Skip to the content
Peabody HomeschoolEvery homeschool law, plan, record and tool, free

Montana 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 Montana'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 Montana

File
A notice, every year. A home school must notify the county superintendent of schools of the county where the home school is located, in each school fiscal year, of the student's attendance at the school. §
To
County superintendent of schools of the county where the home school is located §
By
Each school fiscal year (the statute sets no date) §
Keep
A home school must maintain records on pupil attendance and make them available to the county superintendent on request. §
Test
We found no testing or evaluation requirement for home schools in the compulsory enrollment and home school sections (MCA 20-5-102 and 20-5-109). §
Starting this year
  • Each school fiscal year (July 1 to June 30); no date is set: Notify the county superintendent of schools of your child's attendance at your home school.
Already homeschooling
  • Each school fiscal year (July 1 to June 30); no date is set: Notify the county superintendent of schools of your child's attendance at your home school.

Open your attendance recordWrite the letterStart the Tap Clock

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

Checked (quoted from the record below). § = source: MCA 20-5-109 Nonpublic and home school requirements (Montana Legislature). Information, not legal advice.

Quick answers

Notice
Notice every yearA home school must notify the county superintendent of schools of the county where the home school is located, in each school fiscal year, of the student's attendance at the school. The statute gives no date and names no form. A school fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: MCA 20-5-109 Nonpublic and home school requirements (Montana Legislature)
Days or hours
HoursA home school must provide the same minimum aggregate hours of pupil instruction as public schools: 720 hours for grades 1 through 3 and 1,080 hours for grades 4 through 12 in a school fiscal year. 1,050 aggregate hours may be enough for graduating seniors. The law sets hours, not a number of days. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: MCA 20-1-301 School fiscal year (Montana Legislature), MCA 20-5-109 Nonpublic and home school requirements (Montana Legislature)
Subjects
The home school law does not list subjects itself. It requires an organized course of study that includes instruction in the subjects public schools must teach as their basic instructional program, which the Board of Public Education sets in its accreditation standards. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: MCA 20-5-109 Nonpublic and home school requirements (Montana Legislature), MCA 20-7-111 Instruction in public schools (Montana Legislature)
Testing or evaluation
No testing requiredWe found no testing or evaluation requirement for home schools in the compulsory enrollment and home school sections (MCA 20-5-102 and 20-5-109). Checked October 27, 2026. Source: MCA 20-5-109 Nonpublic and home school requirements (Montana Legislature)
Records
A home school must maintain records on pupil attendance and make them available to the county superintendent on request. The home school section does not require immunization records (that is listed only for nonpublic schools). Checked October 27, 2026. Source: MCA 20-5-109 Nonpublic and home school requirements (Montana Legislature)
Who must attend school
A child who is 7 or older before the first day of school must be instructed until the later of the child's 16th birthday or completion of the 8th grade (MCA 20-5-102). Source: MCA 20-5-102 Compulsory enrollment and excuses (Montana Legislature)
Education savings accounts and vouchers
A program is open to homeschool familiesMontana's Education Savings Account is a reimbursement program for parents of a child with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The law says a qualified student need not be enrolled in a private school or nonpublic online school. Parents sign a contract with the Office of Public Instruction that releases the resident school district from its duty to educate the child. The Office's page carries a December 18, 2025 notice about a court case (a stay that let the program continue through that school year); check that page for current status. Education Savings Account (Students with Special Needs Equal Opportunity Act). What taking the money changes, in full. Source: Office of Public Instruction: Education Savings Account, MCA 20-7-1704 Use of education savings account (Montana Legislature), Montana Code Annotated 20-7-1703 (ESA definitions)

What to do first

  1. Read Montana's own pages, linked under each row below, so you know what applies to your situation.
  2. Notice: Each school fiscal year (the statute sets no date) To: County superintendent of schools of the county where the home school is located.
  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 Montana

  • Nonpublic school. A parochial, church, religious or private school can qualify its students. It must keep attendance and immunization records for the county superintendent, provide the minimum hours, be housed in a building that meets local health and safety rules, and provide an organized course of study in the subjects required of public schools.

Records to keep

A home school must maintain records on pupil attendance and make them available to the county superintendent on request. The home school section does not require immunization records (that is listed only for nonpublic schools). 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 instruction by a parent of the parent's child, stepchild or ward in the parent's residence.
  • A child enrolled in a nonpublic or home school may enroll on a part-time basis in a public school.
  • Section 20-5-109 (the home school requirements) was amended in 2025 by Chapter 724, Laws of 2025.
  • Compulsory enrollment can also be met by supervised correspondence study or supervised home study under the transportation provisions of Title 20, or by a district judge's or the trustees' excuse in the cases the law lists.

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.