Alden House. Parent Center

Homeschooling in Florida

What the law requires, what you file and when, and what to keep — with the statute behind each rule.

notice and review 9 sources Verified 12 October 2026

What Florida requires

Notify
District school superintendent of the county of residence (home education option only) — Within 30 days after establishing the home education program. Notice of termination is filed within 30 days after the program ends, together with the annual evaluation (HSLDA says this includes moving out of the county, followed by a new notice of intent in the new county). (one-time)
Testing or evaluation
Required. Home education option: annual evaluation filed with the superintendent, by one of five parent-chosen methods: (1) Florida-certified teacher reviews portfolio and talks with the child; (2) nationally normed achievement test given by a certified teacher; (3) state assessment given by a certified teacher at a district-approved site; (4) evaluation by a Florida-licensed psychologist or school psychologist; (5) another valid tool agreed on by parent and superintendent.
Subjects set by the state
No subject list.
Teaching time
180 days — in detail
Compulsory school age
6 to 16 — in detail
Records
Portfolio kept for 2 years: a log of educational activities made at the time of instruction, naming reading materials by title, plus samples of the child's writings, worksheets, workbooks or creative materials.

Taking your child out of school in Florida

First move: File the notice of intent with the county superintendent's home education office (the program is established when filed), then notify the public school to withdraw the child so he or she is not marked truant.

The district must register the program immediately and may not demand extra information.

The legal routes

4 routes exist in Florida. They carry different duties, and families often do not know the alternatives to the obvious one.

Home education program (Fla. Stat. § 1002.41)
Parent-directed program registered with the county school superintendent; requires a notice of intent, a portfolio, and an annual evaluation.
Private school ('umbrella' school)
Enroll the child in a private school registered with the Florida DOE that oversees home-based study; the private school, not the district, handles records. Not subject to the § 1002.41 notice/evaluation rules.
Private tutor
Instruction by a tutor holding a valid Florida teaching certificate for the subjects/grades taught; tutor keeps records and the student attends 180 days (or hourly equivalent).
Personalized Education Program (PEP) scholarship
Since 2023, parents can educate at home with a state-funded education savings account through a scholarship-funding organization instead of registering with the district; requires an annual learning plan and annual norm-referenced or state test. Students registered under § 1002.41 are not PEP students.

The notice, and who receives it

Goes to
District school superintendent of the county of residence (home education option only)
Deadline
Within 30 days after establishing the home education program. Notice of termination is filed within 30 days after the program ends, together with the annual evaluation (HSLDA says this includes moving out of the county, followed by a new notice of intent in the new county).
Renews
one-time
Form
Written, signed notice of intent listing each child's full legal name, address and birthdate (no mandatory state form; districts provide their own)

No official state form was found online for this route; the body above supplies it, or a letter serves.

Compulsory school age

6 (by February 1 of the school year) to 16; a 16-year-old may leave only by filing a formal declaration of intent to terminate enrollment signed with a parent

Teaching time

None for home education (exempt from school-day requirements). Private tutor option: 180 days or hourly equivalent.

Who may teach

None for the home education option (no teaching certificate needed). Private tutor option requires a Florida teaching certificate.

Testing and evaluation

Home education option: annual evaluation filed with the superintendent, by one of five parent-chosen methods: (1) Florida-certified teacher reviews portfolio and talks with the child; (2) nationally normed achievement test given by a certified teacher; (3) state assessment given by a certified teacher at a district-approved site; (4) evaluation by a Florida-licensed psychologist or school psychologist; (5) another valid tool agreed on by parent and superintendent. If the child is not progressing at a level appropriate to ability, the parent gets 1 year of remedial instruction before re-evaluation.

PEP students instead take an annual norm-referenced or state test and report results to the scholarship organization.

Deadline: Annually (statute sets no calendar date; many districts use the anniversary of the notice of intent); final evaluation filed with the termination notice

Records to keep

Portfolio kept for 2 years: a log of educational activities made at the time of instruction, naming reading materials by title, plus samples of the child's writings, worksheets, workbooks or creative materials. The superintendent may inspect with 15 days' written notice.

High school, diplomas and transcripts

Parent issues the diploma and transcript. Home education students are eligible for Bright Futures scholarships, dual enrollment (§ 1007.271), and admission to Florida College System and state universities.

Districts must offer industry certifications, national assessments and statewide assessments to home education students.

Public school classes, sports and activities

Yes. Home education students may play interscholastic sports and extracurriculars at their zoned public school (or a school they could choose, or by agreement at a private school) if they meet conduct/residency rules and show academic progress (§ 1006.15).

Districts may let them enroll part-time for career and technical courses or for exceptional student education related services.

Funding: education savings accounts, vouchers and tax credits

Personalized Education Program (PEP) education savings account under the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (§ 1002.395) for home-educating families who choose PEP instead of § 1002.41; Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) usable for home education for students with disabilities; FES-EO/FTC scholarships for private school tuition.

What changed recently

2023 (HB 1, ch. 2023-16): universal scholarship eligibility and creation of the Personalized Education Program (PEP), a state-funded ESA for home-educating families who register with a scholarship-funding organization instead of the district (cap 20,000 in 2023-24, rising by up to 40,000 per year; the cap provision is repealed July 1, 2027).

2025 (chs. 2025-6, 2025-110, 2025-208): scholarship rules revised, including a May 31 deadline (from 2025-26) for parents to tell the scholarship organization whether they accept or renew; § 1006.15 (extracurriculars) was also amended in 2023 and 2025. 2026: ch. 2026-33 (CS/SB 182, approved Apr. 20, 2026, effective July 1, 2026) amended § 1002.395 on scholarship account closures and reverted funds; it does not touch home education. § 1002.41 has not been amended since 2018 (2026 Florida Statutes history ends at ch. 2018-134).

What we could not confirm

§ 1006.15 was not re-read in its 2026 version. The private-school (umbrella) and private tutor options come from HSLDA (Mar.

2025) rather than the statute text (§§ 1002.42, 1002.43, 1003.23 not fetched). FLDOE's home education page does not post a state notice-of-intent form. The current PEP dollar amount was not confirmed.

Listed because a legal summary that hides its gaps is harder to trust than one that names them. How these pages are checked.

Statutes and sources

Statute and regulation

  • Fla. Stat. § 1002.41
  • Fla. Stat. § 1003.21
  • Fla. Stat. § 1006.15
  • Fla. Stat. § 1002.395
  • Fla. Stat. § 1002.394
  • Fla. Stat. § 1002.01
  • Fla. Stat. § 1002.42
  • Fla. Stat. § 1002.43

Statute text

State agency

Secondary sources