The Short Answer
To homeschool in Nunavut, you first register your child at the local school (kids must be 6 by December 31 to be of compulsory school age). Then you write an Education Program Plan and submit it to your District Education Authority for approval. Your plan must show comparable scope and quality to the territorial curriculum and integrate Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) principles. You cannot begin teaching until the DEA approves the plan. Once approved, reimbursement of up to approximately $1,000 per student per year is available for programming costs.
Verified June 2026 against the Nunavut Education Act (CanLII, CSNu c E-10) and the Government of Nunavut Education and Schools pages. Confirm current form names and submission procedures with your DEA before applying.
DEA Approval at a Glance
| Compulsory age | 6 (on or before December 31) to 18 |
|---|---|
| Approval body | District Education Authority (DEA) |
| First step | Register your child at the local school |
| What to submit | Education Program Plan to your DEA |
| Plan standard | Comparable scope and quality to territorial curriculum; integrates IQ principles |
| When to start teaching | After the DEA approves the plan |
| Reimbursement | Up to ~$1,000/year for programming costs (verify with your DEA) |
| Cost to apply | None |
Two Requirements, Not One
Nunavut's Education Act makes home schooling an exception to compulsory attendance under section 34, but the exception is not automatic. Two things have to be in place before you can teach your child at home. Your child must be registered at your local school. And your District Education Authority must approve your home schooling program.
Neither step is optional and neither can substitute for the other. Registering with the school without DEA approval does not give you the right to homeschool. DEA approval without prior school registration is not possible, because the local school enrollment is what connects your family to the DEA process. The sequence is fixed: school first, DEA approval second, teaching third.
This is different from most Canadian jurisdictions. Ontario needs only a written notice and asks nothing further. Manitoba has one notification and annual progress reports. Nunavut uses a genuine approval gate: your program needs to be reviewed and accepted before it starts. That means some lead time before the year begins, and planning accordingly matters.
Before you contact the school, confirm your child's age. The compulsory school age in Nunavut runs from 6 (on or before December 31 of the school year) to 18. If your child is not yet of compulsory age, the formal DEA approval process may not apply in the same way; check with your DEA. For school-age kids, get the school registration underway as early as possible so you have time to prepare and submit your plan before you want to begin teaching.
What the DEA Is and Does
A District Education Authority is a locally-elected body made up of community members who are interested in education. Each Nunavut community with a school has one. The DEA works alongside school staff and Regional School Operations (RSO) staff; together they handle many of the functions a school board would handle elsewhere. They oversee the school in their community and make decisions about education programs within it.
For homeschooling families, the DEA is the approval body. Your Education Program Plan goes to the DEA, not to the Department of Education in Iqaluit. This is a community-level review, which means the people approving your plan are your neighbours, not a distant office. That is worth keeping in mind when you prepare your submission: write for a community audience as well as a formal one, and be clear about how your program connects to your child's life and community.
The DEA has the authority to approve your program, ask for revisions, or decline approval. Once your program is approved, the DEA also administers the reimbursement for programming costs. See the Nunavut homeschool funding guide for how reimbursement works and what to keep track of. Finding your DEA's contact information is the first practical step after you decide to homeschool: the Government of Nunavut's DEA page at gov.nu.ca lists all DEAs by community with contact details.
Registering With Your Local School
The local school is your entry point. You register your child there before doing anything else in the homeschooling process. The school is where the DEA connection begins, and it is where your child's enrollment status is held while you homeschool. Your child will not be attending classes, but they are on the roll.
Contact the school directly and explain that you are planning to homeschool. Ask what paperwork is required for registration and what the school needs from you at that stage. School staff can also point you toward the right DEA contact, which saves time when you move to the application step. If you can ask how other families in the community have submitted their plans, do: you will get a practical sense of what works and what the DEA expects to see.
The enrollment is not a technicality. It is what creates the formal link to the DEA, and DEA approval is what makes the home schooling program legal under the Education Act. Do not delay the school registration; it has to precede everything else. The earlier you register, the more time you have to prepare a solid plan and get it through the DEA before the start of your intended school year.
Before your first conversation with the school or DEA, get a concrete picture of where your child is academically. The free reading assessment gives you a measurable literacy baseline in about ten minutes. Walking into those meetings with a clear sense of your child's current level makes the planning conversation more productive than starting from a vague sense of what grade they should be at.
Preparing Your Education Program Plan
The Education Program Plan is the document you submit to the DEA for approval. It describes the program you intend to teach, and it has to meet two standards. First, the plan must demonstrate comparable scope and quality to the territorial curriculum. Second, it must integrate Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) principles. Contact your DEA before you draft the plan to confirm the required format and whether there is a standard template to follow.
