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Homeschooling Considerations
There is also a downloadable version of this page.
I want to homeschool my child. What do I need to do?
If your child is currently enrolled in a public or private school, you are not required to open a nonpublic school (homeschool) if you are providing additional supplemental instruction to your child during a time of remote or hybrid learning with your public school/charter. If you choose to open a homeschool, you can do so at any time during the year after August 10th, but will need to withdraw your student from the public or private school, as students cannot be registered in both public and nonpublic school. The DDOE and the current school of attendance must be made aware of their homeschool status or the student will be considered truant in his or her previous school. Instructions for opening a homeschool are available online.
Can I enroll my child in an online private school?
If you plan to homeschool children under the age of 18, you must open a homeschool with the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) even if your child(ren) is/are using an online school's curriculum. You do not have to open a homeschool with the DDOE if your child is 18 or older; however you are welcome to do so.
What if I want my child to join an already established homeschool?
For multi-family homeschools, the school’s administrator will add students to the multi-family homeschool as part of the enrollment process and provide the parent/guardian with a copy of the acknowledgement page in order to withdraw from the current school of attendance.
What if I want to reenroll my child in public school?
If you decide that you want to reenroll your student in public school you can do so at any time. If you reenrolled during the current school year, your child can only be enrolled in your district/school of residence and may not be reenrolled in a choice school, charter or a special programs (such as language immersion programs or advanced coursework).
How does my child get a diploma if I homeschool?
The state does not issue diplomas for any homeschool or validate any type of credential provided by those schools. The state does not retain copies of any diplomas for homeschool students.
Any diploma would be issued by and come from the homeschool.
Students and families may wish to contact a college, university, training program, licensing entities, or employer to determine if they will accept the diploma from a homeschool or multi-family homeschool.
Can my child still participate in public school sports or driver education if I homeschool?
Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) regulations 1008 and DIAA 1009 require that in order for a student to represent a school in interscholastic athletics they must be enrolled at that school as a full-time student and the school must be a member school of the DIAA.
A student enrolled in a Delaware homeschool and who is a resident of Delaware is entitled to one free driver education course through an adult education program pursuant to DDOE Regulation 540. Adult education programs in a district offering driver education and driver education classes at the YMCA in Dover are approved programs by the DDOE.
Please note, the course is offered for free but there is a registration fee that varies depending on your selected location.
Students who are not successful in their initial driver education course may register in any of the adult driver education programs for a fee.
The parent shall bring the following documents to the district, YMCA, or adult education program for enrollment in the driver education course.
- The acknowledgement page showing the student’s enrollment in the nonpublic school. For a copy of the acknowledgement page, log in to the DDOE’s Identity Management System (IMS) and click on the Nonpublic Schools icon. When the nonpublic school’s homepage displays, click the “Print Acknowledgement” link.
- A copy of the student’s recent report card/grades for verification of eligibility for free driver education and to prove academic eligibility for a Graduated Driver’s License (GDL) pursuant to Delaware Code Title 14 C. § 4125.
For more information on Driver Education, please visit the Driver Education page.
I still have questions. Who can I contact?
