How to Homeschool in Florida (2026): A Complete Guide

A plain-language summary of the rules, not legal advice. We are not lawyers. Requirements change and summaries go out of date. Confirm anything you plan to act on with the department that oversees home education where you live.

Florida Homeschooling at a Glance

What Florida Requires

Florida sits in the middle of the homeschool regulatory spectrum. The state leaves curriculum, schedule, and teaching method entirely to you. In exchange it asks for three things over the course of a school year: a written notice when you start, a portfolio you build as instruction happens, and one annual check-in to document your child's progress. Florida has no list of required subjects and no minimum instruction hours. You design the curriculum and the schedule. The only academic standard in the law is that your child must show educational progress at a level consistent with their own ability, documented through the annual evaluation.

Step 1: Filing the Notice of Intent

Within 30 days of establishing a home education program, send a written Notice of Intent to the district school superintendent of the county where you live. The notice must be signed and must include the full legal name, address, and date of birth of each child you plan to enroll. That is the complete content requirement under Florida Statute 1002.41. The district is required to accept the notice and register your program. It cannot ask you for curriculum plans, teaching credentials, or any additional information at the time of filing.

The NOI date matters more than most families realize. The annual evaluation is due each year on the anniversary of that filing date, not on a school calendar date. Write the date down the day you file and set a calendar reminder two months out so the evaluation does not sneak up on you. If you move to a different county, treat it as a transfer rather than a fresh start. The department's guidance is to tell the new district that you are transferring your home education program to them, and to let the previous district know about the change so it can close out your files. You do not terminate your program, your anniversary date does not reset, and you do not owe the previous district an annual evaluation. No deadline is published for any of this, despite what this page said before, so do it promptly and keep a record of both messages.

Before you start building your program, take the free reading assessment to get a concrete picture of where your child is. Knowing your child's actual skill level, rather than guessing based on the grade they were last in, lets you choose starting materials that fit from day one.

Step 2: Maintaining a Portfolio

Florida requires two specific things in the portfolio: a log of educational activities recorded at the time instruction happens, listing the title of any reading materials used; and samples of your child's writings, worksheets, workbooks, or creative materials. The law uses the word "contemporaneous," which means you write the log as instruction happens, not at the end of the week or the end of the year. A retroactive log is not compliant under the statute.

Keep the portfolio for two years from the date of the annual evaluation. Make it available to the district superintendent within 15 days of a written request. The portfolio is not submitted proactively. Most families never receive a request. It exists so that if a question arises about your program, you have documentation to show.

Most families keep a plain three-ring binder or a digital folder. A weekly activity log, filled in at the end of each school day, satisfies the contemporaneous requirement in under five minutes. Add a dated work sample per subject as you go. The most common compliance mistake families make is trying to reconstruct the log in November when it should have been running since September. Record as you go.

Step 3: The Annual Evaluation

Once per year, on the NOI anniversary, complete one annual evaluation and file a copy with the district superintendent. The evaluation must document that your child is making progress at a level consistent with their own ability. Florida gives five options, and families can use a different one each year. Most families start with the portfolio review option and stay with it.

Option 1: Florida-Certified Teacher Portfolio Review

A teacher with a valid Florida certificate reviews your portfolio and has a conversation with your child about their learning. This is the most widely used option because it is flexible and personal. The evaluator submits a written statement documenting progress. You can find evaluators through Florida homeschool co-ops and Facebook groups for local homeschool communities. Fees vary but are modest.

Option 2: Nationally Normed Achievement Test

Your child takes any nationally normed achievement test, such as the Iowa Assessments or the Stanford Achievement Test Series, administered by a certified teacher. Test results serve as the evaluation document. This option suits families who want an objective, standardized measure of their child's progress.

Option 3: State Assessment Test

Your child takes a Florida state student assessment test, administered by a certified teacher outside the school setting. This option is less commonly chosen because coordinating access to the state assessments requires more planning than the other options.

Option 4: Licensed Psychologist Evaluation

A psychologist holding a valid Florida license evaluates your child's educational progress. This option is used most often by families whose children have learning differences and who already have a relationship with a licensed psychologist.

