Georgia · 2026-2027 school year
Georgia homeschool rules, 2026-2027
Last checked against the law and the state's own pages:
Georgia has one home school path. The rules below come from Georgia law. Trellis tools are your own choice. For a hard case, ask the state or a Georgia lawyer.
2026-2027 at a glance Georgia law
- File. One declaration of intent, within 30 days of starting. Again by September 1 each year.
- No approval. Your school system gets a copy of your form.
- Teach. Reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies and science. You may teach more.
- Days. The equivalent of 180 days a year, at least 4.5 hours each.
- Test. A nationally standardized test at least every three years, from the end of grade 3.
- Report. A progress report for each child each year. Keep it at least three years.
- Who teaches. You teach your own children, or hire a tutor. Either needs a high school diploma or GED.
If this happens Georgia law
- Leaving public school? File your form before or on the day your child leaves. Tell the school in writing. Keep a copy.
- Moving or stopping? Email GaDOE's home school office (card 2). GaDOE is the Georgia Department of Education.
- A letter from GaDOE? Our tip: answer it soon, and send what it asks for.
1. Who this covers and what it asks
Your child must be in school from the 6th birthday until the 16th birthday. A home study program counts as school.
Georgia has one home school path, the home study program. It asks five things of you:
- Send one form to the state each year.
- Teach the subjects the law names for the equivalent of 180 days.
- Test your child at least every three years, from the end of grade 3.
- Write a progress report for each child each year.
- The teacher needs a high school diploma or GED (card 6).
A 2025 law changed what a public school does when a child stops coming. See card 10.
If your child finished high school early
School ends early for a child who already has a high school diploma or GED. That child does not have to keep going to school, even before the 16th birthday.
2. Your one form
Send your declaration of intent to the state. Send it within 30 days of starting. Send it again by September 1 each year after. One form covers every child in your program.
Open the state's declaration of intent page
What the form asks for
The law asks the form for four things:
- Each child's name and age.
- The address where you teach.
- The local school system you live in.
- The 12 months you count as your school year.
It does not ask for your books, your lessons or your daily plan.
The state shares a copy of your form with your local school system. No one approves your program.
You pay no fee. You may file online or on paper.
The form comes from GaDOE. You sign it.
If you move or stop teaching at home, GaDOE's form asks you to tell GaDOE. You can email its home school office.
Driver's and work permits
Does your child need a driver's permit or license, or a youth work permit? Your child needs a copy of your filed form with your signature.
Who may see your form
Your form may be used only to show that your child is enrolled. Any other use needs your agreement or a court order.
3. What and how much you teach
Teach these five subjects:
- Reading
- Language arts
- Mathematics
- Social studies
- Science
You may teach more.
Teach the equivalent of 180 school days in your 12-month school year. Count at least 4.5 hours in each of those days.
If your child is physically unable
The law excuses a child physically unable to meet these days and hours. It names no form and no one to tell.
The law does not say if a day shorter than 4.5 hours counts. Aim for 4.5 hours. Record shorter days too; Trellis adds up your hours.
You fit the 180 days inside the 12 months on your form. You may take the summer off.
When your 12 months start
GaDOE's form says your year starts the day you begin teaching at home. It also counts this year's days at a public or private school toward the 180.
4. The test every three years
Your child takes a nationally standardized test. The first test is at the end of grade 3. After that, test at least every three years.
Who gives it? Ask the test company whether you may give it at home. GaDOE is not allowed to pick a test for you.
The Georgia Home Education Association (GHEA) explains why you ask the company. Each test company sets who may give its test. Some let a parent. Some want a college degree, not a teaching license.
The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) says a parent may give it. It says to have a trained person help. That person helps read the results.
Which tests count, and the scores
GHEA lists tests families use. Among them are the CAT (now TerraNova), the Iowa test (ITBS) and the Stanford test.
GaDOE says Georgia Milestones are not nationally standardized tests.
You keep the scores. The law does not ask you to send them.
5. Your yearly progress report
Each year you write a progress report for each child. Write how each child did in each subject the law names. You keep it for at least three years.
You do not send the progress report to anyone. A child joining a public school team shows a copy.
