (HEAR)
| Subject | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| English | 4 | 4 |
| Math | 4 | 4 |
| Science | 3 | 3 |
| Social studies | 3 | 3 |
| Foreign language | 1 | 1 |
| Arts | – | – |
2 units of academic electives; total 17 units under the statewide Higher Education Admission Recommendations (HEAR).
HEAR adds 2 units of academic electives, 17 units in all, and does not itemise the arts, so that cell is a dash. The statewide framework Colorado's public universities use in place of separate subject lists; a unit equals one year of coursework. Colorado statewide Higher Education Admission Recommendations (HEAR) requirements (source), checked 2026-09-04.
Colorado State University
| Subject | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| English | 4 | 4 |
| Math | 4 | 4 |
| Science | 3 | 3 |
| Social studies | 3 | 3 |
| Foreign language | 2 | 2 |
| Arts | 0 | 0 |
2 units of academic electives (may include fine arts, computer science, or career and technical education (CTE)).
World language requires 2 years of the same language; 1 social studies unit should be US history or World Civilizations. Colorado State University requirements (source), checked 2026-09-01.
Questions families ask
Does Colorado require a homeschool diploma?
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Who signs a homeschool transcript in Colorado?
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What does Colorado statewide Higher Education Admission Recommendations (HEAR) expect from a homeschooled applicant?
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How Trellis checks your transcript against this table
In Trellis, the courses you plan and the work your children check off become the transcript as you go. The graduation card reads that transcript against the table above and says, subject by subject, what is earned and what is still open, and it notices a course filed under the wrong heading before a college does. Nothing is retyped at the end of senior year.
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