How to Homeschool Legally in California (2026): The Private School Affidavit, PSPs & Records Made Simple

California looks intimidating from the outside, a big, heavily regulated state with no statute that even says "homeschool." The reality is the opposite. California is a genuinely low-regulation state, because homeschooling operates under the private school exemption. Your homeschool is a private school. No testing, no curriculum approval, no teacher credentials, no evaluations, just an annual filing and a few records. Here's how it works.

The four legal paths

1. The Private School Affidavit, what roughly 90% of homeschoolers do. You establish your home as a small private school by filing the Private School Affidavit with the California Department of Education, online and free, per Education Code §33190. The statutory filing window is October 1 through 15 each year, and the system stays open from August 1 through June 30 so families starting mid-year can file when they begin (schools established in July wait for August 1). With the affidavit filed, your child is exempt from public school attendance, and you have complete freedom over curriculum, methods, schedule, and pace.

2. A Private School Satellite Program. Instead of filing your own affidavit, you enroll in an existing California private school that operates a satellite or independent-study program for home educators. The program files the affidavit and keeps the formal records, while you remain the day-to-day teacher. Families choose these programs for the cover, the record-keeping, and the community. This is California's home-grown version of the umbrella school.

3. A credentialed tutor. Instruction by someone holding a current California teaching credential for the grade taught, at least three hours a day, 175 days a year, between 8am and 4pm, in English. The parent can be the tutor if they hold the credential. No affidavit is needed, though this path is rarely used since credentials are rare in homeschooling families.

4. Public charter or independent study. Enrolling in a charter's home-study program keeps your child a public school student, with real funding for curriculum and classes and correspondingly real oversight: assigned teacher check-ins, state testing, and curriculum constraints. It's a legitimate path, though it isn't private homeschooling, and this guide focuses on the private paths.

Compulsory attendance in California runs ages 6 to 18.

What the affidavit actually obligates you to

Filing the affidavit makes you a private school administrator. It's a light job, but a real one.

• Teach the branches of study required in California public schools, such as English, math, science, and social studies, in English.
• Keep an attendance register for your enrolled children.
• Keep a record of the courses of study offered and basic school records.
• Re-file the affidavit every October.

Two reassurances the law itself provides: the state does not evaluate, approve, or inspect these schools, since the affidavit is a registration rather than an application, and parents teaching exclusively their own children are exempt from the fingerprinting requirement that applies to private school staff (EC §44237(b)(4)). One caution: file only during the proper window, keep your confirmation number, and don't route the affidavit through your local public school district. It's a state filing, and the CDE's own guidance beyond the statute is advisory, not law.

The out-of-state-school rule most families miss

Here's the nuance that surprises people: enrolling in an out-of-state school, umbrella, or online program does not by itself satisfy California law. California requires that a child claiming the private-school exemption be enrolled in a California private school, one that files the California affidavit. If your out-of-state program doesn't have a California presence filing an affidavit, your family still needs to file your own affidavit, or join a California satellite program, alongside it.

In practice the two layers work together well: your own affidavit, or a satellite program, satisfies California, while your chosen school or program provides the teaching structure and records. The California filing is yours to make, and no distant school can make it for you. This applies to any out-of-state program, including, to be direct, a planned school like Ivy Waters. The plan for our enrollment is to give your family records that travel, but your own affidavit is what satisfies Sacramento. We'd rather say that plainly than let a family discover it in a truancy letter.

Making the records painless

California asks for very little on paper, just attendance and courses of study, but California families hit the same future moments as everyone else: a return to school where district placement is discretionary, dual enrollment programs, or a move to a stricter state. The painless system looks like this:

• Log real learning moments in seconds: the tide-pool afternoon, the market math, the finished chapter. This is your evidence base, and it makes the required courses-of-study record write itself.
• Let attendance count itself from your log rather than keeping a separate register by hand.
• One October ritual: re-file the affidavit, save the confirmation, done for the year.
• A yearly per-subject summary is not required by California, but it becomes a transcript when written up properly, and future you will be grateful for it.

Where a records tool fits

Ivy Waters International is planned as a private school built as the records layer for families who teach their own way: log a moment in about ten seconds, and the plan is for it to grow into a coherent transcript and a portfolio your family will actually keep. For California families, the idea is to be the structure and the record, while your own affidavit, or a satellite program, remains the legal exemption exactly as described above.

Enrollment and official school records are currently in private testing, and nothing is on sale yet. To be first when enrollment opens, join the founding families list, or try capturing a moment free today.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to file anything with my local school district to homeschool in California?

No. The Private School Affidavit is a state filing made directly with the California Department of Education. It should not be routed through your local public school district.

Does enrolling in an online school satisfy California's homeschool law?

Not by itself. California requires a child claiming the private-school exemption to be enrolled in a California private school that files its own affidavit. An out-of-state or online program can provide curriculum and structure, but your family generally still needs its own California affidavit or a California satellite program alongside it.

How often do I need to re-file the Private School Affidavit?

Every year, during the filing window of October 1 through 15. Families starting mid-year can file as soon as they begin, since the system stays open from August through June.

Is any testing required for homeschoolers in California?

No standardized testing is required under the private school exemption. The state does not evaluate, approve, or inspect these schools once the affidavit is filed.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Requirements are stated per California Education Code §§33190, 48222, 48224 and CDE guidance as checked July 2026. Laws change, so verify current rules with official sources. Families remain responsible for the requirements that apply to them.