Who can teach a homeschooled child?
Parent, grandparent, tutor or someone else: what each state's law page says.
State homeschool laws say who may teach, and the rules differ widely. Peabody's state law pages, each checked against the statute or the state education department, show some states asking nothing of the parent, some asking for a diploma or equivalent, and some limiting teaching to parents. This table gives each state's line with a link to its law page.
Checked October 27, 2026.
This is a plain-words summary, not legal advice. Laws change: check your state's current law (each state page links to the statute) and its education department before you act.
Does a parent need to be a certified teacher?
In the state pages that address it, mostly no: Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wisconsin say a teaching certificate or license isn't needed. Some states do ask something else, such as a high school diploma or equivalent. The table has each state's line.
What does each state say about who may teach?
| State | What the state law page says | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | The Department's fact sheet says there are no educational requirements for parents or guardians who provide a home school. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| California | For the private school route the law says only persons capable of teaching, and the Department of Education says private school teachers need not hold a California teaching credential. The tutor route needs a valid state credential for the grade taught. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Colorado | 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)). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| District of Columbia | Parents or legal guardians need a high school diploma or its equivalent, or may petition OSSE for a waiver with evidence they can provide a thorough and regular education. Parents may not provide home instruction to other parents' students. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Florida | The parent is not required to hold a valid regular Florida teaching certificate. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Georgia | A parent or guardian may teach only their own children, and needs at least a high school diploma or a state-approved high school equivalency diploma. Instead, a family may employ a tutor who has one of those. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Hawaii | The rules say a parent teaching the parent's child at home is deemed a qualified instructor. The parent is responsible for the child's total educational program, including athletics and other co-curricular activities. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Kansas | KSDE says nonaccredited private schools need not employ state-licensed teachers, but courses must be taught by competent instructors. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Louisiana | The Department's guidelines say a parent or tutor may provide the instruction and there are no teaching certification requirements. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Maine | The statute sets no teacher qualification. The Department says the parent legally directs the child's education, choosing the curriculum, and that home instruction is funded by the parent. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Maryland | The Department of Education's FAQ says the regulations do not require the parent, guardian or other instructor to hold teacher certification. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Michigan | The parent or legal guardian of the child, in the child's home. No teaching certificate is needed. The Department of Education says teaching neighbors' children, or having a grandparent who is not the legal guardian teach, is not home schooling under this exemption. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Minnesota | The instructor must meet at least one of these: hold a valid Minnesota teaching license in the field and grade; be directly supervised by a licensed teacher; teach in an accredited school; hold a bachelor's degree; or be the parent of a child who is assessed under the testing rule. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Nebraska | Instructors at an exempt school do not need teacher certification. They must not have been convicted of the felony offenses listed in section 79-1601(5)(b), a rule that took effect July 18, 2026. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| New Hampshire | A home educated student is one receiving an education provided, coordinated, or directed by a parent for his or her own child. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| New Jersey | A parent or other person teaching a child elsewhere than at school is not required by law to be certified as a teacher in New Jersey. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| New Mexico | The home school operator must be the student's parent or legal guardian, who may employ someone else to teach a particular subject. The person giving instruction needs at least a high school diploma or high school equivalency credential. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| North Carolina | The persons providing academic instruction in a home school must hold at least a high school diploma or its equivalent (G.S. 115C-564). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| North Dakota | A parent (including legal guardian) who holds a high school diploma or GED may supervise home education. A parent without either may supervise but must be monitored by a licensed or approved teacher for the first two years, and longer if the child scores below the fiftieth percentile. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Ohio | The law says home education is directed by the child's parent. It names no diploma or teacher qualification for the parent. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Oklahoma | The department says the Attorney General has ruled that home instruction does not require a certified teacher, but the instruction must be supplied in good faith and must be equivalent to the education provided by the state. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Oregon | The statute says a parent, legal guardian or private teacher; we did not find a teacher-qualification rule for parents in the statute. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Pennsylvania | The parent, guardian or person with legal custody who has a high school diploma or its equivalent. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| South Carolina | Under Option 1 the parent has at least a high school diploma or GED (and passes the basic skills exam the State Department of Education has validated for home schooling parents) or has a bachelor's degree. Options 2 and 3 ask for at least a high school diploma or GED. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| South Dakota | The person providing instruction is not required to be certified, and no person may instruct more than twenty-two children (SDCL 13-27-3). | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Tennessee | A parent or legal guardian with a high school diploma or a high school equivalency credential approved by the state board of education. Only parents or legal guardians can register an independent home school. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Utah | The statute says a local school board may not require credentials for the people giving home school instruction. The State Board of Education says no teaching license, college degree or special training is needed, and no criminal background information is required when you notify the district. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Virginia | A parent may choose home instruction if he holds a high school diploma, is a teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Board, provides a program of study or curriculum (which may come from a correspondence course or distance learning program), or provides evidence he is able to provide an adequate education. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Washington | The parent must be supervised by a certificated person who has a monthly average of one contact hour per week with the child, or have 45 college-level quarter credit hours (or equivalent semester hours), or have completed a home-based instruction course at a postsecondary or vocational-technical institute, or be deemed sufficiently qualified by the local district superintendent. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| West Virginia | The person providing home instruction submits evidence of a high school diploma or equivalent, or a post-secondary degree or certificate from a regionally accredited institution or an institution authorized in West Virginia. A parent does not need to be a certified teacher. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Wisconsin | DPI says there are no minimum educational requirements for parents providing a home-based private educational program, and no teaching certificate or license is needed. The parent or someone the parent designates may teach. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Wyoming | A home-based educational program is instruction given to a child by the child's parent or legal guardian or by a person the parent or legal guardian designates. We did not find a teacher-qualification rule in the statute. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
32 states are in the table. For the others, your state law page may not say; ask your state education department.
Can a grandparent or someone else teach my child?
Some states say who may teach: Michigan's department says teaching neighbors' children, or having a grandparent who is not the legal guardian teach, is not home school; Georgia and Tennessee say only a parent or guardian may. Others let a parent designate someone (Colorado, Wisconsin, Wyoming) or hire a tutor for a subject (New Mexico). Read your state's line, and ask your state before handing over the teaching.
Can I homeschool someone else's child?
Many states define home education as a parent or guardian teaching their own child, so a family teaching another family's child may fall outside it. Check the line for your state above.
Sources
- Peabody's state homeschool law pages (each lists its statutes and education department pages) (checked October 27, 2026)