Colorado Homeschool Laws
For those considering homeschooling next year, know that it is nothing like what you’ve experienced these last few months! Each state has their own specific laws and regulations, many being relaxed and others...not so much. Many parents were told by their children’s teachers that younger ages (kindergarten/first grade) only need about 30 minutes of instruction per day. That may have been fine with the unusual COVID public-school-turned-distant-learning circumstances, but it doesn’t cut it for legal homeschooling.
There are FIVE big Colorado laws to consider for homeschooling. Our regulations here are fairly strict compared to other states and it does require a decent amount of planning as a parent. Before starting in the Fall, I printed off our local elementary school’s schedule and printed off a blank calendar for me to fill out. I basically marked the days for us to ‘do’ school and the days we would be on break, which was a loose framework to go off of. It helped make sure we scheduled the required 172 days. We had to go to the local school district and submit a ‘Letter of Intent’ to homeschool (they provided it for us to fill out) and we also had to submit current immunization records.
When researching curriculums to use, I also had to make sure it covered ALL of the subjects which we are REQUIRED to teach. Some states allow parents to teach whatever they want, but Colorado has specific requirements. Each day of our homeschool year, I had a ‘designated school notebook/calendar’ to write down our hours and what I taught to keep a hard record which is also required. There’s a very small chance, but these records are kept in case you get audited. The last big thing to know is that children must have their academic progress evaluated in grades 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. This is typically done with a national standardized test, but there is a different option to be evaluated by a qualified person.
I hope that gives you a better idea of what to expect and explains some of these Colorado homeschool laws a little better. The five ‘big’ Colorado homeschool laws:
1. Home school programs must have no less than 172 days of instruction, averaging 4 contact hours per day.
2. Pursuant to Colorado law, parents who wish to begin home schooling must provide a written ‘Letter of Intent’ to the local school district at least 14 days before beginning your homeschool year.
3. Colorado law states that home school programs must include, but are not limited to, the subjects of *communication skills of reading, writing, and speaking, mathematics, history, civics, literature, science, and regular courses of instruction in the constitution of the United States.*
4. Records for each child participating in a home school program must be kept on a permanent basis by the parent who is overseeing the home school program. The records must include, but are not limited to, attendance, test and evaluation results, and immunization records.
5. Students that are participating in a home school program must have academic progress evaluated in grades 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. Students can take a nationally standardized achievement test or a qualified person can be selected by the parent to evaluate the student’s academic progress.
Helpful links:
In a few days, I’ll publish a post with groups and resources for homeschoolers in CO! Feel free to comment or send me a message if you have ANY questions! If I’m unable to answer, I’ll do my best to point you in the right direction.
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