State Requirements
Homeschooling in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has moderate homeschool requirements. Families must log at least 900 hours of instruction per year, and you'll file notice with your local school district.
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Pennsylvania treats homeschooling as a recognized alternative to public school, with a structured path families follow each year: a filing, instructional time, and evidence the learning happened. The state's compulsory school-age band is 6-18. A child outside those ages isn't legally required to be in formal instruction at all.
The Pennsylvania statute requires families to log at least 900 instructional hours per year spread over at least 180 school days. Families choose their own schedule. Some homeschool year-round at a gentle pace while others front-load hours during peak seasons. Field trips, co-ops, and self-directed study typically count alongside formal lessons.
The one paperwork moment each homeschool year in Pennsylvania is the notice of intent filed with your local school district before (or soon after) teaching starts. Districts vary slightly in expected format, but the core contents (student name, grade, and a statement of intent) are the same everywhere in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania expects professional evaluation annually, which gives families a checkpoint for measuring progress rather than a surprise at the end of the school year. In Pennsylvania, the portfolio is what ties the school year together: work samples, an activity log, and evidence that the required subjects were actually taught, ready for an evaluator's review.
Instruction must cover english, math, science, geography, history, civics, safety, health, physical education, music, and art, though families have wide latitude in how they teach each topic. Homeschool Fox was built to make the bookkeeping side of Pennsylvania homeschooling invisible. Log the day in plain English or by voice, and the hours, attendance, and subject coverage roll up automatically into the reports families need at evaluation time or the end of the year.
At a glance
900 hours/year
Instruction time
180 days/year
School days
Ages 6-18
Compulsory attendance
Notice requirements
Notice is required
You must notify your local school district of your intent to homeschool.
Need a head start? Use the free Notice of Intent generator to draft a Pennsylvania-ready letter.
Deeper guides: how to write a notice of intent to homeschool covers the language admins look for, and when and where to file your notice of intent covers state-by-state deadlines and recipients.
Generate your notice of intentWithdrawing from public school
Moving a child from public school to homeschool in Pennsylvania starts with a written withdrawal to the current school and a notice of intent to the local district. Together they put the new arrangement on record. Homeschool Fox can draft the withdrawal letter for you. It fills in the student, district, and date fields automatically.
For the play-by-play, how to withdraw your child from public school walks through the conversation, the timing, and the paperwork. What to send the district when you pull your child covers exactly what the letter should and shouldn't say.
Assessment requirements
Assessment is required
- Type:
- Professional evaluation
- Frequency:
- Annually
Standardized testing for homeschoolers walks through which test to choose, where to register, and how to prep. If Pennsylvania lets you choose between portfolio review and a test, homeschool portfolio reviews vs standardized tests covers when each option is the better call.
Portfolio & records
Portfolio is required
Under 24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(e), families keep a contemporaneous log of reading materials by title plus samples of the student's writings, worksheets, workbooks, and creative materials. Standardized tests in math and reading/language arts are included in the portfolio in grades 3, 5, and 8.
Building a high-school transcript? Start with our free transcript template. Homeschool portfolio reviews vs standardized tests covers what evaluators actually look at and how to curate samples without drowning in worksheets.
Required subjects
Pennsylvania requires instruction in the following subjects.
Additional notes
900 hours (elementary) or 990 hours (secondary). Annual portfolio review by evaluator required. Affidavit with educational objectives due August 1.
Calculate your Pennsylvania hours
Pennsylvania requires 900 hours/year. Enter how far you've come and we'll show you the daily pace to finish on time.
Leave at 0 if you haven't started tracking yet
Enter an end date to see your targets
Target
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hours per day
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hours per week
Prefer a full-page version? Open the standalone hours calculator.
Sources
Verified May 2026
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to notify anyone to homeschool in Pennsylvania?
How many hours do I need to homeschool in Pennsylvania?
Does Pennsylvania require testing for homeschoolers?
Do I need to keep a portfolio in Pennsylvania?
What subjects must I teach in Pennsylvania?
Nearby states
View all statesWant the cross-state comparison? Homeschool laws by state covers the legal regime in every state side by side.
What we track
Track your 900 Pennsylvania hours automatically
Log activities by voice or text and Homeschool Fox rolls them up against Pennsylvania's requirements automatically. Free for 14 days.
- Hours toward 900-hour goal
- Attendance days toward 180-day goal
- Subject coverage (core & non-core)
- Activity log (text, voice, AI-parsed)
- Portfolio-ready records & PDFs
- Transcripts with GPA & credits
- Test scores & evaluations
- Notice of intent & withdrawal letters
14-day free trial. No credit card required.