How to Start Homeschooling in Virginia

Required hours

No state minimum

Required subjects

Your choice

Notice

Required

Testing / evaluation

Parent's choice (testing, portfolio, or evaluation)

Recordkeeping

Recommended

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

Step by step

1. 1

   Understand Virginia's homeschool law

   Virginia has light but formal homeschool requirements with no mandated hour or day minimums, 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 Virginia 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, Virginia requires you to file notice of your intent to homeschool. You must notify your local school district.

4. 4

   Plan your subjects

   Virginia does not mandate specific subjects. Families have complete flexibility in designing their curriculum and choosing what to teach.

5. 5

   Set your hours or days target

   Virginia does not mandate a specific number of instructional hours. Families have flexibility in determining their own schedule and pace of learning.

6. 6

   Plan for assessment and records

   Virginia requires evidence of academic progress filed with the division superintendent by August 1 each year. Options are a nationally standardized test at or above the 23rd percentile (4th stanine) or an evaluation letter from a licensed teacher, someone with a master's degree or higher, or a qualifying program transcript.

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 Virginia-specific compliance report when you need it.

Free tool

Calculate your homeschool pace

Virginia doesn't mandate a minimum. Use 900 hours/year as a general guide to stay on pace.

What Homeschool Fox tracks for Virginia

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

• Required hours or days
• Required subjects & core hours
• Daily activity logs
• Attendance records
• Notes & portfolio records
• Printable PDF reports
• High school transcripts
• State-specific progress tracking

More Virginia guides

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