Missouri homeschool law

This is general information, not legal advice; check your state's own page. Laws change, and Missouri's own statute and education department are the final word. The links below go straight to them.

Checked on October 27, 2026 against the sources linked on this page.

• This year's checklist
• Withdrawing from school
• ESA and voucher money

Who must attend school

A child must be enrolled in a public, private, parochial, parish, home school or FPE school from age seven until the compulsory attendance age for the district: 17, or having completed sixteen credits toward high school graduation, in most districts (RSMo 167.031). In a metropolitan school district the age can be 17 or 16 by board resolution. Source: RSMo 167.031 School attendance compulsory (Revisor of Statutes)

Education savings accounts and vouchers

A program exists, and taking the money changes your homeschool statusMissouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (MOScholars) are scholarships from approved non-profit organizations funded by donations that earn state tax credits, for students with an IEP or in households at or under 300% of the free and reduced lunch income standard who meet one more condition. The State Treasurer says a Family Paced Education (FPE) school counts as an eligible school. A family that takes part is an FPE school, not a home school, and the student cannot be enrolled in the public school of the district where they live. Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (MOScholars). What taking the money changes, in full. Source: Missouri State Treasurer: MOScholars Schools, RSMo 166.700 Definitions, empowerment scholarship accounts (Revisor of Statutes), Missouri State Treasurer: MOScholars parent handbook (PDF), Missouri State Treasurer: MOScholars for parents and students, Missouri State Treasurer: MOScholars providers

What to do first

1. Read Missouri's own pages, linked under each row below, so you know what applies to your situation.
2. Notice: it is optional. Read the notice row below before you decide.
3. If your child is in school now: A parent, guardian or other person with custody who makes written notification of intent to pursue other educational options under section 167.031 and asks that the child be dropped from the public school rolls: the school must comply and remove the child promptly (RSMo 167.042).
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.

Other legal routes in Missouri

• Family Paced Education (FPE) school. A school with the same size and tuition limits as a home school and the same records and 1,000-hour rules, which may enroll children who use the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program without a background check. A home school, by definition, does not enroll children in that program.
• Private, parochial or parish school. A child can instead be enrolled in a private, parochial or parish school, which the law lists alongside public schools, home schools and FPE schools.

Records to keep

The parent keeps a plan book, diary or other written record of subjects taught and activities, a portfolio of samples of the child's work, and a record of evaluations of the child's progress (or other written or credible evidence equal to those). A daily log showing a course of instruction that meets the law is a defense to prosecution and to educational neglect charges. Records are reviewed only by the local prosecuting attorney. These do not apply to a pupil sixteen or older. 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 law defines a home school as a school with a primary purpose of private or religious-based instruction that enrolls children from age seven to the compulsory age, no more than four of them unrelated by affinity or consanguinity in the third degree, and that charges no tuition or fees.
• State agencies are barred from dictating a statewide curriculum for private, parochial, parish, home or FPE schools. Nothing in the attendance law requires these schools to include any concept in conflict with the school's religious doctrines.
• A school year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30.
• Law change: in 2024 Senate Bill 727 and House Bill 2287 moved the home school rules into new section 167.012 and created the FPE school in section 167.013. Senate Bill 63 (2025) amended them again, effective 2025-08-28.
• For purposes of high school credits, a completed credit is one hundred hours or more of instruction in a course (RSMo 167.031).

Where this comes from

• RSMo 167.012 Home school defined (Revisor of Statutes) (the law)
• RSMo 167.013 FPE school defined (Revisor of Statutes) (the law)
• RSMo 167.031 School attendance compulsory (Revisor of Statutes) (the law)
• RSMo 167.042 Other educational options, written notification (Revisor of Statutes) (the law)
• RSMo 166.700 Definitions, empowerment scholarship accounts (Revisor of Statutes) (the law)
• RSMo 166.705 Missouri empowerment scholarship account (Revisor of Statutes) (the law)
• Missouri State Treasurer: MOScholars Schools (state education department)
• Missouri State Treasurer: MOScholars (state education department)
• Missouri State Treasurer: MOScholars parent handbook (PDF) (state education department)
• Missouri State Treasurer: MOScholars for parents and students (state education department)
• Missouri State Treasurer: MOScholars providers (state education department)

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.