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Idaho 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 Idaho'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 Idaho

File
Nothing. The statute names no notice, registration or approval. §
To
No one. §
By
No date. §
Keep
None required by the attendance statute. §
Test
None. §

Open your attendance recordNo letter needed.Start the Tap Clock, if you want to

What Idaho's law asks you to keep, as tools: Attendance · Portfolio. The same rows for every state: what to file, by state.

Checked . § = source: Idaho Code 33-202, school attendance compulsory (legislature). Information, not legal advice.

Quick answers

Notice
No noticeIdaho Code 33-202 lets a parent have the child privately instructed by or at the direction of the parent. It names no notice, registration or approval. We found no state requirement to tell the district or the state. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Idaho Code 33-202, school attendance compulsory (legislature)
Days or hours
No number givenThe statute gives no number of days or hours for instruction by a parent. The phrase 'a period in each year equal to that in which the public schools are in session' appears in the sentence about enrolling in a school. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Idaho Code 33-202, school attendance compulsory (legislature)
Subjects
The law names no specific subjects. It says the child must be instructed in subjects commonly and usually taught in the public schools of Idaho. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Idaho Code 33-202, school attendance compulsory (legislature)
Testing or evaluation
No testing requiredIdaho Code 33-202 sets no test and no evaluation for a child instructed by a parent. Tests come up only if the child joins public school activities (see notes). Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Idaho Code 33-202, school attendance compulsory (legislature)
Records
The compulsory attendance statute requires no records. A parent who claims the state parental choice tax credit, or whose child joins public school activities, may need a portfolio or test results (see notes and the scholarship section). Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Idaho Code 33-202, school attendance compulsory (legislature)
Who must attend school
A parent or guardian of a resident child who has reached age 7 when school starts in the district, but not yet age 16, must have the child instructed in subjects commonly taught in Idaho public schools (Idaho Code 33-202). Source: Idaho Code 33-202, school attendance compulsory (legislature)
Education savings accounts and vouchers
A program is open to homeschool familiesIdaho has a refundable state income tax credit, not an account: up to $5,000 per eligible student aged 5 to 18, for qualified expenses including textbooks, curricula, tutoring, nationally standardized tests and nonpublic school tuition. The law says home schooling does not count as public school enrollment, but the credit cannot be claimed for tuition or fees for instruction the parent gives. Parents apply to the State Tax Commission each year starting January 15; a cap of $50 million applies, and a one-time advance payment is available to some lower-income households. Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit. What taking the money changes, in full. Source: Idaho Code 63-3029N, Idaho parental choice tax credit (legislature), Idaho State Tax Commission: My School Choice, about the program, Idaho State Tax Commission: My School Choice FAQs, Idaho State Tax Commission: qualifying expenses, Idaho State Tax Commission: how to apply, Idaho Attorney General: Supreme Court upholds the school choice tax credit (February 5, 2026)

What to do first

  1. Read Idaho's own pages, linked under each row below, so you know what applies to your situation.
  2. Notice: Idaho does not ask for one on the homeschool route described here. Keep your own record of the date you began.
  3. Plan the year around the days or hours and the subjects below.
  4. Start your records on day one: a simple attendance log, a list of books read and a work sample or two for each subject.

Other legal routes in Idaho

  • Public, charter or private school. The statute also lets a parent enroll the child in a public school, a public charter school (including online or virtual) or a private or parochial school, where the school's attendance policies apply.

Records to keep

The compulsory attendance statute requires no records. A parent who claims the state parental choice tax credit, or whose child joins public school activities, may need a portfolio or test results (see notes and the scholarship section). 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

  • Dual enrollment: Idaho Code 33-203 says a nonpublic student is any student who receives instruction outside a public school classroom, including a private school or a home school. That parent may enroll the student in any public school for dual enrollment, and the student may take part in public school programs subject to the same standards of behavior as other students.
  • To take part in public school activities that need academic eligibility, a nonpublic student must show composite grade-level proficiency on a state board recognized achievement test, a portfolio, or another mechanism set in state board rules, or reach an average or higher score on a nationally normed test. The student must live within the attendance boundaries of the school.
  • Districts must give nonpublic students who want to take part in dual enrollment activities the chance to take the state tests or other standardized tests given to regularly enrolled public school students.
  • Idaho also has an Empowering Parents grant program in Idaho Code 33-1030 to 33-1034 ($1,000 per eligible student aged 5 to 18, capped at $3,000 per family), shown in the code as effective until July 1, 2028. We could not tell from the statute alone whether new grants are being awarded.

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.