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Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts'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 Massachusetts

File
A notice, then a home education plan the district approves. Notifying alone does not let you start. §
To
Your local school district (superintendent or school committee). §
By
No state date; each district's policy sets its own. §
Keep
No state rule. Ask the district what its policy expects. §
Test
No state test. Evaluation is part of the plan the district approves. §
Starting this year
  • Before you start: Notify the school district where you live, preferably in writing, then wait for the district to approve your plan. Notifying alone does not let you start.
Leaving a school mid-year
  • Before your child stops going to school: Taking a child of compulsory school age out of school without an approved home schooling plan makes the child truant.

The Department says removing a child of compulsory school age from school without an approved home schooling plan would cause the child to become truant.

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

Checked . § = source: Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Home Schooling. Information, not legal advice.

Quick answers

Notice
Depends on the routeNotify the school district where you live, preferably in writing, as the first step. Notifying does not let you start. The district sends you its home schooling policy and asks for your plan, then approves it, asks for changes or turns it down. Each school committee sets its own policy, and the state does not review these decisions. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Home Schooling, M.G.L. c.76, section 1, school attendance (Massachusetts Legislature)
Days or hours
No number givenWe found no number of days or hours set for home schooling. The Department says public school rules such as structured learning time do not apply, and that districts typically look at the plan's content, materials, duration and frequency of instruction, methods and evaluation. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Home Schooling
Subjects
The district's review focuses on whether instruction in all the studies required by law equals public school instruction in thoroughness and progress. For public schools, c.71 section 1 lists those studies. Your district's policy says what the plan must show. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: M.G.L. c.71, section 1, subjects of instruction (Massachusetts Legislature), Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Home Schooling
Testing or evaluation
Depends on the routeState law sets no test for home schooling. Evaluation is one of the things a district looks at when it reviews your plan, so what you must show depends on the district's policy and the plan it approves. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Home Schooling
Records
We found no state rule on records for home schooling. The Department says each school committee has its own policy on approval of home schooling plans, available from the district, so ask the district what it expects. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Home Schooling
Who must attend school
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education gives compulsory school age as 6 to 16. A child of that age may be educated at home only with the advance approval of the school district where the child lives (M.G.L. c.76, section 1). Source: Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Home Schooling
Education savings accounts and vouchers
No program foundWe did not find a state-funded education savings account or voucher open to homeschool families on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's pages (checked 2026-10-27). The Department describes home schooling as a private alternative to public school enrollment. Check the department's educational options page for changes. Source: Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: Home Schooling

What to do first

  1. Read Massachusetts's own pages, linked under each row below, so you know what applies to your situation.
  2. Notice: Notify the school district where you live, preferably in writing, as the first step. Notifying does not let you start. The district sends you its home schooling policy and asks for your plan, then approves it, asks for changes or turns it down. Each school committee sets its own policy, and the state does not review these decisions. To: Your local school district (superintendent or school committee).
  3. If your child is in school now: The Department says removing a child of compulsory school age from school without an approved home schooling plan would cause the child to become truant.
  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.

Records to keep

We found no state rule on records for home schooling. The Department says each school committee has its own policy on approval of home schooling plans, available from the district, so ask the district what it expects. 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

  • The Department says it does not approve home schooling plans, oversee district policies or review districts' decisions. Charter schools, Commonwealth Virtual Schools, school choice districts and vocational technical programs do not approve plans either.
  • The Department says educator licensing and structured learning time rules for public schools do not apply to home schooling.
  • Special education: the Department says home-schooled students have a right to special education services, and districts must evaluate students suspected of having a disability.
  • Joining district programs or sports: the Department says each district decides whether home-schooled students may take part. This is a local decision the Department does not review.
  • Home schooling here is a private alternative to public school, and is not remote learning provided by a school district.

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.