Rhode Island homeschool checklist for this year
Answer two questions and get the year's deadlines with their dates, the notice, testing and records, each linked to the law. Print it or tick it off here.
- Rhode Island law
- This year's checklist
- Withdrawing from school
This is general information, not legal advice; check your state's own page. Laws change, and Rhode Island's own statute and education department are the final word. The links below go straight to them.
Deadlines, forms and amounts checked on against the sources linked on this page.
Rhode Island homeschool checklist, school year
Things to do, with their deadlines
Present your at-home instruction plan to the school committee of the town where your child lives (through the superintendent's office) and wait for its approval before you take your child out of school.
Source: Rhode Island Department of Education: HomeschoolingRegister and enroll your child in the new district first; the new district then approves the plan and keeps up with attendance and progress.
Source: Rhode Island Department of Education: HomeschoolingKeep attendance records, and progress reports or test scores if you agreed to test at home; send the regular reports your district asks for.
Source: R.I. Gen. Laws 16-19-2, approval of private schools and at-home instruction (Rhode Island General Assembly); Rhode Island Department of Education: Homeschooling
All year
Teach the subjects Rhode Island names: reading, writing, geography, arithmetic, United States history, Rhode Island history, principles of American government, civics, health, physical education.
Source: R.I. Gen. Laws 16-19-2, approval of private schools and at-home instruction (Rhode Island General Assembly); Rhode Island Department of Education: HomeschoolingKeep count of the days and hours. The period of attendance must be substantially equal to that required in public schools. RIDE says districts must currently provide at least 1,080 school hours each school year, the equivalent of a 5 1/2 hour day for at least 180 days, and that home instruction does not have to match the public school calendar.
Source: R.I. Gen. Laws 16-19-2, approval of private schools and at-home instruction (Rhode Island General Assembly); Rhode Island Department of Education: HomeschoolingNo state test is set. RIDE says the parent and the school committee should agree on how to evaluate progress in the required subjects, which may include testing at regular intervals, as part of approving the plan; where testing happens is also agreed.
Source: Rhode Island Department of Education: HomeschoolingKeep attendance records; the statute says registers are kept and returned to the school committee, the superintendent, truant officers and RIDE. If you agree to test at home, also keep progress reports or test scores. RIDE says regular reports go to the local superintendent or whoever the district names.
Source: R.I. Gen. Laws 16-19-2, approval of private schools and at-home instruction (Rhode Island General Assembly); Rhode Island Department of Education: Homeschooling
Good habits (not in the law)
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Keep a copy of everything you send, and of any acknowledgement you get back, with the date.
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Start simple records on day one: the days you teach, the books you read and a few samples of work in each subject. They help if you move, return to school or apply to college.
Where this comes from
- R.I. Gen. Laws 16-19-1, attendance required (Rhode Island General Assembly) (the law)
- R.I. Gen. Laws 16-19-2, approval of private schools and at-home instruction (Rhode Island General Assembly) (the law)
- R.I. Gen. Laws 16-2-2, school year (Rhode Island General Assembly) (the law)
- Rhode Island Department of Education: Homeschooling (state agency)
Checked on October 30, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Laws and forms change; confirm a date with your school district or the state agency before you rely on it. For legal advice, ask a lawyer licensed in Rhode Island; homeschool legal-help organizations and your state's homeschool groups can also point you to help. Something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.