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District of Columbia · high school · 2026-2027 school year

District of Columbia homeschool graduation requirements, diploma, and transcript

Trellis has no step-by-step law page for District of Columbia yet. The state's own statute and agency sources at the end of this page are the primary references.

The 24-unit table (5-A DCMR § 2203) governs diplomas from DC public and public charter schools. DC's home schooling regulation (5-E DCMR ch. 52) asks for thorough, regular instruction in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, art, music, health and physical education, and a portfolio; it sets no credit total, and the parent 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.
  • The reference standard: the public-school minimum is 24 credits, and that table is the common starting point a transcript is read against; colleges set their own expectations on top of it, below.
  • What colleges actually look for: University of the District of Columbia's own published course expectations are in the table below.
  • 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

District of Columbia's public-school diploma requires 24 credits. 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.

SubjectCreditsWhat that means
English 4
Math 4 Algebra I; Geometry; Algebra II.
Science 4 Biology; three of the four units must be laboratory sciences.
Social studies 4 World History I and II; United States History; United States Government; District of Columbia History.
Foreign language 2 Two units of world language; the sources do not say they must be in one language.
PE and health 1.5 1 unit physical education; 0.5 unit health. The sources list one combined figure, Physical Education/Health 1.5; the split shown is a common way districts schedule it, not a rule.
Arts 1 0.5 unit art; 0.5 unit music. Art 0.5 and music 0.5, listed separately by the regulation.
Electives 3.5
Other — 100 hours of community service; two of the 24 units must be College Level or Career Preparatory courses approved by the school.

Assessments in the public-school rules: No exit exam. DC public schools require 100 community service hours and two College Level or Career Preparatory units. These exams bind public-school students; a homeschooled student is not required to take them.

What District of Columbia colleges ask a homeschooled applicant for

Researched 2026-09-02 from the DC Student Advocate's requirements page, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education's (OSSE) graduation page, 5-A DCMR § 2203 and OSSE's homeschool regulation page. The 100 community-service hours and the two College Level or Career Preparatory units are listed as unscored specifics under Other. UDC publishes no course-unit table, so its card names its GPA and test standards instead.

Years of each subject. 0 means the university lists no requirement in that subject; a dash means it publishes no figure for it.

University of the District of Columbia publishes no subject-by-subject course list. Its Flagship program asks for a high school diploma or GED plus a 2.5 GPA with an 890 SAT or 16 ACT, or a 2.0 GPA with a 1030 SAT or 19 ACT; tests are optional for now. The Community College admits any diploma or GED holder.. DC's one public university. A homeschool diploma with a transcript and GPA meets the diploma line; UDC does not name required high-school courses. University of the District of Columbia requirements (source), checked 2026-09-02.

Questions families ask

Does District of Columbia require a homeschool diploma?

Show answer
No. The graduation rules above bind public schools; the parent issues the diploma, and the state neither reviews nor accredits it.

How many credits does a District of Columbia homeschool diploma need?

Show answer
None by law. The public-school minimum is 24 credits; it is the table colleges commonly read a transcript against.

Who signs a homeschool transcript in District of Columbia?

Show answer
The parent. The state does not review, sign, or accredit it. What makes it credible is that it is complete, consistent, and kept as the work happened.

What does University of the District of Columbia expect from a homeschooled applicant?

Show answer
The course pattern in the table above, and the same application everyone files; the note under that table summarises the university's published admissions guidance.