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Hawaii 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 Hawaii'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 Hawaii

File
A notice, once. Before starting, give the principal of the public school your child would otherwise attend a notice of intent: the Department's Form 4140 or a letter with the child's name, address and telephone number, birthdate and grade level, and your signature. §
To
Principal of the public school the child would otherwise attend §
By
Before starting; again only if the school area or school level changes §
Keep
Keep a record of your planned curriculum: beginning and ending dates, hours per week spent on instruction, subject areas covered, how mastery is judged, and a list of textbooks and materials. §
Test
Provide test scores from a nationally-normed standardized assessment for grades 3, 5, 8 and 10, either from the school's statewide testing (free) or private testing at your own expense. §
Starting this year
  • Before you start: Give the principal of the public school your child would otherwise attend a notice of intent: Form 4140 or a letter. Homeschooling begins when you submit it.
  • If you move or your child changes school level: Send a new notice of intent to the principal of the new school (for example, moving from elementary to middle school).
  • In grades 3, 5, 8 and 10: Provide scores from a nationally-normed standardized test, with the yearly progress report.
Already homeschooling
  • If you move or your child changes school level: Send a new notice of intent to the principal of the new school (for example, moving from elementary to middle school).
  • In grades 3, 5, 8 and 10: Provide scores from a nationally-normed standardized test, with the yearly progress report.
Leaving a school mid-year

Tell the school you are withdrawing your child from, and submit Form 4140 or a letter of intent to the school your child would have attended. You do not need to provide a birth certificate, proof of residency or health records. To end homeschooling, tell the principal, in writing or verbally per the Department's page, where the child will go next; the rules say the child is re-enrolled in the local public school or a licensed private school unless a new alternative program is presented within five school days.

Open your attendance recordWrite the letterStart the Tap Clock, if you want to

What Hawaii's law asks you to keep, as tools: Progress report. The same rows for every state: what to file, by state.

Checked (quoted from the record below). § = source: Hawaii Revised Statutes 302A-1132, compulsory attendance (legislature); Hawaii State Department of Education: Homeschool (updated 05/2026). Information, not legal advice.

Quick answers

Notice
One-time noticeBefore starting, give the principal of the public school your child would otherwise attend a notice of intent: the Department's Form 4140 or a letter with the child's name, address and telephone number, birthdate and grade level, and your signature. Homeschooling begins when you submit it. You do not have to send a new notice every year, but you must send one to the new school's principal if you move to another school's area or your child moves to a different school level (for example, elementary to middle school). Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Hawaii Revised Statutes 302A-1132, compulsory attendance (legislature), Hawaii State Department of Education: Homeschool (updated 05/2026)
Days or hours
No number givenThe home schooling rules set no minimum number of days or hours. The record of planned curriculum you keep must show the number of hours per week the child spends in instruction. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Hawaii State Department of Education: Homeschool (updated 05/2026)
Subjects
The rules do not require particular subjects. The record of your planned curriculum should list the subject areas covered. The rules say an elementary curriculum may include language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, art, music, health and physical education, and a secondary curriculum may include social studies, English, mathematics, science, health, physical education and guidance. You do not have to send the curriculum to the school. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Hawaii Administrative Rules Title 8 chapter 12, Compulsory Attendance Exceptions (Board of Education, PDF)
Testing or evaluation
A testProvide test scores from a nationally-normed standardized assessment for grades 3, 5, 8 and 10, either from the school's statewide testing (free) or private testing at your own expense. The Department's page adds that public school students are no longer tested in Grade 10 but are tested in Grade 11. Also send the principal a yearly progress report using one of four methods: a nationally-normed test score at grade level; test progress of about one grade level per year; a written evaluation by a teacher certified in Hawaii; or your own written evaluation with work samples. Test scores can serve as that year's report. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Hawaii State Department of Education: Homeschool (updated 05/2026)
Records
Keep a record of your planned curriculum: beginning and ending dates, hours per week spent on instruction, subject areas covered, how mastery is judged, and a list of textbooks and materials. You are not required to submit it to the school, though the school may ask to review it. You do submit the yearly progress report to the principal. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Hawaii State Department of Education: Homeschool (updated 05/2026)
Who must attend school
Children who will be at least 5 on or before July 31 of the school year, and who will not have reached 18 by January 1 of that school year, must attend a public or private school unless excepted. Filing a notice of intent to home school is one of the exceptions (HRS 302A-1132). The state's home-schooling rules (HAR chapter 8-12) define a school age child as 6 to under 18, so the two texts differ on the starting age. Source: Hawaii Revised Statutes 302A-1132, compulsory attendance (legislature)
Education savings accounts and vouchers
No program foundWe did not find a Hawaii education savings account or voucher open to homeschool families (checked 2026-10-27). The Department's homeschool page says parents must provide all of the materials and instruction. The legislature's site lists a 2025 school choice scholarship bill (HB 273, a grant for nonpublic school students) as carried over to the 2026 session, with no later action shown. Check the Department's pages for any change. Source: Hawaii State Department of Education: Homeschool (updated 05/2026)

What to do first

  1. Read Hawaii's own pages, linked under each row below, so you know what applies to your situation.
  2. Notice: Before starting; again only if the school area or school level changes To: Principal of the public school the child would otherwise attend.
  3. If your child is in school now: Tell the school you are withdrawing your child from, and submit Form 4140 or a letter of intent to the school your child would have attended. You do not need to provide a birth certificate, proof of residency or health records. To end homeschooling, tell the principal, in writing or verbally per the Department's page, where the child will go next; the rules say the child is re-enrolled in the local public school or a licensed private school unless a new alternative program is presented within five school days.
  4. Plan the year around the days or hours and the subjects below.
  5. Start your records on day one: a simple attendance log, a list of books read and a work sample or two for each subject.
  6. Put the testing or evaluation date on your calendar.

The state's own form or page: hawaiipublicschools.org/enrolling-in-school/homeschool/

Other legal routes in Hawaii

  • Alternative educational program approved by the superintendent. A different exception from home schooling. The parent submits Form 4140 with a planned curriculum (instruction averaging approximately three hours per school day), and instructors must have at least a bachelor's degree. The request is renewed every year, and tests and a yearly narrative report are required (HAR 8-12-8 to 8-12-10).
  • Public or licensed/accredited private school. Children may attend a public school or a private school that is licensed and/or accredited as defined in HRS 302A-1132(d). The rules say enrollment in a private school's home study program is not the same as attending a private school (HAR 8-12-8).

Records to keep

Keep a record of your planned curriculum: beginning and ending dates, hours per week spent on instruction, subject areas covered, how mastery is judged, and a list of textbooks and materials. You are not required to submit it to the school, though the school may ask to review it. You do submit the yearly progress report to the principal. 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 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.
  • If the principal finds progress inadequate, the principal meets with the parent and helps set up a plan for improvement. Inadequate test scores are those outside the upper two thirds of scores or stanines. Recommendations to enroll the child in school or to take legal action for educational neglect are prohibited unless progress is inadequate for two consecutive semesters, and none may be made for a child before third grade.
  • Educational and related services the state requires are available at the home public school site to home-schooled children who have been evaluated and certified as needing them and who request them.
  • Homeschooled students do not receive a high school diploma from the Department and earn no credits for homeschooling. A student who has received homeschool instruction under a valid Form 4140 may earn a High School Equivalency Credential by passing the General Educational Development or High School Equivalency Test.
  • The Department says health records such as the TB clearance or Form 14 are not required if you are homeschooling.

Where this comes from

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.