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Iowa 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 Iowa'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 Iowa

Checked October 31, 2026. Law change: House File 2754 (2026), which the Department says was signed May 12, 2026 and the Act says takes effect on enactment, removed the independent private instruction limits of four unrelated students and of charging tuition or fees. It added a section 299A.13 under which a parent may issue a diploma or final transcript for a student who completes secondary education under CPI or IPI, to be accepted in the same manner as a school's.

File
Depends on the route: Form A on the CPI routes that report or dual enroll; nothing on CPI Option 2 or independent private instruction. §
To
Resident school district (Form A routes). §
By
September 1, or within 14 calendar days of withdrawing a child from school (Form A routes). §
Keep
No home records listed. Form A gives an outline of the course of study or texts. CPI: at least 148 days. §
Test
Reporting CPI routes only: a yearly evaluation by May 31, results to the district by August 1. §
Starting this year
  • By September 1 (only on the routes that file Form A): File Form A with your resident school district. Families on CPI Option 2 without reporting, or on independent private instruction, do not file it.
  • By May 31 (CPI routes that report or dual enroll): The annual evaluation is due.
Already homeschooling
  • By September 1 (only on the routes that file Form A): File Form A with your resident school district. Families on CPI Option 2 without reporting, or on independent private instruction, do not file it.
  • By May 31 (CPI routes that report or dual enroll): The annual evaluation is due.
Leaving a school mid-year
  • Within 14 calendar days of taking your child out (Form A routes): File Form A with the district.

For Form A routes, file Form A within 14 calendar days of withdrawing the child from a school. The handbook says families using CPI Option 2 without reporting need not notify the district, but it recommends doing so, so the district presumes the child is compliant.

Open your attendance recordStart the Tap Clock, if you want to

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

Checked . § = source: Iowa Department of Education: Homeschooling (Private Instruction); Iowa Code chapter 299A, Private instruction (legislature, PDF). Information, not legal advice.

Quick answers

Notice
Depends on the routeDepends on the route. Under competent private instruction (CPI) with a licensed teacher or a home school assistance program, or with dual enrollment or optional reporting, file Form A with your resident school district by September 1 (within 14 calendar days of withdrawing a child from school). Under CPI Option 2 without reporting, or independent private instruction, no Form A is filed. The Department's handbook says you need not notify the district but may. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Iowa Department of Education: Homeschooling (Private Instruction), Iowa Department of Education: Private Instruction Handbook, August 2026 (PDF)
Days or hours
DaysCompetent private instruction means instruction provided on a daily basis for at least 148 days during a school year, met by attendance for at least 37 days each school quarter. The Department's handbook says this applies to all CPI students. Independent private instruction has no day count in the law. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Iowa Department of Education: Homeschooling (Private Instruction)
Subjects
Instruction in reading and language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. The Department says the family chooses the curriculum, and the Department does not review, recommend or require a specific one. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Iowa Department of Education: Homeschooling (Private Instruction)
Testing or evaluation
Depends on the routeOnly on the CPI routes with a parent teacher who reports or dual enrolls: an annual evaluation by May 31 (a nationally recognized standardized achievement test, or portfolio or accredited correspondence-school report options), results to the district by August 1. Adequate progress is above the 30th percentile in reading, mathematics and language arts (plus science and social studies from grade 6). Not meeting it can mean returning to an accredited school. No evaluation on CPI Option 2 without reporting or on independent private instruction. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Iowa Code chapter 299A, Private instruction (legislature, PDF)
Records
The law lists no records to keep at home. Form A (where used) gives the child's name and age, the period of instruction, an outline of the course of study or texts, and the instructor's name and address. Independent private instruction must, on written request from the district superintendent or the Department, report the primary instructor, location, responsible authority and students. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Iowa Code chapter 299A, Private instruction (legislature, PDF)
Who must attend school
A child who has reached age six and is under sixteen by September 15 is of compulsory attendance age (Iowa Code 299.1A). A child enrolled in a school district or accredited nonpublic school who turns sixteen on or after September 15 remains of compulsory age until the end of the regular school calendar. Source: Iowa Code chapter 299, Compulsory education (legislature, PDF)
Education savings accounts and vouchers
A program exists, but homeschool students are not eligibleIowa's Students First education savings account is open to Iowa resident K-12 students regardless of income, but the Department lists enrolling in and attending an accredited nonpublic school as a requirement. The 2026-27 full-year amount is $8,148. We found nothing in the Department's pages or the code that pays it to a student schooled at home. Students First Education Savings Account. Source: Iowa Department of Education: Education Savings Accounts

What to do first

  1. Read Iowa's own pages, linked under each row below, so you know what applies to your situation.
  2. Notice: September 1 (Form A routes only) To: Resident school district.
  3. If your child is in school now: For Form A routes, file Form A within 14 calendar days of withdrawing the child from a school. The handbook says families using CPI Option 2 without reporting need not notify the district, but it recommends doing so, so the district presumes the child is compliant.
  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: educate.iowa.gov/pk-12/educational-choice/homeschooling

Other legal routes in Iowa

  • Competent private instruction, Option 1 (licensed practitioner or home school assistance program). Instruction by or under a licensed practitioner, which may be a district or accredited nonpublic school home school assistance program, a privately retained licensed teacher, or a licensed parent. Form A is filed by September 1.
  • Competent private instruction, Option 2 (parent without a teaching license). Without reporting (called the Private Instruction Exemption): no Form A, no assessment, but no dual enrollment for academics, activities or special education services. With dual enrollment or optional reporting: Form A and the annual evaluation.
  • Independent private instruction. Non-accredited private or religious-based instruction that is not a nonpublic school and not CPI. It must teach reading and language arts, mathematics, science and social studies, and is exempt from state school statutes and rules except chapters 299 and 299A. No Form A.

Records to keep

The law lists no records to keep at home. Form A (where used) gives the child's name and age, the period of instruction, an outline of the course of study or texts, and the instructor's name and address. Independent private instruction must, on written request from the district superintendent or the Department, report the primary instructor, location, responsible authority and students. 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

  • Law change: House File 2754 (2026), which the Department says was signed May 12, 2026 and the Act says takes effect on enactment, removed the independent private instruction limits of four unrelated students and of charging tuition or fees. It added a section 299A.13 under which a parent may issue a diploma or final transcript for a student who completes secondary education under CPI or IPI, to be accepted in the same manner as a school's.
  • Dual enrollment (Iowa Code 299A.8): on request, a child under competent private instruction is also registered in a public school and may take part in academic activities and in extracurricular activities on the same basis as public school children.
  • First time on a Form A route: provide evidence of the immunizations required under section 139A.8 and, for an elementary-age child, a blood lead test (Iowa Code 299.4).
  • Iowa Code 422.12 gives an income tax credit of twenty-five percent of the first two thousand dollars paid for each K-12 dependent, for tuition and textbooks of a dependent receiving private instruction, as printed in the 2026 Code.
  • A parent who does not comply with CPI or IPI laws is subject to truancy prosecution (Department homeschooling page).

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.