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Homeschooling in Colorado

Homeschool rules in Colorado, in plain English

In Colorado, most families homeschool under the home-based education law. You send a written notice to any Colorado school district 14 days before you start, and again each year. You then teach at least 172 days, averaging four hours a day, cover the required subjects, and have your child tested or evaluated in grades 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11.

See another state

This explains each state's homeschool rules in plain English, from the state's own published sources. It isn't legal advice, and we aren't lawyers. Laws change and every family is different, so check with your state, your school district or a lawyer before you rely on it.

How much it asks
Detailed: notices plus tests or reviews
School age
6 through 17
Time
172 days a year

Option 1

Home-based education program (state law C.R.S. 22-33-104.5)

Parents or an adult relative who teach their child at home. No teaching license or degree is needed. This is the most common route in Colorado.

  1. At least 14 days before you startPaperwork

    Write your notice of intent

    Send a written notice to any Colorado school district, not only the one you live in. The notice must state each child's name, age, place of residence and number of hours of attendance. Nothing else is required. The state Department of Education does not accept these notices; the school district does.

  2. Before you start, and through the yearTime

    Plan at least 172 days of instruction

    Your program must include at least 172 days of instruction, averaging four instructional contact hours per day. The four hours is an average across the year, not a daily minimum.

  3. OngoingWhat to teach

    Teach the required subjects

    Cover reading, writing and speaking, mathematics, history, civics, literature, science, and regular instruction in the United States Constitution. The state does not approve curriculum.

  4. OngoingRecords

    Keep your records

    Keep attendance data, test or evaluation results, and immunization records. The district can ask to see them only if the superintendent has probable cause to think the program is out of compliance, and must give you 14 days written notice.

  5. In the school year your child is in grade 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11Testing

    Test or evaluate in grades 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11

    Give your child a nationally standardized achievement test, or have a qualified person evaluate academic progress, at your expense. Qualified persons include a Colorado licensed teacher, a teacher at an independent or parochial school, a licensed psychologist, or a person with a graduate degree in education. Send the results to the district that received your notice, or to an independent or parochial school, and name that school to the district.

  6. Every year, before the program continuesPaperwork

    Renew your notice each year

    File a new written notice each year the program continues, with the same information. The state does not set a single date in the statute; check with your district.

Option 2

Enrolled in an independent or parochial school (umbrella school)

Families who want a school to handle paperwork and records under the non-public school rules, instead of filing the home-based notice themselves. The school sets its own requirements, and a parent or adult relative must usually stay involved in the child's education.

  1. Before you startGood to know

    Choose a Colorado independent or parochial school

    Pick a school that offers a home-study or umbrella arrangement and follow its enrollment rules. Ask the school what it requires of you and what it will file for you. The home-based notice and testing rules do not apply to students enrolled this way, but the school's own rules do.

Option 3

Instruction by a Colorado licensed teacher

Parents or a hired tutor who hold a current Colorado teaching license issued by the Colorado Department of Education.

  1. Before you startWho teaches

    Confirm your teaching license is current

    A parent or tutor who holds a valid Colorado teaching license may teach the child. The home-based notice and testing rules are not the same for this route. Check with the Department of Education or a school district before relying on this route, because the exact exemption is in a part of the statute not covered here.

Subjects to teach

  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Speaking
  • Mathematics
  • History
  • Civics
  • Literature
  • Science
  • Regular instruction in the United States Constitution

Tests and reviews

Each child must be evaluated when reaching grades 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11. Use a nationally standardized achievement test, or have a qualified person evaluate progress. Colorado state tests do not count. Test or evaluation results go to the school district that received your notice, or to an independent or parochial school. A composite score above the 13th percentile keeps the child exempt from compulsory attendance. A score at or below the 13th percentile means the child may need further evaluation, and the school district may take further steps. Scores from home-based programs are not used to rate schools.

Records to keep

  • Attendance data
  • Test and evaluation results
  • Immunization records

About time

The law requires at least 172 days of instruction, averaging four instructional contact hours per day. That works out to about 688 hours a year. The four hours is an average, so some days can be longer and some shorter. The statute does not set a daily minimum.

Also good to know

  • Notice is not required until a child is 6. The program does not have to start until a child is 7. Notice and the program are not required after a child turns 16.
  • A child who was habitually truant in the six months before enrolling in a home-based program may enroll only if the parents first submit a written description of the curriculum along with the notice.
  • Homeschool students may take part in some public school part-time programs. The part-time program must verify eligibility by copy of your current notice of intent, which you must send to the school district and to the enrolling school. Students enrolled in a private school are not eligible for these part-time programs.
  • Credits: when a homeschooled child enters public school, the district must accept transcripts for credit from the home program. It may reject them only if its own testing does not confirm the transcript is accurate.
  • Extracurricular activities: a district may not require a homeschooled child to take a course at the district-selected school as a condition of joining an extracurricular activity, with limited exceptions.

What we couldn’t confirm

  • Exact annual due date for the renewed notice. I did not find an official date in the statute or the Department of Education pages I read.
  • How long records must be kept. The statute does not say, and I did not confirm a period from an official source.
  • The text of the independent school and licensed teacher routes. I did not read the non-public school statute, so those steps are general.
  • Special education services and IEP rights for homeschooled children.
  • Whether a parent who holds a teaching license is also exempt from the notice requirement. Sources disagree, so check with the Department of Education.
  • Sports and athletic eligibility rules beyond the statute's extracurricular protections, which are set by outside associations.

From Colorado’s own sources

Last checked against these sources on November 7, 2026. We check every state each week.

How Study Naturally helps in Colorado

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  • A learning record counts days and time against what the state asks
  • Print it, save it as a PDF, or download a spreadsheet for your files

Homeschooling in Colorado

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