Skip to main content
hayway hearth

New York homeschool laws and recordkeeping

Reviewed against primary sources 2026-07-26 · next review due 2026-10-26

New York is the most reporting-heavy state on this list. Each year a family files a letter of intent, submits an Individualized Home Instruction Plan the district reviews, sends four quarterly reports, and completes an annual assessment. The hour requirements are 900 per year for grades 1 to 6 and 990 for grades 7 to 12, and attendance records must be available to the district on request. Families who keep a steady weekly record find the quarterly cycle routine; families who do not, scramble four times a year.

LEGAL STATUS

New York regulates home instruction under Commissioner's Regulation 8 NYCRR 100.10, resting on the compulsory-education provisions of Education Law 3204 through 3212. There is no separate umbrella-school or private-tutor pathway: a family either enrolls the child in a nonpublic school or files as a home instruction program under 100.10.

What New York requires

Letter of intent and IHIP cycle

Parents file a written letter of intent with the district of residence by July 1 each year, or within 14 days of starting home instruction mid-year. The district responds with the regulation and an IHIP form; the completed IHIP is due within four weeks of receipt or by August 15, whichever is later; the district reviews it within 10 business days or by August 31; and deficiencies may be cured within 15 days or by September 15, whichever is later. In New York City the notice goes to the DOE's central home schooling office.

Source: 8 NYCRR 100.10(b), (c); NYSED Home Instruction Q&A; NYC DOE home schooling page

Compulsory ages

Compulsory attendance covers minors from age 6 (starting that September if the sixth birthday falls on or before December 1, otherwise the following September) through the end of the school year in which the student turns 16, extended to 17 in New York City.

Source: Education Law 3205; NYSED Home Instruction Q&A

Instruction time

Instruction must be substantially equivalent in time to public school: a cumulative 900 hours per year for grades 1 through 6 and 990 hours per year for grades 7 through 12, with attendance records maintained by the parent and made available to the district on request.

Source: 8 NYCRR 100.10(f), (f)(4)

Required subjects

Grades 1 to 6 must cover arithmetic, reading, spelling, writing, the English language, geography, United States history, science, health, music, visual arts, and physical education. Grades 7 to 12 are unit-based across English, social studies, mathematics, science, health, art or music, physical education, and electives. Every grade level must also cover patriotism and citizenship; health education regarding alcohol, drug, and tobacco misuse; highway safety including bicycle safety; and fire and arson prevention. United States and New York history and constitutions must be taught at least once before grade 9.

Source: 8 NYCRR 100.10(e)

Quarterly reports

Four quarterly reports go to the district each year, each stating the hours of instruction, the material covered in each subject, a grade or narrative evaluation, and an explanation for any subject where less than 80 percent of the planned material was covered. NYSED guidance recommends retaining each year's records, including the IHIP, quarterly reports, and assessment results, until six years after the student would have graduated.

Source: 8 NYCRR 100.10(g); NYSED Home Instruction Q&A

Annual assessment

An annual assessment is filed with the fourth quarterly report. In grades 4 through 8 a written narrative evaluation may substitute for a standardized test in alternate years, and in grades 1 through 3 a narrative may be used every year; in the remaining years a standardized achievement test is required. A program goes on probation only if the composite score falls below the 33rd percentile on national norms and fails to show one academic year of growth.

Source: 8 NYCRR 100.10(h); NYSED Home Instruction Q&A

Diplomas and returning to school

New York does not issue a high school diploma for home instruction; diplomas are awarded only through registered schools meeting Regents requirements, and many home-instructed students use the high school equivalency pathway. A student returning to public school is placed by the enrolling school like any other transfer student.

Source: 8 NYCRR 100.5; NYSED Home Instruction Q&A

Where hearth fits

hayway hearth is in development, and for New York families it is planned to make the quarterly cycle calm: logging instructional hours by subject as lessons complete, keeping the attendance record current, and assembling each quarterly report's hours, coverage, and evaluation from work already recorded, with the July 1, IHIP, and quarterly deadlines surfaced ahead of time. It will not submit any notice, IHIP, report, or assessment to a district, and no part of this exists yet.

Join waitlist

Primary sources

This page is informational, not legal advice. Requirements change; verify against the linked primary sources or your district before acting.