The Short Answer
Ontario homeschoolers do not have to follow the Ontario curriculum, and no one checks whether they do. Policy/Program Memorandum 131, the document that governs home-based education in Ontario, requires only that instruction be "satisfactory." It defines nothing further. No subjects are mandated, no scope and sequence is required, and no external evaluator assesses your child. Families use whatever approach fits their child, from classical literature to unschooling, and the law does not restrict them.
Verified June 2026. Reflects Policy/Program Memorandum 131 and the Ontario Education Act.
Ontario Homeschooling at a Glance
| Must follow Ontario curriculum? | No. There is no requirement to use or follow the provincial curriculum. |
|---|---|
| Required subjects? | None specified. PPM 131 requires only "satisfactory" instruction, without defining what subjects that covers. |
| Testing or assessments required? | No. No EQAO, no annual assessments, and no progress report submitted to the board or Ministry. |
| Board inspections? | No. The board acknowledges your notice of intent. It does not visit, audit, or review what you teach. |
| Curriculum approval required? | No. Families choose any curriculum, method, or approach without seeking approval from anyone. |
| Oversight body? | None to speak of. The Education Act places responsibility on parents, and enforcement is rare. |
What the Law Really Says
Section 21 of the Education Act is where Ontario's homeschooling permission lives. It exempts a child from compulsory attendance when a parent provides, to the satisfaction of a board attendance counsellor, "satisfactory instruction at home or elsewhere." That is the full legal standard.
PPM 131, which is the Ministry's policy document for home-based education, adds one sentence of substance: it says a parent who provides home instruction may submit a written notice to the board, and the board will accept that notice as confirmation of satisfactory instruction. No curriculum review. No teacher qualifications check. No subject list. The board receives your notice and the matter is settled.
For the full process of notifying the board, see our guide on the Ontario notice of intent to homeschool.
Why Ontario Ended Up This Unregulated
Ontario's homeschooling framework reflects a deliberate policy choice, not an oversight. When the province clarified PPM 131, it chose to respect parental authority over educational decisions rather than impose a provincial curriculum on families who had opted out of the provincial system. The reasoning is consistent: if a family has withdrawn from public education, requiring them to replicate it at home would undermine the point of the exemption.
Other provinces took different paths. Quebec requires families to submit an annual learning plan and report to the Ministry. Alberta families choosing solo homeschooling give up access to funding but retain full flexibility, while those who join a supervised program accept some oversight in exchange for financial support. Ontario made a different call: no funding, no oversight, no curriculum requirements.
What This Means When You Are Choosing a Curriculum
Ontario's freedom means your curriculum decision is entirely yours. You are choosing what to teach, not what you are allowed to teach. That changes how to think about the choice.
Families coming from a school background sometimes default to the Ontario curriculum documents as a starting point, which is fine. They are free and detailed, and some families like having a reference. But there is no obligation to use them, and many families find a commercial program, a child-led approach, or a hybrid works better.
A few things worth keeping in mind as you decide:
- You do not need to teach every subject every year, or on any particular schedule.
- You do not need to match grade levels. Your child works at their level, whatever year that would be in school.
- You do not need to document your work for any authority, though keeping records for your own planning is useful and pays off if your child later wants to pursue credentials.
- You can change your approach mid-year. Nothing is locked in.
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The One Area Where Planning Still Matters
Ontario's freedom extends through to the end of elementary and into high school, with one consideration worth flagging early: the Ontario Secondary School Diploma. The OSSD is not something homeschooling grants on its own. It requires official credits earned through a Ministry-inspected school. Families who want their teen to have the diploma need to fold in credit courses, through something like TVO ILC or a private online school, during the high school years.
This is not a curriculum constraint. You can still teach whatever you want during those years. But if the diploma is a goal, it requires a separate plan alongside your homeschool work. Many Ontario families decide the diploma is not a priority, especially those heading toward post-secondary paths that accept homeschool portfolios. Either choice is valid, but it is worth making deliberately. For the full picture on how that works, see our guide on Ontario homeschool high school and the OSSD.
What About Keeping Records?
Ontario does not require you to keep records. You submit your notice of intent and then the law has no further paperwork requirement. No annual reports, no attendance logs, no portfolio reviews.
Most experienced Ontario homeschool families keep records anyway, for three practical reasons. First, if your child later wants to enrol or re-enrol at a school, records help place them appropriately. Second, post-secondary homeschool applicants often build a portfolio from years of documentation, so starting early costs nothing and potentially pays off a great deal. Third, records make your own planning easier and give you something to look back on as your child grows.
A simple folder per year with samples of work, a list of resources used, and notes on what you covered is enough. You are not building a legal document. You are building a picture of your child's learning for your own use.
Val's Note: What This Really Means for You
New Ontario homeschool families often spend weeks trying to figure out what they are "allowed" to do. The short answer is: almost everything. Ontario's approach transfers more trust to you than any other province in Canada, and that is both the gift and the challenge of it.
The gift is that you can design your child's education around who they really are. The challenge is that no one hands you a plan. You make the plan, which means you also have to decide how to make it. That first year, most families find it helpful to start more structured than they think they need to be, then loosen up as they learn what their child responds to. You can always back off. It is harder to add rigour back in after six months of drift.
One thing I tell every Ontario family: keep records even though no one asks for them. The freedom is real, and the board will not come knocking. But the day your teenager says they want to apply to university, or wants to return to school for grade 11, you will be very glad you have a record of what you did together.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do Ontario Homeschoolers Have to Follow the Ontario Curriculum?
No. PPM 131 requires only that instruction be satisfactory, without specifying any subjects, grades, or curriculum documents. Families are free to teach whatever they choose.
Does the School Board Check What You Are Teaching?
No. The board acknowledges your notice of intent. It does not inspect your home, review your curriculum, or evaluate your child. Responsibility for adequate instruction rests with the parent under the Education Act.
Does a Child Have to Be Tested?
No. Ontario does not require standardized testing, annual assessments, or any external evaluation for homeschooled children at any point during the homeschool years.
Can a Family Use Any Curriculum They Want?
Yes. Ontario places no restrictions on curriculum choice. Families use secular or religious programs, structured or unschooling approaches, or any combination, without seeking approval from anyone.
What Happens If the Board Questions the Quality of Instruction?
The Education Act's enforcement mechanism has no defined inspection process and is almost never used. Day to day, submitting a notice of intent is the full legal interaction a family has with the board.
Sources
This guide was verified in June 2026 against the following primary sources. Review the current versions of PPM 131 and the Education Act if your family's situation requires legal certainty.