Homeschool Requirements in Idaho

Idaho asks for nothing each year. No annual notice, no registration, no assessment. The step people miss is a separate one: if your child is enrolled in a public school right now, withdrawing them is its own act, and nothing on this page does it for you. Do that first. Everything below is what Idaho actually requires, cited at the foot so you can read it yourself.

What you file, and by when

None. Idaho requires no notice of intent, no registration, no filing with the school district, the state, or any agency. If you are withdrawing a currently enrolled student, sending the school a short written withdrawal letter is a practical courtesy that heads off truancy referrals, but it is not a legal requirement.

Nothing to file is not the same as nothing to know, and the group of states in that position is smaller than the forums suggest. How to read your own state code in about ten minutes.

Days or hours

None. No minimum days, hours, or calendar.

Subjects you must cover

Idaho Code § 33-202 requires only that a child be “comparably instructed in the subjects commonly and usually taught in the public schools of the state”, generally read as reading/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. There is no state-approved list, no scope and sequence, and no curriculum approval. Compulsory school age is 7 through 15 (must be instructed until the child turns 16).

Records you keep

None required. No attendance records, portfolios, or reports are mandated or subject to inspection. Keeping your own records is voluntary, but see the high-school note, and note that families claiming the new Parental Choice Tax Credit must keep receipts and documentation for that credit.

Nothing goes to a district, so the only account of the four years is the one you write. Writing the counselor letter when the counselor is you.

Testing or evaluation

None. No standardized testing, no evaluation, no state or district assessment of homeschooled students.

Diplomas and transcripts

No state diploma, no credits, no transcripts, no oversight. The parent awards the diploma and writes the transcript, and Idaho imposes no content requirements on either. Because the state generates zero paper trail, homeschool high schoolers should build their own documentation (course descriptions, reading lists, SAT/ACT or CLEP scores, dual-credit transcripts) for admissions and scholarships. Idaho’s Advanced Opportunities program ($4,125 per student for dual credit, overload courses, and exams) is open to homeschooled students. It does require registering through a public school or the state system, which produces a real, verifiable transcript. That is the single best move an Idaho homeschool high schooler can make. Newer still: the Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit (HB 93, signed Feb. 27, 2025) provides a refundable credit of up to $5,000/student ($7,500 for a student with a disability) for eligible education expenses including homeschool curriculum, textbooks, and tutoring; $50M annual cap, priority to families at or below 300% FPL, and it conditions eligibility on instruction covering English language arts, math, science, and social studies. Claiming the credit is the one context where an Idaho homeschooler takes on documentation obligations.

If the transcript is the piece you are missing, it is free on its own: The Transcript Template, with the weighted and unweighted GPA already wired.

Where this comes from

Statute: Idaho Code § 33-202 (also §§ 33-203, 33-207); tax credit at Idaho Code § 63-3029N (2025 HB 93)

Source: https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title33/t33ch2/sect33-202/

Last reviewed: July 2026. The day is not recorded.

Homeschool law changes, and a page like this goes stale without saying so. Before a filing deadline, read the statute above for yourself. If we are behind, we would rather hear it from you than have you find out at the district office.

All fifty states and DC, each with its statute cited.

Filing is one half of it. Keeping the records is the other, and that is what our Records System is for: the editable transcript with the GPA already wired, 131 course descriptions, and this same statute-cited summary for all fifty states and DC. Thirty-nine dollars, one household, however many children you have.