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Two states, side by side

Arizona vs Colorado: Homeschool Laws Compared

Nine rules compared from each state's verified compliance data, then what changes for a family moving in either direction.

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The short answer

Colorado is the more regulated of the two: it requires notice and a periodic assessment, while Arizona requires notice but no testing or evaluation. They differ on 6 of the 9 rules compared: hours or days per year, required subjects, testing or evaluation, compulsory school ages, ESA funding, and public school sports access.

Rules compared
9
Differences
6
Same in both
3

The rules, side by side

Rows where the two states differ are marked. Tap a state name for its full guide, deadlines, and sources.

Rule Arizona Colorado
Notice of intent Required, filed with the local school district Required, filed with the local school district
Hours or days per year Differs No minimum 688 hours over 172 days a year
Required subjects Differs 5 named: reading, grammar, math, social studies, science 9 named: reading, writing, speaking, math, history, civics, literature, science, constitution
Testing or evaluation Differs None Parent's choice (testing, portfolio, or evaluation), at specified grade levels
Portfolio of work Not required Not required
Progress reports None None
Compulsory school ages Differs 6-16 6-17
ESA or school choice funding Differs Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) (up to $7,500) No program
Public school sports access Differs Yes Yes, with conditions

Figures are the same verified compliance data shown on each state's page. Requirements change; confirm with your state before you rely on one.

Moving from Arizona to Colorado

Once you are a Colorado resident you homeschool under Colorado's rules. These are the ones that change.

  1. Start logging from your first day: Colorado counts 688 hours over 172 days a year, and Arizona set no minimum.
  2. Colorado's required list adds writing, speaking, history, civics, literature, and constitution and drops grammar and social studies compared with Arizona's. Match Colorado's wording in your records.
  3. Colorado requires parent's choice (testing, portfolio, or evaluation), at specified grade levels. Arizona had no assessment rule, so plan for it in your first year.
  4. Compulsory school ages are 6-17 in Colorado against 6-16 in Arizona, so check whether your youngest or oldest is now inside or outside the rule.
  5. Colorado has no ESA program. Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) is for Arizona residents, so budget without it.
  6. Can homeschoolers play public school sports? In Colorado the answer is yes, with conditions; in Arizona it was yes.

Moving from Colorado to Arizona

Once you are a Arizona resident you homeschool under Arizona's rules. These are the ones that change.

  1. Arizona sets no hour or day minimum. Keep the log anyway; it is what you show if anyone asks, and what you build a transcript from.
  2. Arizona's required list adds grammar and social studies and drops writing, speaking, history, civics, literature, and constitution compared with Colorado's. Match Arizona's wording in your records.
  3. Arizona requires no testing or evaluation. Keep Colorado's past results with your records; colleges may still ask for them.
  4. Compulsory school ages are 6-16 in Arizona against 6-17 in Colorado, so check whether your youngest or oldest is now inside or outside the rule.
  5. Arizona runs Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA). Check whether your family qualifies; Colorado had no comparable program.
  6. Can homeschoolers play public school sports? In Arizona the answer is yes; in Colorado it was yes, with conditions.

What stays the same

Arizona and Colorado match on notice of intent, the portfolio, and progress reports. Your habits on those carry over unchanged.

Do your records transfer?

Neither Arizona nor Colorado takes homeschool records from another state, and there is no transfer process between them. You keep your own: the hours or attendance log, work samples, and any grades or transcripts. Those are what the new state, and later a college, may ask to see. Homeschool Fox keeps them in one account that moves with your family.

Sourced from each state's own published requirements. See the sources and verification dates on the Arizona page and the Colorado page.

Homeschool Fox is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Confirm details with your state or a qualified advisor.

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Pick your new state once and Homeschool Fox applies its hours, subjects, and reporting rules to everything you have already logged.

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