6. Who teaches
The teaching parent holds a high school diploma. A GED or another state-approved high school equivalency diploma counts too. A parent may teach only their own children. You may hire a tutor to teach your children. The tutor needs a high school diploma or GED too.
You need no teaching license, college degree or yearly class.
O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690(c)7. What Georgia does not ask for
Nobody approves your program, reviews your lessons or visits your home.
You do not send the state an attendance report.
Georgia's home study law does not name an attendance log for you to keep. Trellis can count your days.
In a learning pod, families learn together. No state or local office can make the group sign up or report. Each family still files its own form.
Georgia Cyber Academy and Georgia Connections Academy are online public schools, not home study.
Immunization records
Georgia's home school rules do not ask for immunization records. Does your child take part in any public school programs? That school system may ask for immunization records.
8. What your school system may offer
Your school system must let your child take its college tests:
- SAT
- PreACT
- ACT
- PSAT
- An Advanced Placement test
- The ASVAB
Your child must be in grades 6 to 12 and live there. For these tests, you pay no added fee, only what its own students pay.
Teams and clubs
Your child needs these to join:
- At least 30 days before the term, tell your school system your child will join.
- A copy of your newest progress report.
- A note you write saying your child is passing each course.
- Your child takes one qualifying class (an approved class) each term they play. It can be online or at a college. It is at the school only if the sport needs it.
- Your child makes the team the same way every student does, and follows its rules.
A child who left public school for home study waits 12 months to join. That counts from your form's date, even for a child already on a team.
Might your child need special education? Ask your local school system what help it offers.
Courses your child may take
Your child may take courses at a College and Career Academy through your school system. The state's online course list may also be offered to your child. Ask your school system how each one works where you live.
9. Finishing high school
Georgia sets no number of credits for a home study diploma. It sets no course order. The state gives no diploma. You write your own.
HOPE is Georgia's college scholarship. A student from a home study program can earn it too. The Georgia Student Finance Commission explains how.
O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690(c) · § 20-3-519.210. Leaving public school
Is your child leaving public school? These three steps help keep the check below from starting:
- File your form before or on the day your child leaves.
- Tell the school in writing that your child is starting home study.
- Keep a copy of the form you filed.
Georgia law checks on a child who stops coming to public school. It starts after 30 days in a row away, in a case below. The school must send the case to the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS). Then DFCS checks that the child is being taught.
Showing a copy of your filed form ends the DFCS check right away.
The cases that start the check
The child has been away 30 days in a row. And one of these four is true:
- No one told the school the child was leaving.
- No one told the school about home study or a new school.
- The child was taken out with no form on file.
- A child 16 or older stopped coming without meeting with the principal first.
If a child left with no form on file, the school may do more. It may call you, visit the last known home or ask the police to check.
11. If the rules are not followed
Not following these rules is a misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $100.
Keeping a child out of all school is a separate misdemeanor. The court may order a $25 to $100 fine. It may add up to 30 days in jail or community service.
Before GaDOE reports a family to court, it must write to you.
Our tip: if that letter comes, answer it soon. Send what it asks for.
O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690(d) · § 20-2-690.1(d) · § 20-2-701Questions Georgia families ask
Does anyone approve my home study program?
Show answer: Does anyone approve my home study program?
When is my form due?
Show answer: When is my form due?
How many days and hours must we teach?
Show answer: How many days and hours must we teach?
Do I send my child's test scores to the state?
Show answer: Do I send my child's test scores to the state?
Do I send my yearly progress report to anyone?
Show answer: Do I send my yearly progress report to anyone?
What if my child is leaving public school?
Show answer: What if my child is leaving public school?
Does Georgia give my child a diploma?
Show answer: Does Georgia give my child a diploma?
Is there a homeschool compliance planner for Georgia?
Show answer: Is there a homeschool compliance planner for Georgia?
Keep your own record as you go
In Trellis.Trellis can hold dates, lessons, and records in one place. You mark what you sent. Trellis never files with Georgia for you. It never says a family has passed a legal check.
Start your family's records High school, diploma, and transcript in GeorgiaPlan your Georgia year in Trellis
Trellis puts your whole school year on one calendar. Your children check off their work, and Trellis counts your days and hours. The Year Summary is the start of each child's progress report.
Start your free 30 days See how the Trellis planner works