Homeschool guides
Plain answers to the questions homeschool families ask, each checked against the law or the agency that sets the rule, with the date we checked.
These guides answer the questions families ask that a state law page doesn't: online school or homeschool, the first months after leaving school, travelling and military families, special education, sports, graduation, used curriculum and who may teach. Each legal fact comes from a statute, the US Department of Education, the Department of Defense or a state education department, with the date we checked it.
Checked October 27, 2026.
The guides
- Homeschool or online school? The legal differenceAn online public school is public school at home; a homeschool is yours. Who sets the rules in each, what accredited means, when it matters, and the free options.
- Deschooling: the first weeks after leaving schoolA plain guide to the rest period after you leave school: how long people take, what to do and not do, what your state still expects, and how to ease into lessons.
- What happens to an IEP if you homeschool?What the US Department of Education says a district still owes a child with an IEP who leaves for home education, which depends on state law, with each state's line from its law page.
- Can homeschoolers play public school sports? State by stateThe "Tebow law" question: a table of states whose statute or athletic association we read, with the rule, the link and the date checked. States not listed are not checked yet.
- Who can teach a homeschooled child? Rules by stateParent, grandparent, tutor or someone else? What each state's law page says about who may teach and what the teacher needs, with a link to the law for each state.
- Homeschooling as a military familyWhich rules apply when you move: your state or host country, what DoDEA's policy lets homeschoolers use (sports, library, up to three classes), and moving in mid-year.
- How to host a homeschool graduationPlan a graduation at home or with other families: who issues the diploma in your state, a simple program, what to print, what to keep, and what DoDEA schools do not offer.
- Buying and selling used curriculum safelyHow to buy and sell used homeschool books without getting scammed: what the first-sale rule lets you resell, why not to copy, recalled products, and fake-check scams.
Something we haven't answered?
Write to hello@peabody.kids. We answer from the law and the agencies' own pages, never from a sales page, and say when we checked.
Sources
- Peabody's state homeschool law pages (each lists its statutes and education department pages) (checked October 27, 2026)