Option 5: Mutually Agreed Method

You and the district superintendent agree on any other valid measurement tool. This requires direct coordination with the district before the evaluation date and is the least commonly used option among Florida home educators.

No Required Subjects or Hours

Florida Statute 1002.41 does not specify which subjects to teach, does not set a minimum number of hours per day, and does not set a minimum number of school days per year. You build the program and set the schedule. The annual evaluation standard is developmental, not grade-based: your child must show progress at a level consistent with their own ability. A child with a learning difference is measured against their own capacity and prior performance, not grade-level peers.

This is one of the features that makes Florida a strong state for families who need flexibility in schedule or approach. A family with a child recovering from school burnout can run a lighter year. A family with a child ahead of grade level can accelerate. The law asks you to show progress for your child, not conformity to a grade-level standard.

If you want to check where your child stands before building the program, the free reading assessment gives you a measurable starting point in about 15 minutes.

Pulling Your Child Out of a Florida Public School

One filing is required. Within 30 days of establishing your home education program, file the Notice of Intent with your district superintendent. That is the whole of it under 1002.41, and nothing in the statute asks you to notify your child's school separately. An earlier version of this page said otherwise. Writing to the school is still worth doing, dated and in writing, so their attendance records reflect the change and no truancy notice follows you, but it is housekeeping rather than a legal step. Keep dated copies of whatever you send. For the full step-by-step, see our guide to withdrawing from public school in Florida.

If your child has an IEP, the picture is more open than "services stop," which is what this page used to say. The duty to identify, locate and evaluate children with disabilities covers home education students too, and that evaluation is free. Where a child is found eligible, the department says a district may propose some level of service through a services plan, with Florida Statute 1002.41(10) providing the funding mechanism. What any given district offers is discretionary, so speak to your district's exceptional student education administrator before you withdraw rather than after. Our guide to withdrawing from public school in Florida covers this in more detail.

High School, Transcripts, and Diplomas in Florida

Parents issue their own high school diplomas in Florida. There is no state homeschool diploma and no state approval step. You set the graduation standards, track credits through grades 9 to 12, and award the diploma when your child meets your requirements.

There is a second document most guides skip, this page included until August 2026. For admission to a Florida College System institution, the statute does not name your diploma. Section 1007.263(2)(a) names, for a home educated student, a signed affidavit submitted by the parent or legal guardian attesting that the student has completed a home education program under section 1002.41. The department describes this as a notarized letter and calls it the legal document of completion. The useful part: that attesting statement can be included on your child's transcript or on the diploma you issue, so it does not have to be a separate page. Students applying through dual enrollment or early admission are exempt from the requirement.

State universities are a separate track. Section 1002.41(8) makes home education students eligible for admission to state universities in accordance with Board of Governors policies rather than under section 1007.263, so check each university's own requirements. Most institutions ask for SAT or ACT scores from home educated applicants. Confirm what each one wants before the senior year rather than during it.

Florida law also allows home education students to participate in extracurricular activities at the local public school, including athletics, band, and clubs, subject to eligibility conditions. The specific process varies by district. Contact your district directly about extracurricular participation before your child wants to join a team or activity, as some districts require advance registration at the start of the school year.

Building a high school transcript that reads well to college admissions takes planning from grade 9. The Guide covers how to set graduation requirements, assign credit hours, and create a transcript that stands up to admissions scrutiny. For the full step-by-step, see our guide to homeschooling high school in Florida.

Scholarship Money: PEP, FES-EO, and Which One Applies to You

Florida runs several scholarships with names that sound interchangeable, and picking the wrong one costs you a year. This page named the wrong one until August 2026, so here is the distinction in plain terms.

The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, FES-EO, is the private school route. The department is direct about it: a parent's first responsibility under FES-EO is enrolling the student full time in a private school approved to participate in the program, and scholarship funds cannot be used at a school that is not approved. The scholarship organizations pay tuition to the private school on your behalf. Asked outright whether a child can receive FES-EO and be educated through a home education program, the department answers that FES-EO students meet attendance requirements by enrolling in an approved private school. FES-EO is not a home education program. Awards are set by grade level and county of residence, and the department reported an average award of $8,200 for the 2024-25 school year.

