Homeschool requirements · District of Columbia
Homeschooling in District of Columbia
Moderate paperwork · A notice and a yearly assessment or records check.
File an annual notice, hold a high school diploma or equivalent, teach the required subjects, and keep a portfolio available for review.
What District of Columbia asks
| Notice | Annual notice of intent to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (by August 15, or 15 days before starting). |
|---|---|
| Days and hours | District of Columbia sets no number. HomeSchool Scribe plans against 180 days unless you change it. |
| Subjects | Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Art, Music, Health, Physical Education |
| Assessment | Portfolio may be reviewed by OSSE (typically no more than twice a year). |
| Records to keep | Portfolio of work samples and instructional materials. |
| Parent qualification | High school diploma or equivalent. |
| Worth knowing | 180 days is a planning default only. |
Deadlines
These are the dates the app tracks for District of Columbia. Districts vary; the app lets you edit any of them.
| What | When | To whom | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notification of Intent to Homeschool Notice · File online | Once, when you begin | DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) | Filed once, before a family begins. The regulation sets it at 15 days before the first day of home instruction, not counting Saturdays, Sundays or District holidays, and OSSE's own pages call that 15 business days. HomeSchool Scribe places it three weeks before the school year starts, which is exactly 15 weekdays when no District holiday falls in the window; a holiday makes the real last-safe date earlier, so move it back if one does. Two more things OSSE says: processing takes about ten calendar days, and OSSE emails a verification letter within five business days of approving, after which a family may officially begin the program. Filing well ahead of the minimum leaves room for all of it. The notification records consent to the homeschool regulation and names each child; OSSE looks for the parent's high school diploma or equivalent, or a waiver it grants on evidence the parent can provide a thorough, regular education. This one does not repeat, because the August 15 continuation notice covers every year after it, so mark it filed if the family already homeschools in DC. DC also lets a family start mid-year, and this date is tied to the school year set up in the app, so a mid-year start needs its own date 15 business days before the actual first day of instruction. |
| Notification of Homeschool Continuation Notice · File online | By August 15 each year | DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) | Due by August 15 for every year a program keeps going, on one form naming each child being homeschooled. It is a different form from the first Notification of Intent and it comes back every year. August 15 is fixed in the regulation rather than tied to when a family's own year starts, so this reminder can land before the school year opens, and a year set up after August 15 will show it already past. A family that stops partway through a year sends a Notification to Discontinue Homeschooling instead, 15 business days before they stop; OSSE's own pages disagree on where it goes, its Apply to Homeschool page putting all three forms through the portal and its family guide having this one emailed to OSSE.Homeschool@dc.gov, so it is worth checking both. Save whatever the portal returns. |
| Portfolio of the child's work (keep 1 year) Records · Keep in your files | By the end of the school year | Keep in your files; OSSE may ask to see it | One portfolio for each child, holding evidence of the child's current work across a range of subjects: writing, worksheets, workbooks, creative materials and assessments. The regulation says it should be kept at least a year and made available to OSSE on written request, and OSSE's family guide puts it more firmly, as maintained for at least one year. Reviews are not on a calendar. OSSE asks for one at its discretion and in writing, the regulation caps them at two in a school year and adds that nothing in it requires a regular periodic review of every portfolio, and OSSE's family guide and FAQ both say the written request comes at least 30 days before the review date. A review happens online or in person somewhere both sides agree on. DC sets no test, no day count and no hour count, so the portfolio is the whole record of the year. |
What HomeSchool Scribe does in District of Columbia
- Notification of Intent to Homeschool: Prepares the notice letter; reminds you 14 days and 2 days before; opens the portal and keeps your confirmation.
- Notification of Homeschool Continuation: Prepares the notice letter; reminds you 14 days and 2 days before; opens the portal and keeps your confirmation.
- Portfolio of the child's work (keep 1 year): Prepares the portfolio; keeps it in records.
Attendance and hours fill in from the lessons you check off, so the documents above come from records you already have. District of Columbia asks families to keep these records for 1 year.
Read the law yourself
DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education · HSLDA’s District of Columbia summary · Notification of Intent to Homeschool portal · Notification of Homeschool Continuation portal
Not legal advicePlanning summaries in plain language, reviewed 2026-09-29. Deadlines and recipients vary by district; confirm with District of Columbia’s current law or a homeschool legal organization before you file anything. If something here is out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it for every family in District of Columbia.