New York homeschool requirements and record-keeping, 2026-27

Verified Last checked October 18, 2026

In New York you send a notice of intent to your district superintendent by July 1 each year, or within 14 days of starting mid-year. The district sends you an IHIP form, which you return by August 15 or within four weeks, whichever is later. You then send four quarterly reports on the dates you chose in the IHIP, and an annual assessment goes in with the fourth one. The required hours are 900 a year for grades 1-6 and 990 for grades 7-12, and you keep attendance records.

What you file and when

Written notice of intention to instruct at home
To: Superintendent of the school district of residence. When: By July 1 each year, or within 14 days of starting home instruction or moving into the district mid-year
Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP) for each child: name, age, grade; materials or plan per required subject; quarterly report dates; names of instructors
To: School district. When: Within four weeks of receiving the district's form, or by August 15, whichever is later
Quarterly report for each child
To: School district. When: On the dates you set in the IHIP (evenly spaced)
Annual assessment: norm-referenced achievement test results, or a written narrative where allowed
To: School district. When: With the fourth quarterly report

Dates to keep in mind

Notice of intent to the superintendent: July 1
IHIP due (or four weeks after the district's form arrives, if later): August 15
Quarterly report 1 (date set in your IHIP): November 15
Quarterly report 2 (date set in your IHIP): January 31
Quarterly report 3 (date set in your IHIP): April 15
Quarterly report 4 and annual assessment (date set in your IHIP): June 30

What you keep

Attendance records, available to the district on request
IHIP (copy of what you filed)
Quarterly reports (hours of instruction in the quarter, material covered per subject, a grade or narrative per subject, and an explanation if less than 80% of planned material was covered)
Annual assessment (test results or written narrative)

Portfolio. Not required by the regulation except as the basis for a written-narrative assessment. Keeping work samples is recommended.

How long to keep it. The sources we read set no retention period. Keeping a record for at least a few years is a sensible habit.

Assessment. Grades 1-3: a test or a written narrative any year. Grades 4-8: a test, with a written narrative allowed no more often than every other year. Grades 9-12: a commercially published norm-referenced test every year. A test score is adequate if the composite is above the 33rd percentile on national norms, or shows one academic year of growth. A narrative is written by a NY-certified teacher, a home instruction peer review panel, or another person, chosen by the parent with the superintendent's consent,, after interviewing the child and reviewing a portfolio.

Hours, days and subjects

900 hours a year (990 at the secondary level)
180 days a year
School year: July 1 to June 30
Compulsory attendance ages: 6 to 16

900 hours a year for grades 1-6; 990 hours a year for grades 7-12.

The substantial equivalent of 180 days of instruction.

Children who turn 6 by December 1 begin that September; compulsory attendance runs to 16 (17 in New York City). A child who turns 16 (17 in NYC) between July 1 and June 30 is of compulsory age for the whole school year.

Subjects. Arithmetic / Mathematics; Reading; Spelling; Writing; English language; Geography; United States history; Science; Health education; Music; Visual arts; Physical education; New York State history (once in grades 1-8); Constitutions of the U.S. and New York (once in grades 1-8); Practical arts (grades 7-8); Library skills (grades 7-8); Social studies incl. American history, participation in government, economics (grades 9-12); Electives (grades 9-12, three units); Patriotism and citizenship; alcohol, drug and tobacco misuse; highway and bicycle safety; fire and arson prevention (K-12); Bilingual education / English as a second language (where needed).

Work out your hours for New York with the free calculator.

Things people miss

Quarterly report dates are the ones you choose in the IHIP, so put your own dates into the app.
Each quarterly report must include the number of hours of instruction in that quarter, so log hours, not just days.
If less than 80% of the planned material in a subject was covered in a quarter, the report needs a written explanation.
From grade 9 on, the annual assessment must be a standardized test; the narrative option ends after grade 8.
Whoever gives a test at home, or writes a narrative, needs the superintendent's consent.
No state rule says how long parents keep records; NYSED recommends keeping evidence of the program and correspondence with the district.
Every listed subject counts the same under the statute; Schoolkeeper's 'core' label is only a grouping for your own totals.

Official sources

8 NYCRR § 100.10 Home instruction (NY Department of State unofficial NYCRR on Westlaw, current through Oct 31, 2021) (8 NYCRR § 100.10)
Verified checked on 2026-10-18
NYSED Home Instruction Questions and Answers (NYSED guidance)
Verified checked on 2026-10-18

How Schoolkeeper helps

A twenty-second daily log, and then an export in the shape New York asks for:

The quarterly reports, with hours and a short note for each subject, ready to send to your superintendent.
An attendance record showing the days you taught, counted against 180.
Hours by subject, totalled for the year against 900.
A portfolio of work samples, photos and what they read, in date order.

Use it free on the web

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Questions parents ask

What do I have to file to homeschool in New York?

Written notice of intention to instruct at home, to Superintendent of the school district of residence. When: By July 1 each year, or within 14 days of starting home instruction or moving into the district mid-year. Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP) for each child: name, age, grade; materials or plan per required subject; quarterly report dates; names of instructors, to School district. When: Within four weeks of receiving the district's form, or by August 15, whichever is later. Quarterly report for each child, to School district. When: On the dates you set in the IHIP (evenly spaced). Annual assessment: norm-referenced achievement test results, or a written narrative where allowed, to School district. When: With the fourth quarterly report.

What records do I keep for homeschooling in New York?

Attendance records, available to the district on request; IHIP (copy of what you filed); Quarterly reports (hours of instruction in the quarter, material covered per subject, a grade or narrative per subject, and an explanation if less than 80% of planned material was covered); Annual assessment (test results or written narrative).

How many hours or days does New York ask for?

New York asks for 900 hours a year (990 at the secondary level); 180 days a year.

Does New York require testing or an evaluation?

Grades 1-3: a test or a written narrative any year. Grades 4-8: a test, with a written narrative allowed no more often than every other year. Grades 9-12: a commercially published norm-referenced test every year. A test score is adequate if the composite is above the 33rd percentile on national norms, or shows one academic year of growth. A narrative is written by a NY-certified teacher, a home instruction peer review panel, or another person, chosen by the parent with the superintendent's consent,, after interviewing the child and reviewing a portfolio.

This is a plain-English summary with its sources, not legal advice. Tell us if this is wrong.

Last checked October 18, 2026.