The Personalized Education Program, PEP, is the parent-directed route. This is the one that fits families reading this page. PEP puts money in an education savings account you spend on approved education costs, and the department describes it as the option where parents direct the education of their student. For 2026-27 the published awards run from $7,463 to $12,217 per child, set by your county and your child's grade band.

Now the part this page previously got backwards. PEP is not something you add on top of your home education registration. Participating in a home education program under s. 1002.01(1) is a disqualifying status for PEP, and the department says that if a home education student receives PEP funds, parents should file a written notice of termination for the home education program and alert the district to the student's participation in PEP. Keeping your Notice of Intent and evaluations current does not protect a PEP scholarship. For PEP, that same filing is what disqualifies you.

Both programs let any Florida family apply regardless of income, and both give funding priority first to households at or below 185% of the federal poverty level or in foster or out-of-home care, then to households up to 400%. Families apply through one of two scholarship funding organizations approved by the department. Step Up For Students is the one most families use.

None of this means you must choose money over home education. Both PEP students and home education students count as homeschoolers in Florida, and PEP students keep access to interscholastic extracurricular activities, Bright Futures, dual enrollment, and admission to Florida College System institutions and state universities. What changes is who you register with and what you file each year. Our Florida homeschool funding guide works through the PEP amounts by county, the annual requirements, and how the switch works.

A Note from Homeschool Teacher Guide: What This Really Means for You

Florida's requirements look heavier on paper than the actual workload. The notice is a letter you write once. The portfolio is a binder you add to for a few minutes at the end of each school day. The annual evaluation, once you find a good evaluator for the portfolio review option, is more of a conversation than a formal test. Families who find the system burdensome are almost always the ones who tried to shortcut the contemporaneous log.

On the money, we owe you a correction. This page used to point home educators at the Family Empowerment Scholarship. That is the private school program, and using it means enrolling your child full time in an approved private school. The one that fits a parent-directed family is PEP, and it is a switch rather than an addition: you close your home education registration to take it. If the funding matters to you, read the funding guide before you file anything, because the order you do things in matters here.

Two practical things to hold onto. Mark the NOI anniversary date the day you file and set a reminder two months out. And write the portfolio log as you go, every day, not at the end of the year. Those two habits cover most of what families get tripped up on in Florida.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do we File a Notice of Intent in Florida?

Write a letter to the district school superintendent of the county where you live. Include the full legal names, addresses, and dates of birth of all children you plan to enroll. Sign the letter and send it within 30 days of starting your home education program. The district must accept it and register your program.

What Does a Florida Homeschool Portfolio Need to Include?

The law requires two things: a log of educational activities recorded at the time instruction happens, listing the titles of any reading materials used; and samples of the child's writings, worksheets, workbooks, or creative materials. Keep the portfolio for two years and make it available to the district superintendent within 15 days of a written request.

What Are the Five Annual Evaluation Options?

Florida Statute 1002.41 gives five options: a Florida-certified teacher reviews your portfolio and discusses it with your child; the child takes a nationally normed achievement test administered by a certified teacher; the child takes a state assessment test administered by a certified teacher; a licensed Florida psychologist evaluates the child; or you and your superintendent agree on any other valid method.

Does Florida Require Specific Subjects?

No. Florida Statute 1002.41 does not list required subjects. You design the curriculum. The only academic standard in the law is that the child must show educational progress at a level consistent with their own ability, documented through the annual evaluation.

Which Florida Scholarship Can Home Educators Use?

PEP, the Personalized Education Program. The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options funds full-time enrollment at an approved private school, so it is not open to you while you home educate. PEP is the parent-directed education savings account, and taking it means filing a written notice of termination for your home education program. See our Florida funding guide for the amounts and the annual requirements.

Sources

This guide was verified in June 2026 against the following primary sources. Confirm current procedures with your district before filing.

• Florida Statutes §1002.41, Home Education Programs
• Florida Department of Education: Home Education Parent FAQ (PDF)
• Florida Department of Education: Personalized Education Program (PEP) FAQs
• Florida Department of Education: Family Empowerment Scholarship Educational Options FAQs (PDF)
• Florida Department of Education: Family Empowerment Scholarship
• Florida Statutes §1007.263, Florida College System Institutions; Admission of Students