Delaware Department of Education Homeschool Requirements

To homeschool legally in Delaware, you have to open a nonpublic school with the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) through its EdAccess portal, enroll your children in that school, and then file two reports each year to keep it in active status. Delaware homeschool requirements are lighter than in many states — no mandatory subjects, no minimum instructional hours — but the registration step is not optional, and doing it in the wrong order can create a truancy problem.

Who Has to Register

Delaware’s compulsory attendance law covers every child between the ages of five and sixteen. A child counts as five for the current school year if their birthday falls on or before August 31.¹ Anyone with legal custody of a child in that age range must enroll the child in public school unless an exemption applies.

Homeschooling under Section 2703A of Title 14 is one of those exemptions, but only once your homeschool is registered.¹ Register before you withdraw your child. Compulsory attendance ends at sixteen, but many families keep the registration active through high school for reasons discussed below.

Pick a Homeschool Type

Delaware recognizes three arrangements, and you choose one when you register:²

A single-family homeschool, where a parent or legal guardian teaches their own children primarily at home. This is the most common option and has the least oversight.
A multi-family homeschool, where two or more unrelated families teach their children together. One adult serves as the DDOE liaison and handles enrollment and attendance reporting for the whole group.
A single-family homeschool coordinated with the local school district. Here the local superintendent approves your curriculum and determines in writing that your instruction covers the subjects taught in public schools and is suitable for your child’s age and level.

The first two types leave curriculum entirely up to you. The coordinated option trades some of that freedom for a district paper trail, which can help if you expect your child to move back into public school later.

Registering Through EdAccess

Registration happens entirely online through the DDOE’s EdAccess system.³ The steps:

Create an EdAccess account and select “Nonpublic School Account” from the dropdown.
Log in and complete the Nonpublic School Application. Pick your homeschool type, enter the school’s contact and demographic information, and add each student you plan to enroll.
Once the DDOE processes the application, print your Acknowledgment Letter. This confirms the nonpublic school is open and your children are enrolled.

If your child is currently in public school, the sequence matters. Register the homeschool first, get the Acknowledgment Letter, and bring it to the public school to complete the withdrawal. Public schools will not release a student to a nonpublic school without that letter,³ and pulling a child before you have it creates an attendance gap that reads as truancy.

What You Must Teach and Track

For single-family and multi-family homeschools, Delaware sets no required subjects, no minimum number of school days, and no minimum instructional hours. The DDOE does not review or approve your curriculum.⁴ You decide what, when, and how you teach.

The exception is the coordinated homeschool. If you pick that arrangement, the superintendent must approve the curriculum and file a written determination that instruction covers the public school subjects and matches your child’s age and level.²

Regardless of type, you have to track attendance, because you will report it at year end. The DDOE does not set a minimum number of days, but you need actual records. Keep a simple log throughout the year so you are not reconstructing it in July.

Annual Reporting Deadlines

A registered homeschool files two reports each year through EdAccess:⁵

An enrollment report by September 30, confirming the homeschool is still operating and listing enrolled students. A 2023 amendment moved this deadline from October 5 to September 30.⁴
An end-of-year attendance report by July 31, submitted on the forms the DDOE prescribes.¹

What Happens If You Don’t Comply

If you skip registration or miss the reporting deadlines, your child can be treated as truant. A parent who violates compulsory attendance commits an unclassified misdemeanor with penalties that increase with each offense:⁶

First offense: a fine of $25 to $300, up to 10 days in jail, or both.
Second offense: a fine of $50 to $500, up to 20 days in jail, or both.
Third or subsequent offense: a fine of $230 to $1,150, up to 30 days in jail, or both.

The court can order community service instead of a fine and may add conditions such as verifying attendance or requiring evaluations. Fines generally track the number of unexcused absent days.⁶

Diplomas and a Scholarship Trap

The DDOE does not issue diplomas for homeschool students and does not validate credentials from any nonpublic school. The parent or administrator of the homeschool issues the diploma.⁷ Confirm in advance that any college, employer, or training program your child plans to pursue will accept a homeschool-issued diploma; most colleges do, but admissions typically ask for detailed transcripts and standardized test scores.

One detail catches families off guard. To qualify for Delaware’s SEED and INSPIRE scholarships, a student must be enrolled in a registered public or nonpublic school at the time of graduation.⁷ If your child turns sixteen and you close the homeschool because compulsory attendance no longer applies, they can lose access to those state scholarships. Keep the registration active through graduation.

What Delaware Homeschool Status Doesn’t Include

A few boundaries worth knowing before you assume:

Public school sports. The Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association requires full-time enrollment at a DIAA member school to represent that school in athletics.⁷ Homeschools are not DIAA members, so homeschooled students generally cannot play on public school teams. Community leagues, co-ops, and dual enrollment through the coordinated option are the usual workarounds.

Special education. Federal “child find” under IDEA still applies, so your local district must offer a free evaluation if you suspect your homeschooled child has a disability.⁸ Homeschooled students in Delaware are treated as parentally placed private school children for equitable services, but the services available are typically more limited than what public school students receive.

Social Security student benefits. If your child receives survivor or disability benefits, continuing them as a student requires that your homeschool comply with state law and that the state recognize it as an educational institution. Delaware’s classification of homeschools as nonpublic schools satisfies the recognition piece, but the SSA may ask for your DDOE registration, attendance logs, or course lists before approving benefits.⁹ Another reason to keep your paperwork in order.

Military enlistment. Homeschool graduates are Tier 1 applicants, on the same footing as public school graduates. One trap: do not take the GED or pursue a distance-learning diploma if enlistment is the plan, because that can drop the tier.

529 plans. Federal law allows 529 funds to cover several K-12 expenses relevant to homeschoolers, but Delaware’s DE529 plan does not extend the state income tax deduction to withdrawals used for K-12 tuition.¹⁰ The deduction still applies to higher education withdrawals.

1
Delaware General Assembly. Delaware Code Title 14 Chapter 27 Subchapter I
2
Justia. Delaware Code 14-2703A – Homeschools Defined
3
Delaware Department of Education. Register for a Nonpublic School
4
Delaware Department of Education. Homeschools and Private Schools
5
Delaware Department of Education. Annual Reporting and Data
6
Delaware General Assembly. Delaware Code Title 14 Chapter 27 Subchapter II
7
Delaware Department of Education. Homeschool and Private School FAQs
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 20 USC 1412 – State Eligibility
9
Social Security Administration. POMS – Home Schooling
10
Delaware State Treasurer. DE529 Education Savings Plan