Colorado homeschool law
Notice, days or hours, subjects, testing and records, in plain words, with the source for each.
This is general information, not legal advice; check your state's own page. Laws change, and Colorado's own statute and education department are the final word. The links below go straight to them.
Checked on against the sources linked on this page.
What to file in Colorado
- File
- A written notice: each child's name, age, residence and hours of attendance. §
- To
- Any school district in Colorado. §
- By
- At least 14 days before you start, then each year. §
- Keep
- Attendance, test or evaluation results and immunizations, kept permanently. 172 days, averaging 4 hours. §
- Test
- In grades 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11: a standardized test or a qualified person's evaluation, sent to the district. §
The law's number: 172 days. In its words: “172 days of instruction”, “averaging four instructional contact hours per day”. Your Record Book offers it as a target; it is never filled in for you.
Starting this year
- At least 14 days before you start: Send written notice to a school district in Colorado that you are setting up a home-based education program.
- In grades 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11: Each child takes a nationally standardized achievement test, or a qualified person evaluates the child's progress. The results go to the school district that got your notice, or to an independent or parochial school.
Already homeschooling
- Each year the program continues: Send the written notice again.
- In grades 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11: Each child takes a nationally standardized achievement test, or a qualified person evaluates the child's progress. The results go to the school district that got your notice, or to an independent or parochial school.
Leaving a school mid-year
A child who joins a public school after home-based education may be tested by the district for grade placement and is placed at the grade level the district deems most appropriate, with the parent's consent. The district accepts the program's transcripts for credit but may reject them if its testing does not verify them.
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What Colorado's law asks you to keep, as tools: Attendance · Hours log · Evaluation packet. The same rows for every state: what to file, by state.
Checked . § = source: Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 22 (General Assembly): sections 22-33-104 and 22-33-104.5. Information, not legal advice.
Quick answers
- Notice
- Notice every yearSend written notice that you are setting up the program to a school district in Colorado at least 14 days before you start, and again each year the program continues. The parent certifies in writing only the name, age, place of residence and number of hours of attendance of each child. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 22 (General Assembly): sections 22-33-104 and 22-33-104.5
- Days or hours
- Days and hoursThe program must include no less than 172 days of instruction, averaging four instructional contact hours per day. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 22 (General Assembly): sections 22-33-104 and 22-33-104.5
- Subjects
- Communication skills of reading, writing and speaking; mathematics; history; civics; literature; science; and regular courses of instruction in the U.S. Constitution. The list includes these but need not be limited to them. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 22 (General Assembly): sections 22-33-104 and 22-33-104.5
- Testing or evaluation
- A test or an evaluationIn grades 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, each child takes a nationally standardized achievement test or a qualified person (a licensed teacher, a teacher at an independent or parochial school, a licensed psychologist, or someone with a graduate degree in education) evaluates the child's progress. The results go to the school district that received your notice, or to an independent or parochial school. A composite score at or below the 13th percentile (after a chance to retest) means the district requires the child to be placed in a school until the next testing period. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 22 (General Assembly): sections 22-33-104 and 22-33-104.5
- Records
- The parent keeps each child's records permanently, including attendance data, test and evaluation results, and immunization records. The records must be produced to the school district that received your notice on 14 days' written notice if the superintendent has probable cause to believe the program is not in compliance. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 22 (General Assembly): sections 22-33-104 and 22-33-104.5
- Who must attend school
- Every child who is six or older on or before August 1 and under age seventeen must attend school (C.R.S. 22-33-104). A child in a nonpublic home-based educational program is not subject to compulsory school attendance. The parent need not give notice until the child is six, need not start the program until the child is seven, and need not continue it or give notice after the child is sixteen. Source: Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 22 (General Assembly): sections 22-33-104 and 22-33-104.5
- Education savings accounts and vouchers
- No program foundWe did not find a state-funded education savings account or voucher open to homeschool families in the education title of the Colorado Revised Statutes (2024 edition) (checked 2026-10-27). Check the Colorado Department of Education's school-choice page for new programs. Source: Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 22 (General Assembly): sections 22-33-104 and 22-33-104.5
What to do first
- Read Colorado's own pages, linked under each row below, so you know what applies to your situation.
- Notice: 14 days before starting, then each year To: A school district within the state.
- If your child is in school now: A child who joins a public school after home-based education may be tested by the district for grade placement and is placed at the grade level the district deems most appropriate, with the parent's consent. The district accepts the program's transcripts for credit but may reject them if its testing does not verify them.
- Plan the year around the days or hours and the subjects below.
- Start your records on day one: a simple attendance log, a list of books read and a work sample or two for each subject.
- Put the testing or evaluation date on your calendar.
Other legal routes in Colorado
- Independent or parochial school. A child is also exempt from public school attendance if enrolled for a minimum of 172 days in an independent or parochial school that provides a basic academic education (reading, writing, speaking, mathematics, history, civics, literature and science).
Records to keep
The parent keeps each child's records permanently, including attendance data, test and evaluation results, and immunization records. The records must be produced to the school district that received your notice on 14 days' written notice if the superintendent has probable cause to believe the program is not in compliance. Whatever the law asks, many families also keep a simple attendance log, a list of books read and a few work samples for each subject; they cost nothing and help if you move or return to school.
Good to know
- Who may teach: the parent, or an adult relative the parent designates. They do not need a teaching license (C.R.S. 22-33-104.5(3)(a)).
- Sports and clubs: a child in a home-based program has the same rights as a public school student of the district where the child lives or is enrolled to take part on an equal basis in any extracurricular or interscholastic activity, under the same rules, and the school cannot require a course to be taken just to take part (with an exception where the activity is an extension of a course).
- A child who was habitually truant in the last six months before leaving school can start a home-based program only if the parents first send the school district a written description of the curricula along with the notice.
- The law text on this page is from the 2024 edition of the Colorado Revised Statutes published by the General Assembly.
Where this comes from
- Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 22 (General Assembly): sections 22-33-104 and 22-33-104.5 (the law)
Checked on October 27, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice; check your state's own page, and confirm with your school district or the department before you rely on a date. Something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.