The Short Answer
To homeschool in PEI, you provide the Department of Education with a notice of intention for each school year, before the year starts, plus a declaration acknowledging your responsibilities. The notice gives your child's name and date of birth, your contact details, and the last school attended if any. There are no required subjects, no assessments, and no minimum days or hours. Homeschooling is free; provincial curriculum books are available for a refundable $50 deposit per child. Compulsory school age is 6 to 16.
Verified June 2026 against the PEI Education Act, the Home Education Regulations, and the Government of Prince Edward Island Home Education page.
Prince Edward Island Homeschooling at a Glance
| Legal basis | Education Act and Home Education Regulations |
|---|---|
| First step | File a Notice of Intention with the Department of Education |
| When | Before the school year starts, each year |
| Also required | A declaration acknowledging your responsibilities |
| Notice includes | Child's name and date of birth, your contact details, last school attended |
| Required subjects | None |
| Testing / hours | None required |
| Fee to homeschool | None ($50 refundable deposit only if you borrow provincial books) |
| Diploma | Not awarded for home education unless the child returns to public school for credits |
| Compulsory age | 6 to 16 |
Can You Homeschool in Prince Edward Island?
Yes. PEI law allows parents to provide a home education program as a recognized exception to compulsory school attendance. Compulsory school age runs from 6 to 16, including a child who turns 6 by December 31 of the school year, and a home education program satisfies that requirement under the Education Act and the Home Education Regulations. Parents who choose to homeschool do not need prior approval from the government; they notify the Department of Education and take on responsibility for their child's program.
The framework is one of the lighter ones in Atlantic Canada. You notify the Department each year before the school year starts, sign a declaration acknowledging your responsibilities, and then teach. The Department may offer advice and comments on your program, but it does not dictate the subjects you cover, the number of hours you teach, or the pace you set. Once you have filed your notice and your declaration, you are free to run the program the way you see fit. If you have more than one child to register, each child gets their own notice.
How to Notify the Department
For each school year, you provide the Minister with two things: a Notice of Intention in the Department's approved form, and a declaration acknowledging your responsibilities for the home education program. You file the notice before the school year starts, not at the end of it. Submit both documents to the Department of Education Home Education office in Summerside. You do this every year you continue homeschooling, not just in the first year.
The Notice of Intention asks for your child's name and date of birth, your name, address, and telephone number, and the name of the last school the child attended if that applies. Fill it in completely before submitting. Keep a copy for your own records. The notice is the document that puts your child on the books as a home-educated student for that school year. It is not a curriculum plan; it is a registration document.
If you have more than one child, you file a separate notice for each. The declaration is your acknowledgement that you are taking on the teaching role for that child. Like the notice, it applies for one school year, and you renew it each year you continue. The Home Education Regulations do not specify a hard deadline date the way some other provinces do, so confirm the current filing window with the Department before each school year begins.
Before you plan your program, get a clear picture of where your child is academically. Our free reading assessment gives you a concrete baseline in about ten minutes, which is a better starting point than guessing at grade level when you sit down to write your plan. For a full breakdown of what the notice asks for, the declaration you sign, and how to file it cleanly, see PEI Homeschool Notice of Intent (2026).
What the Declaration Means
The declaration is your acknowledgement that you are responsible for the home education program. The Home Education Regulations frame that responsibility plainly: you ensure, to the best of your ability, that your child has the opportunity to acquire knowledge and develop skills that will prepare them for life as an adult. That is the legal standard, not a checklist of subjects or hours. It gives you wide latitude in how you teach while keeping the focus on your child's long-term development.
This framing matters because it is outcome-oriented rather than process-oriented. The province is not checking whether you taught from the provincial curriculum guide or met a daily hour count. It is holding you to a broader standard: are you giving your child a real education? A parent who teaches well from any solid program meets that standard. A parent who lets the year drift entirely would not. Most families who approach homeschooling with a genuine plan stay well inside the standard without having to think about it.
The declaration also means that if the Department has concerns about your program, it may offer advice or comments. That is not an inspection; it is a consultation. Families who file their notices and run a real program rarely hear anything from the Department beyond the initial paperwork exchange.
Choosing the right curriculum gets easier when you know what to teach, what to skip, and where to start.
Get the GuideA simple step-by-step plan for getting started.
What You Have to Teach (and What You Do Not)
PEI does not require you to teach specific subjects, meet a set number of instructional days or hours, or administer any assessment. You decide what to teach and at what pace. That freedom is real and worth taking seriously. A family that builds their program around the core subject areas a school covers, such as language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, sets a child up well for any future path, including a return to the school system. A program that skips core subjects for long stretches creates gaps that are harder to close later.
You can use the provincial curriculum, a commercial homeschool program, your own assembled resources, or a combination of all three. The province does not require any of these; it only asks that you take responsibility for your child's learning. Build the program around where your child is right now, not where their birth year suggests they should be. A child working above or below a nominal grade level in a subject does better when the teaching matches the real level rather than a label on a form.
If you want a step-by-step framework for turning your subject choices into a weekly teaching plan, the guide walks through the whole process from scratch. It covers how to choose what to teach first, how to set a pace that works for your family, and how to track progress in a way that supports your child and protects their record if they ever return to school.
