How to Start Homeschooling in Pennsylvania

Required hours

900 hrs/year

School days

180 days/year

Required subjects

11 subjects

Notice

Required

Testing / evaluation

Professional evaluation

Portfolio

Required

Jump to the full Pennsylvania requirements for plain-English detail on each of these.

Step by step

1. 1

   Understand Pennsylvania's homeschool law

   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.

2. 2

   Withdraw from public school (if enrolled)

   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.

3. 3

   File your notice of intent

   Yes, Pennsylvania requires you to file notice of your intent to homeschool. You must notify your local school district.

4. 4

   Plan your subjects

   Pennsylvania requires instruction in the following subjects: english, math, science, geography, history, civics, safety, health, physical education, music, and art. Beyond these requirements, you have flexibility to add subjects that interest your family.

5. 5

   Set your hours or days target

   Pennsylvania requires a minimum of 900 hours of instruction per school year. This must be spread over at least 180 school days.

6. 6

   Plan for assessment and records

   Pennsylvania requires a written annual evaluation by a qualified evaluator — a licensed psychologist, certified teacher, or nonpublic school teacher with recent experience — based on a student interview and portfolio review. The evaluator also certifies that an appropriate education is occurring, and the certification is filed with the superintendent by June 30. 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.

7. 7

   Track your hours and keep records

   Log activities as they happen so hours, attendance, and subject coverage build up automatically. Homeschool Fox lets you log from your phone or by voice and generates a Pennsylvania-specific compliance report when you need it.

Free tool

Calculate your homeschool pace

Pennsylvania requires 900 hours/year. Enter how far you've come and we'll show you the daily pace to finish on time.

What Homeschool Fox tracks for Pennsylvania

Everything Pennsylvania expects you to keep, in one place — no spreadsheets, no lost notebooks.

• Hours toward your 900-hour goal
• Required subjects & core hours
• Daily activity logs
• Attendance records
• Notes & portfolio records
• Printable PDF reports
• High school transcripts
• State-specific progress tracking

More Pennsylvania guides

• Pennsylvania Homeschool Requirements Hours, notice, assessment, and subjects at a glance.
• Homeschooling High School in Pennsylvania Credits, GPA, transcripts, and graduation.
• Record Keeping in Pennsylvania What to document, how to organize it, and staying compliant.