"Comparable scope and quality" means your program covers the same subject areas and achieves learning outcomes at a level comparable to what a Nunavut school would deliver at your child's grade. You do not have to use the exact territorial curriculum materials, but you need to show that your program reaches across the core subjects and meets a standard the DEA can verify. A plan that covers only a few subjects or that is thin on content will not satisfy this standard.
When writing your plan, be concrete. List the subjects you will cover, the resources you will use, and how you will know your child is making progress. A plan that gives the DEA something specific to evaluate is easier to approve than one written in generalities. The guide covers building a structured weekly teaching schedule that works as a strong foundation for a DEA submission, since it maps subjects to time and shows how coverage accumulates across the year.
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Submitting to the DEA and What Comes Next
Once your plan is written, you submit it to your DEA. The exact submission process varies by community: some DEAs accept plans by email, others have a specific form or ask you to attend a meeting. Your local school can point you to the right contact, or you can reach out to the DEA directly using the contact details at gov.nu.ca. Ask about the submission method before you finalize the document so you know exactly what format is expected.
The DEA reviews your plan and can do one of three things: approve it, ask you to revise it, or decline it. If they ask for revisions, they will tell you what needs to change. Work through each point and resubmit. A request for revisions is not a rejection; most plans go through at least one round of feedback before approval. If the DEA declines, you can revise and reapply, or ask about your appeal rights under the Education Act.
Once the DEA approves your plan, you can begin teaching. Keep a copy of the approval and note the date it was granted. Your teaching should follow the approved plan. If you want to make significant changes to your program mid-year, check with your DEA about whether a revised submission is required: approval is for the plan as submitted, not a blank permission to change course freely.
IQ Principles: What This Means for Your Plan
Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit is not a box to tick on a submission form. It is a framework for how Inuit communities understand the world, make decisions, and pass knowledge to the next generation. The core values include concepts like collaboration, patience, resourcefulness, and respect for the land and for Elders. The Nunavut Education Act weaves these principles throughout; the IQ requirement for home schooling plans reflects that same thread.
For a homeschooling parent, integrating IQ principles means showing how these values appear in your teaching. A science unit on the natural world connects to Inuit knowledge of the land and weather. A reading program that includes Inuktitut content or stories from Inuit culture connects to language and identity. A math activity tied to traditional practices, like measuring materials or tracking resources, bridges school work and lived experience. These are not additions bolted onto a curriculum: they are ways of teaching that reflect the community your child is part of.
Your DEA can give you the most useful guidance here, because what counts as real integration of IQ principles will reflect what matters in your specific community. Ask before you finalize your plan, and ask with a concrete question: what have other approved plans done, and what has the DEA found makes a submission stronger? Starting that conversation early shapes your plan in ways that make it easier to approve. Verify the current requirements with your DEA directly, as expectations can develop over time and what the DEA looks for may be more specific than what is written in general guidance.
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Val's Note: What This Really Means for You
The two-step requirement sounds heavy on paper. What it means day-to-day is that you have a real contact in your community before you start, and your program has been reviewed by people who know your community before you teach a single lesson. That is a different starting point from filing a form with a ministry and being left on your own.
The IQ requirement is the thing families are least prepared for when they start researching Nunavut homeschooling. It is not optional and it is not vague: your plan has to show it. But once you think it through, it changes how you design your teaching in ways that are worth it. Talk to your DEA early, ask what they want to see, and build the IQ integration into your plan from the start rather than adding it at the end. A plan that clearly reflects your community's values is a stronger plan by every measure, and it tends to get a faster approval.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Need DEA Approval Before I Start Teaching?
Yes. Approval must come before you begin. Teaching before DEA approval means your child is not in an approved home schooling program under the Education Act.
What Does My Education Program Plan Have to Show?
It must demonstrate comparable scope and quality to the territorial curriculum and integrate Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) principles. Contact your DEA before drafting to confirm the required format and whether a standard template exists.
Where Do I Find My DEA?
The Government of Nunavut's DEA page at gov.nu.ca lists all DEAs by community with contact information. Your local school can also connect you with the right person.
What Is the First Step?
Register your child at your local school. School registration must happen before you submit your Education Program Plan to the DEA.
What If the DEA Asks for Changes to My Plan?
Revise the plan to address each point the DEA raised and resubmit. A request for changes is not a denial; most plans go through at least one revision before approval.
Can I Change My Program After Approval?
You should follow the approved plan. For significant changes mid-year, check with your DEA about whether a revised submission is required.
Sources
This guide was verified in June 2026 against the following primary sources. Confirm current submission procedures and plan requirements with your DEA before applying.