Homeschooling in Pennsylvania
What Pennsylvania actually asks of a family teaching their own children. Written plainly, and honest where the answer is that nobody asks for anything.
United StatesFiling requiredWho is in charge
Superintendent of the district of residence; a qualified home education evaluator performs the review
Who actually reviews your child
A QUALIFIED HOME EDUCATION EVALUATOR, a licensed clinical psychologist, a school psychologist, a Pennsylvania certified teacher with two years of grading experience at the relevant level, a nonpublic school teacher or administrator with two years of PA teaching experience in the last ten at that level, or a person with other qualifications approved in advance by the superintendent. The supervisor and the supervisor's spouse are BARRED from evaluating their own program.
What you must file
Notarized affidavit OR unsworn declaration
Before the program commences and annually thereafter by no later than 1 AUGUST
Goes to: District superintendent
Covers the school year 1 July - 30 June. The affidavit requires NOTARIZATION; the unsworn declaration is an equivalent alternative that does not. PDE publishes samples of both.
Outline of proposed educational objectives by subject area
Attached to the affidavit by 1 August
Goes to: District superintendent
Evidence of immunization AND of required medical services
Attached to the affidavit
Goes to: District superintendent
Records or a letter from the physician showing the child has received the medical services required for students, attached to the affidavit alongside immunisation evidence.
Portfolio
n/a
How often: continuous
Goes to: Reviewed by the evaluator; the school district's authority to review the portfolio was REMOVED as of 31 October 2014
Minimum contents: samples of the student's work; a log made CONTEMPORANEOUSLY with the instruction designating reading materials by title; evidence of either 180 days OR 900 hours (elementary, K-6) / 990 hours (secondary, 7-12); standardized test results for grades 3, 5 and 8; and the evaluator's written evaluation.
Evaluator's written certification
By 30 JUNE of each school year
Goes to: SUBMITTED by the supervisor to the district superintendent
Based on an interview of the child AND a review of the portfolio. Certifies whether an appropriate education is occurring.
Standardized test, grades 3, 5 and 8
Kept in the portfolio
How often: at those grades
Goes to: Not filed separately; the evaluator sees it
PSSAs or another nationally normed test from PDE's approved list.
The part the paperwork does not cover
Filing on time is the easy half. The harder half is the year in between: showing what your child actually learned, in words the reviewer recognises, without turning your home into a school.
That is what this tool is for. You say what your child did, in a sentence. It maps that to the published standards we hold for Pennsylvania, which today are Mathematics (487 of 496) and Science (502 of 535). Those figures count the topics we carry for ages 5 to 12 that cite one of Pennsylvania's published standards. We do not hold Pennsylvania's own standards for English and Social Studies yet, and they are being added. Physical Education is not in the app for Pennsylvania yet. A moment in any of those subjects is kept on the general map for your child's age and named that way in the record, so the record never cites Pennsylvania's curriculum where we hold none of it. Then it builds the record you can hand over the day someone asks. See how it works.
Other places in United States
Read at the source on 2026-08-28: the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Basic Education Circular for the home education programme at pa.gov. It confirms the notarised affidavit or unsworn declaration 'prior to the commencement of a home education program and annually thereafter by no later than August 1' (24 P.S. 13-1327.1(b)(1)), the evaluator's report to the district 'on or prior to June 30th', and that portfolios for grades 3, 5 and 8 must include statewide (PSSA) or nationally normed test results (13-1327.1(e)(1)). One addition: alongside immunisation evidence the affidavit must carry evidence - records or a physician's letter - that the child has received the medical services required for students. That was NOT on this page before today.
Check it yourself: the authority's own page.