Using Provincial Curriculum and Resources
If you want to teach from the public system's curriculum, PEI makes that option available. You file a Request for Home Education Learning Resources form with the Department and pay a refundable deposit of $50 per child. When you return the books at the end of the program year, the deposit comes back to you. The Department also publishes curriculum guides and a learning resources list that are available to homeschooling families regardless of whether you borrow physical books.
Using the provincial curriculum is one approach, not a requirement. Some families find it useful because it gives them a clear outline to follow and means their child is covering content similar to their peers, which matters if a return to school is possible later. Others prefer to work from a different structure entirely. Both sit within the rules. The key is choosing a program that is solid enough to support your child's learning through the year. For a full breakdown of how to borrow the books, what else the Department offers, and how to plan a program when nothing is required, see PEI Homeschool Curriculum and Resources (2026).
Is There Funding for Homeschooling in PEI?
No. There is no provincial funding for home education in PEI, and there is no fee to homeschool either. The only money involved is the refundable $50 deposit per child if you choose to borrow provincial curriculum books. You cover your own curriculum materials, resources, and any other costs. The province does not subsidize those expenses.
This is consistent with how most Atlantic provinces handle homeschooling: light oversight, no funding, full control over what you teach. Families who build from free and low-cost resources, including the provincial curriculum guides and library materials, find PEI very workable without significant spending.
Homeschooling Through High School
Home-educated students in PEI do not receive a provincial high school diploma unless they enter the public school system and earn the required credits. The Education Act is clear on this: a diploma is for students who complete the credit requirements through the school system. A child who completes home education through the secondary years and never enrolled for credit courses leaves without a diploma. That does not close off every post-secondary path, but it changes what routes are available and requires planning.
The Home Education Regulations do note that a home-educated student may, with the approval of the relevant education authority, attend programs offered by that authority while remaining a home-educated student. This means your teen could attend specific courses at the local school without full enrolment, depending on what the school board approves. That route can provide access to labs, specific credit courses, or extracurricular programs that are difficult to replicate at home. Talk to the Department and the relevant education authority early if part-time attendance is part of the plan for your teen.
Families aiming for a provincial diploma often enrol their teen for the credit years in senior high, treating the earlier grades as the home education period and transitioning to school enrolment for the final years. If that is the goal, the conversation with your local school board is worth starting before your teen reaches grade 10. A dedicated PEI high school spoke covering the diploma route, credit recognition, and post-secondary options is coming.
Not sure where to start? This gives you a clear next step in minutes.
Start the Free AssessmentTakes about 10 minutes. Know exactly where to start.
Your First Year, Step by Step
The sequence for year one follows a clear path. Start with the free reading assessment or another tool to get a concrete picture of where your child is before you build the program. Plan your core subjects and the resources you will use, noting where your child is working relative to grade level so the program matches the real starting point. Complete the Notice of Intention form and the declaration. File both with the Home Education office in Summerside before the school year starts, and keep copies of everything you submit. If you want provincial curriculum books, file the Request for Home Education Learning Resources form with the $50 deposit at the same time. Teach through the year while keeping a folder of dated work samples per subject, updated a few times each term. When the following school year approaches, file a new notice and declaration to continue.
Val's Note: What This Really Means for You
PEI is about as gentle an entry to homeschooling as you will find in Canada. One notice, one declaration, and you are off, with no subject list dictating the year. The freedom is both the gift and the challenge: nobody is going to structure the year for you, so a clear plan around the core areas keeps a child moving forward without drifting.
I would build from a solid core regardless of what the province requires, because that is what the standard in the declaration is asking for, even if nobody is checking directly. Language and math, covered well, leave a child in good shape for whatever comes next. Keep a folder of work samples through the year. It takes almost no extra effort to collect, and it is what protects your child's options if you ever return to the school system.
The part I would not ignore is the diploma rule. If high school and a credential are on the horizon, decide early whether you will enrol for the credit years and talk to the school board before you need to. File on time, keep your records, and the year runs without complications. PEI does not make homeschooling hard.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Start Homeschooling in PEI?
File a Notice of Intention with the Department of Education for the school year, before the year starts, along with a declaration acknowledging your responsibilities. Submit both to the Home Education office in Summerside.
What Goes in the Notice?
Your child's name and date of birth, your name, address, and telephone number, and the last school the child attended if applicable. Complete and sign the form before submitting.
Are There Required Subjects or Tests?
No. PEI does not require specific subjects, assessments, or a set number of instructional days or hours. You decide what to teach and at what pace.
Is There a Fee to Homeschool?
No. Homeschooling is free. There is a refundable $50 deposit per child if you borrow provincial curriculum books, returned when you give the books back.
Is There Funding for Homeschooling in PEI?
No. There is no provincial funding for home education. You cover your own curriculum materials and resources.
Can My Child Earn a PEI High School Diploma?
Not through home education alone. A child receives a diploma only by entering public school and earning the required number of credits through the school system.
Sources
This guide was verified in June 2026 against the following primary sources. Confirm current filing requirements and the Home Education office contact details with the Department before each school year, as procedures can change.