Homeschooling in Georgia
What the law requires, what you file and when, and what to keep — with the statute behind each rule.
What Georgia requires
- Notify
- Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE), which shares it with the local school system — Within 30 days after starting the home study program, then by September 1 every year (annual)
- Testing or evaluation
- Required. A nationally standardized (norm-referenced) test at least every 3 years, starting at the end of 3rd grade (so typically grades 3, 6, 9, 12).
- Subjects set by the state
- Yes — 5 required subjects, listed below
- Teaching time
- Equivalent of 180 school days per 12-month school year, each at least 4.5 school hours (unless the child is…
- Compulsory school age
- 6th to the 16th birthday — in detail
- Records
- Annual written progress assessment report for each required subject, kept at least 3 years (not submitted).
Confidence in this record: medium. The facts below come from the sources listed, but at least one could not be confirmed against a primary source.
Taking your child out of school in Georgia
First move: File the declaration of intent with GaDOE and formally withdraw the child from the current school (follow the school's procedure, or send a withdrawal letter to the principal by certified mail) so the child is not marked absent or truant.
If starting over the summer, withdraw before the new school year begins.
The legal routes
One route exists in Georgia. They carry different duties, and families often do not know the alternatives to the obvious one.
- Home study program (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690(c))
- Parent or guardian teaches their own children (a qualified tutor may be hired) after filing a declaration of intent with the Georgia Department of Education. This is the only homeschool route HSLDA lists for Georgia.
The notice, and who receives it
- Goes to
- Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE), which shares it with the local school system
- Deadline
- Within 30 days after starting the home study program, then by September 1 every year
- Renews
- annual
- Form
- Declaration of Intent to Utilize a Home Study Program (GaDOE, online or printable); lists students' names and ages, program address, local school system, and the 12-month period used as the school year
No official state form was found online for this route; the body above supplies it, or a letter serves.
Subjects Georgia requires
- reading
- language arts
- mathematics
- social studies
- science
Compulsory school age
From the 6th to the 16th birthday (no longer applies once the child has completed all high school diploma requirements)
Teaching time
Equivalent of 180 school days per 12-month school year, each at least 4.5 school hours (unless the child is physically unable)
Who may teach
Teaching parent must have a high school diploma or state-approved high school equivalency (GED); parents may teach only their own children; any hired tutor must also hold a diploma/HSE.
Testing and evaluation
A nationally standardized (norm-referenced) test at least every 3 years, starting at the end of 3rd grade (so typically grades 3, 6, 9, 12). Parent may give the test in consultation with a person trained in administering and interpreting norm-referenced tests.
No score threshold; results are kept, not submitted.
Records to keep
Annual written progress assessment report for each required subject, kept at least 3 years (not submitted). Keep standardized test results.
Older sources also advise keeping attendance records, though the current statute does not require submitting them.
High school, diplomas and transcripts
Parent issues the diploma and transcript; parents may sign documents verifying enrollment, grades or status (e.g., for Driver Services, work permits, public assistance). Notable: dual enrollment and HOPE scholarship access for home study graduates exist but were not verified from primary sources here.
Public school classes, sports and activities
Dexter Mosely Act (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-319.6): home study students may join extracurricular and interscholastic activities at their resident public school if they take one qualifying course per semester from the school system (virtual or dual-credit can count), give written notice to the principal and superintendent at least 30 days before the semester, submit the latest progress report plus written verification of passing grades, and meet all other eligibility rules. A student who withdraws from public school to homeschool is ineligible for 12 months after filing the declaration.
Part-time class enrollment is up to the local district.
Funding: education savings accounts, vouchers and tax credits
Georgia Promise Scholarship (2024, $6,500 education savings account for students zoned to lower-performing public schools) - eligibility for homeschoolers not confirmed (see open questions). Georgia's Special Needs Scholarship and tax-credit scholarships are for private school tuition.
What changed recently
No 2023-2026 change to the home study statute was found in the sources reviewed. 2024: the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act created a $6,500 ESA (see funding_programs).
Earlier: the Dexter Mosely Act opened public school extracurriculars to home study students; 2013 HB 283 moved the declaration to GaDOE and ended attendance-report submissions.
What we could not confirm
Statute text read from FindLaw (current as of Mar. 2024), not the official code; 2025-2026 amendments not checked.
GaDOE's home school page did not render, so the exact current name/URL of the online declaration portal was not confirmed. Whether home study students qualify for the Georgia Promise Scholarship, and dual enrollment/HOPE rules for homeschoolers, were not confirmed from primary sources (web search budget ran out before these could be checked).
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
- O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690(c)
- O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690.1
- O.C.G.A. § 20-2-319.6
Statute text
- O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690 (FindLaw, current as of Mar. 28, 2024)
- O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690.1 (FindLaw)
- O.C.G.A. § 20-2-319.6, Dexter Mosely Act (FindLaw)