Georgia Declaration of Intent: Filing, Deadlines, and Records

If you homeschool in Georgia, the Declaration of Intent is the one-page filing that puts your child on the state’s books as enrolled in a recognized home study program. File it with the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) within 30 days of starting your program, then renew it by September 1 every year you continue. Without it, your child can be treated as truant under Georgia’s compulsory attendance law.

Who Has to File and When

Georgia’s compulsory attendance law covers children between their sixth and sixteenth birthdays, requiring them to be enrolled in a public school, private school, or home study program.¹ If you homeschool a child in that range, you must file. The only exception is a child who has already earned a high school diploma.

The deadline has two parts. When you first establish your home study program, the declaration must reach the GaDOE within 30 days. After that first year, you renew by September 1 each year you continue homeschooling.² The GaDOE forwards a copy of every declaration to the local school district where your program is located, so the district has a record that your child is accounted for.

How to File

The fastest way is the GaDOE’s online portal at apps.gadoe.org.³ When you submit electronically, you certify that the information is true and that you are the parent or guardian of the children listed. Save the digital confirmation as your proof of compliance.

If you don’t have internet access, you can download a paper form from the GaDOE website and submit it by mail or fax, though processing takes longer. The law requires the GaDOE to accept both written and electronic submissions.²

The declaration identifies your home study program. Under the statute, the name, age, and grade of each child, the address where instruction takes place, and the name of the instructor can all be included in the declaration or submitted in a separate written document within 30 days of establishing the program.² The GaDOE’s online form collects all of it at once, so most families handle everything in a single submission.

Withdrawing a Child From Public School First

If your child is currently enrolled somewhere, withdraw before you file. Georgia public schools need documentation that a child is transferring to another school or beginning a home study program. Filing the declaration while your child is still officially enrolled elsewhere creates confusion in the attendance system and can trigger truancy flags.

When you withdraw, ask for a copy of the school records. They’re useful for planning curriculum and important if your child later re-enrolls. Then file the declaration promptly. Because the GaDOE forwards it to the district, the school will receive confirmation, but some families hand-deliver a copy to the school on the same day they withdraw to close any gap in the district’s records.

For a mid-year withdrawal, your 12-month school year starts on the date your child began attending the current school, not the date you begin homeschooling. The 180 instructional days you must complete within that 12-month period include the days already spent at the previous school.

What Filing Commits You To

Filing puts you on the hook for Georgia’s home study rules on who can teach, what you teach, and how long.

Only a child’s parent or guardian can serve as the primary instructor. The teaching parent must hold at least a high school diploma or a state-approved high school equivalency diploma (formerly called a GED). You can hire a tutor, but the tutor must also meet that minimum.² Parents can only teach their own children under this provision, so cooperatives where parents formally instruct each other’s children don’t qualify as a home study program under the statute.

Your curriculum must cover reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science.² The state does not prescribe specific textbooks, lesson plans, or methods. You choose the materials, as long as the five core subjects are covered.

Instruction must span at least 180 days within every 12-month period, with each day consisting of at least four and a half hours. The only exception is when a child is physically unable to meet the hourly requirement.² The statute’s language is “physically unable to comply,” not merely having a documented disability. A child with a disability who can handle the full schedule is still expected to meet it.

Records and Testing You Have to Keep

Georgia requires two ongoing records from home study programs: annual progress reports and periodic standardized test results. Neither is sent to the state, but both must be kept for at least three years.

Annual Progress Reports

The instructor must write a progress assessment for each child every year, evaluating academic progress in each of the five required subjects.² There’s no required format. Some parents write narrative assessments, others use grade-based reports. What matters is real evaluation covering all five subjects.

Standardized Testing

Students in home study programs must take a nationally standardized test at least every three years, starting at the end of third grade.² The statute requires that the test be given in consultation with someone trained in administering and interpreting norm-referenced tests. You cannot order a test kit and proctor it yourself with no professional involvement. Commonly used options include the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, the Stanford Achievement Test, the California Achievement Test, and the TerraNova.

Test scores stay with the family. They matter when a child transitions to a public or private school, applies to college, or needs to verify academic standing. Three years is the legal minimum for retention; keeping them permanently is safer.

What a Homeschool Diploma Is Worth in Georgia

In Georgia, the parent or guardian of a homeschooled child has the legal authority to sign any document typically handled by a school official. That covers enrollment verification, grade reports, full-time or part-time status confirmations, documents for the Department of Driver Services, employment authorization for minors, and applications for state or federal benefits.²

The same authority extends to high school diplomas. A homeschool diploma in Georgia is issued by the parents and the family’s home study program and carries the same legal standing as a diploma from a private school. The parent decides what coursework constitutes graduation, since the state does not impose separate graduation standards on home study programs beyond the five core subjects and the testing rules already described.

What Happens If You Don’t File

Without a Declaration of Intent on file, your child is not enrolled in any recognized educational program as far as the state is concerned. Georgia treats that as a violation of its compulsory attendance law.¹

If school officials or local authorities determine that a child is not enrolled anywhere and no declaration is on record, the case can be referred to juvenile court or the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS). A parent found guilty of violating compulsory attendance laws faces misdemeanor charges. Penalties include a fine between $25 and $100, up to 30 days in jail, community service, or any combination.¹ Each day of unexcused absence counts as a separate offense once the school system has notified you of five unexcused days, so fines can stack quickly.

Mistakes That Create Real Problems

The most consequential mistake is missing the filing deadline, especially for families withdrawing a child mid-year. Keep the window between withdrawal and filing as short as possible. If the local district doesn’t receive a copy of your declaration within a reasonable period after your child leaves, the district is directed to refer the matter to DFCS for assessment. Filing on the same day you withdraw eliminates the risk.

The second common mistake is treating recordkeeping as optional. Because progress reports and test results don’t get submitted anywhere, families sometimes assume they’re unimportant. They matter most at transition points: re-enrollment, college applications, employment verification for older students, and any situation where educational history needs documentation. A family with no records after several years of homeschooling faces a painful scramble when a college admissions office asks for transcripts.

Families also overlook the professional involvement required for testing. The statute doesn’t allow parents to administer any off-the-shelf test on their own. The exam must be a nationally standardized norm-referenced test given in consultation with a trained professional. Skip that and your testing records may not satisfy the statute, even if your child performed well.

Finally, watch the annual renewal date. September 1 is a hard deadline, and because the GaDOE forwards declarations to local districts, a lapsed filing makes it look like your child dropped out of your home study program. A calendar reminder in mid-August gives you a comfortable buffer.

1
Justia. Georgia Code 20-2-690.1 – Mandatory Education for Children Between Ages Six and 16
2
Justia. Georgia Code 20-2-690 – Educational Entities; Requirements for Private Schools and Home Study Programs
3
Georgia Department of Education. Home School Declaration of Intent