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Indiana homeschool laws and recordkeeping

Source review by Jalil Hay on next review due

Indiana is a low-paperwork state. A homeschool is a nonpublic, nonaccredited school. There is no registration, no required curriculum, no testing, and no records filed with the state. The one hard recordkeeping duty is a daily attendance record you can produce on request, and the one formal step is the withdrawal form when a high school student leaves public school.

LEGAL STATUS

Indiana law treats a homeschool as a nonpublic school with no accreditation requirement (IC 20-33-2-12). Parents must provide instruction equivalent to public schools (IC 20-33-2-27 and IC 20-33-2-28), and state law deliberately leaves that equivalence undefined.

What Indiana requires

Registration and notice

None required. Reporting homeschool enrollment to the Indiana Department of Education is voluntary and one-time if you choose to do it.

Source: IDOE Homeschool FAQ, questions 7 and 8

Compulsory ages

Compulsory attendance begins at age seven; a homeschooled child should begin school no later than the seventh birthday. Schooling runs until age eighteen.

Source: IC 20-33-2-8; IDOE Homeschool FAQ, questions 3 and 4

Instruction days

Provide 180 days of instruction in the academic year, which runs July 1 through June 30. Days enrolled in a public or accredited school count toward the 180.

Source: IDOE Homeschool FAQ, question 5

Attendance records

Keep an accurate daily attendance record. It must be produced on request of the Secretary of Education or the local public school superintendent. No specific form is required.

Source: IC 20-33-2-20

Curriculum and hours

Homeschools are exempt from state curriculum and program requirements, and daily instructional-hour minimums do not apply. No statewide testing unless the student is enrolled in a class at a public or accredited school.

Source: IC 20-33-2-12; IDOE Homeschool FAQ, questions 20 to 22

Withdrawing from public school

Tell the school you are withdrawing to homeschool; writing is recommended. For high school students, sign the Withdrawal to Non-Accredited Non-public School form, or the student is treated as a dropout and can be reported to the BMV.

Source: IC 20-33-2-28.6; IDOE Homeschool FAQ, questions 10 to 12

Diplomas and transcripts

There is no state-issued homeschool diploma. A diploma or transcript issued by the parent-run school is legally sufficient evidence of completing high school, and the school administrator may execute enrollment, grade, and transcript documents.

Source: HEA 1348; IDOE Homeschool FAQ, question 24

Where hearth fits

hearth lets Indiana families confirm attendance from completed lessons and print a year record that combines attendance, subjects, completed work, and evidence. It does not file records with the state or decide whether a day satisfies Indiana law.

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