How to Homeschool in Wyoming (2026): The Basic Academic Program and What the Law Requires

Wyoming's Home School Law

Wyoming Statutes Sections 21-4-101 and 21-4-102 define a home-based educational program and set the standard it must meet. The law calls for a basic academic program, which it defines as a sequentially progressive curriculum of fundamental instruction in seven subjects: reading, writing, mathematics, civics, history, literature, and science. That seven-subject list is the core of what Wyoming asks from your home school.

The headline change came in 2025. House Bill 46 removed the long-standing rule that home schools submit a curriculum to the local board of trustees each year. As of July 1, 2025, there is no submission and no board review. You build and teach the basic academic program on your own terms, without filing it with anyone in advance. Wyoming's compulsory attendance requirement starts at age 7 and continues until a child turns 16 or completes the tenth grade.

For families, this means Wyoming now sits among the lighter states. There is no annual paperwork, no notice to file, no credential to hold, and no testing requirement. What the law asks is that your program be real, that it cover the seven subjects in a way that builds from one level to the next, and that your child is genuinely learning them.

What Changed in 2025

For years, Wyoming home schools submitted a yearly curriculum statement to the local board of trustees. Families who missed that filing risked being treated as out of compliance with the attendance law. House Bill 46 ended that practice. Beginning July 1, 2025, you do not submit a curriculum, and the board does not review your program before the year starts.

This is a real reduction in paperwork, and it puts Wyoming in company with states like Idaho and Indiana that place the full responsibility for the program on the family without requiring advance review. What the 2025 change does not do is remove the underlying standard. The basic academic program requirement still stands; Wyoming just stopped asking you to prove it on paper before the year begins. If you home schooled in Wyoming before 2025, the practical effect is that the annual September filing to the board is gone.

Families who were already building strong programs around the seven subjects will notice little difference in the day-to-day work. The change is primarily administrative: one less filing, one less deadline, one less interaction with the district office.

The Basic Academic Program

The heart of Wyoming's law is the basic academic program. Your home-based educational program must provide a sequentially progressive curriculum of fundamental instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, civics, history, literature, and science. Sequentially progressive means the instruction builds from one level to the next across the years rather than repeating the same material or moving without a clear progression.

You choose the materials and the approach. Wyoming does not dictate a curriculum publisher, a specific textbook, or a daily schedule, and the state no longer reviews your program before you begin. Most standard home school curriculum packages cover all seven subjects. If you assemble your own program from different sources, check it against the seven-subject list so each area is covered and builds across the grades. Before you finalize your plan for the year, run a free reading and academic assessment so you know exactly where your child stands in the foundational subjects and can target your instruction where it matters most.

The seven subjects give you a clear framework to build from. Reading and writing anchor the literacy side. Mathematics covers arithmetic through algebra and beyond as your student progresses. Civics and history together address how government works and how the country developed. Literature adds the study of written works, not just reading mechanics. Science runs from life and earth sciences in the early grades through biology, chemistry, and physics at the high school level. Each subject should appear in your program every year, building on what came before.

What "No Notice" Means Now

With the curriculum submission removed, Wyoming no longer asks you to file anything with the local board before you begin a home-based educational program for a child who has not enrolled in public school. There is no annual notice, no letter of intent, and no approval to seek from the district or the state. You start when your family is ready.

The one situation where paperwork helps is withdrawal. If your child is currently enrolled in a Wyoming public school, notify that school in writing that you are removing them to provide home-based education under Wyoming Statutes Section 21-4-102. That letter closes out the enrollment record and prevents absences from being recorded as truancy during the transition. For a child who has never attended a Wyoming public school, there is nothing to file with anyone. Wyoming places the responsibility for the basic academic program entirely on your family and trusts you to deliver it without advance review or ongoing oversight from any agency.

Records and What Wyoming Does Not Require

Wyoming does not require standardized testing, does not require you to submit records, and no longer requires curriculum submission. You keep your own records entirely for your own benefit. There is no state evaluation, no progress report to file, and no parent credential requirement. Wyoming's framework is built on the assumption that parents who commit to a home-based educational program will deliver one.

A simple personal file goes a long way even though nothing is legally required. Keep a record of the seven subjects and the materials you use each year, samples of your child's work across the subjects, and a basic log of your school days. These records help you track progress against the basic academic program from year to year, make building a high school transcript far easier when you reach those grades, and give you something concrete to reference if a question about your program ever comes up. The discipline to keep records is the same discipline that keeps a sequentially progressive program on track, and it costs you almost nothing to maintain.

Withdrawing from a Wyoming Public School

If your child is currently enrolled in a Wyoming public school, send written notice to the school that you are withdrawing them to provide home-based education under Wyoming Statutes Section 21-4-102. Keep a dated copy. With House Bill 46 now in effect, you no longer file a curriculum with the local board, but notifying the school you are leaving is still the right step. It closes out the enrollment record and prevents the absences from being treated as truancy while the district processes the withdrawal.

If your child has an Individualized Education Program, the mandatory special education services provided through the public school end when you withdraw. Wyoming districts may offer some services to home school students on a limited basis, but the IEP entitlement that applies to enrolled public school students does not carry over to a home-based educational program. Contact your district's special education office before withdrawing if services are currently in place and you want to understand what, if anything, remains available after your child leaves the public system.

High School, Transcripts, and Diplomas in Wyoming

Wyoming does not set graduation requirements or diploma standards for home school families. You establish the requirements, track credits through grades 9 to 12, and issue the diploma when your student meets them. A parent-issued Wyoming home school diploma and transcript are accepted by the University of Wyoming, Wyoming's community colleges, employers, and professional licensing bodies across the state.

The University of Wyoming and Wyoming's community colleges all review home school applications. Many ask for ACT or SAT scores alongside the transcript, so plan for your student to sit for a college entrance test starting in grade 10 or 11. A clear transcript listing courses by name, credit hours, and grades by year is the standard document. Wyoming's Hathaway Scholarship has specific eligibility criteria, and home school graduates should review those requirements early in high school, since some depend on test scores and coursework that must be planned well in advance. Dual and concurrent enrollment are available at many Wyoming community colleges for high school students who want to earn college credit while finishing the home program; contact the specific institution for its home school applicant requirements. The full planning guide walks through building a four-year high school curriculum, structuring the transcript, and preparing a competitive college application from a Wyoming home school.

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

If you home schooled in Wyoming before 2025, the biggest news is what you no longer have to do. The yearly curriculum filing with the local board is gone as of July 2025, so there is no September paperwork to prepare and deliver. If you are new to Wyoming home schooling, even better: you start without filing anything with anyone.

What we would hold onto is the seven-subject standard, because that is the part of the law that still matters. Build your year around reading, writing, mathematics, civics, history, literature, and science, and make sure each one builds across the grades rather than repeating or drifting. Keep a simple file of what you teach and a few work samples per child, not because Wyoming asks for it, but because it keeps you honest about the basic academic program and makes a transcript far easier to build later.

The state has chosen to trust you with this. Wyoming is asking you to run a real program with a clear subject structure and to do it without supervision. That trust is worth earning. Meet the seven-subject standard, keep your own records, and you have done everything Wyoming requires. The rest is yours to build.