Colorado vs Utah: Homeschool Laws Compared

Colorado is the more regulated of the two: it requires notice and a periodic assessment, while Utah requires notice but no testing or evaluation. They differ on 5 of the 9 rules compared: hours or days per year, required subjects, testing or evaluation, compulsory school ages, and ESA funding.

Rules compared

9

Differences

5

Same in both

4

The rules, side by side

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

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 Colorado to Utah

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

1. Utah 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. Utah names no required subjects. Colorado's list is still a sensible course plan; it stops being a legal one.
3. Utah requires no testing or evaluation. Keep Colorado's past results with your records; colleges may still ask for them.
4. Compulsory school ages are 6-18 in Utah against 6-17 in Colorado, so check whether your youngest or oldest is now inside or outside the rule.
5. Utah runs Utah Fits All Scholarship. Check whether your family qualifies; Colorado had no comparable program.

Moving from Utah 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 Utah set no minimum.
2. Colorado names 9 required subjects (reading, writing, speaking, math, history, civics, literature, science, constitution). Tag activities to them so a gap shows before the year ends.
3. Colorado requires parent's choice (testing, portfolio, or evaluation), at specified grade levels. Utah had no assessment rule, so plan for it in your first year.
4. Compulsory school ages are 6-17 in Colorado against 6-18 in Utah, so check whether your youngest or oldest is now inside or outside the rule.
5. Colorado has no ESA program. Utah's Utah Fits All Scholarship is for Utah residents, so budget without it.

What stays the same

Colorado and Utah match on notice of intent, the portfolio, progress reports, and public school sports access. Your habits on those carry over unchanged.

Do your records transfer?

Neither Colorado nor Utah 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.

Keep comparing

• Arizona vs Colorado 6 rules differ
• California vs Colorado 6 rules differ
• Colorado vs Florida 7 rules differ
• Colorado vs Kansas 5 rules differ
• Colorado vs Nebraska 5 rules differ
• Colorado vs New Mexico 5 rules differ
• Colorado vs Oklahoma 5 rules differ
• Colorado vs Texas 6 rules differ
• Colorado vs Wyoming 6 rules differ
• Idaho vs Utah 4 rules differ
• New Mexico vs Utah 5 rules differ
• Utah vs Wyoming 3 rules differ
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• States That Require Homeschool Testing or Evaluation All 19 states in one table