How to Homeschool Legally in Georgia (2026): Declaration of Intent, Testing & Records Made Simple

Georgia sits comfortably in the middle of the homeschool-regulation spectrum: real requirements, none of them heavy, and genuinely manageable since the state moved filing online and eliminated monthly attendance reports. Here's exactly what Georgia asks, per O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690(c), and how to make the record-keeping part painless.

The five requirements

1. File a Declaration of Intent annually. A one-page filing with the Georgia Department of Education, online and free: your child's name and age, your address, and your school year dates. File within 30 days of starting your home study program, then by September 1 each year after. This goes to the state department, not your local district, since Georgia simplified that in 2013.

2. The teaching parent needs a high school diploma or GED. A tutor you employ needs the same. That's the entire qualification requirement.

3. Teach five subjects across 180 days. Reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science, for the equivalent of 180 school days per year, with instructional days lasting at least 4.5 hours unless your child is physically unable. How you teach, what curriculum you use, and in what order is entirely up to you.

4. Write an annual progress assessment. At the end of each school year, write a progress report per subject, and keep it for at least three years. Nobody collects it. It simply must exist. Done well, this annual write-up is halfway to a transcript already.

5. Test every three years, privately. Beginning at the end of third grade, administer a nationally norm-referenced standardized test every three years, in practice grades 3, 6, 9, and 12 for most families. You choose the test, you can administer many of them at home, and the results stay yours. They are never submitted to the state. They exist to inform you.

Compulsory attendance runs ages 6 to 16, and kindergarten is not compulsory.

The nice extras Georgia gives you

School sports and activities. Under the Dexter Mosley Act (2021), homeschool students in grades 6 through 12 can participate in extracurriculars and sports at their zoned public school, provided they meet the enrollment-in-one-course and academic conditions. One caution: a child withdrawn from public school is ineligible for 12 months from the Declaration of Intent filing date, so time a withdrawal with sports seasons in mind.

Special-needs services. Georgia treats home study students as private-school students under IDEA, which means some equitable services may be available through your district, worth a call to ask.

The Promise Scholarship: an honest reality check

You'll see headlines about Georgia's Promise Scholarship, up to $6,500 per student. Before you plan around it, know the two gates: the student must have been enrolled in a Georgia public school for two consecutive semesters, or be a rising kindergartner, and the family must live in the attendance zone of a school ranked in the bottom 25% statewide. Together, those conditions exclude nearly every family already homeschooling. If you're currently in a qualifying public school and considering the switch, look into it before you withdraw, since the funds can cover tutoring, therapies, and some home study expenses through the state's marketplace. For everyone else, plan on self-funding, and treat any future eligibility expansion as a bonus, not a budget line.

Making the records painless

Look at what Georgia actually requires you to keep: attendance consistent with 180 days, an annual per-subject progress report, and your test results every third year. That's a records system, a light one. The painless version looks like this.

• Log moments, not paperwork. A one-line note when real learning happens, the recipe fractions, the museum questions, the chapter finished, takes seconds and accumulates into everything Georgia asks for.
• Let attendance count itself. If you're logging moments, your days-of-instruction count already exists, so there's no need for a separate register.
• Turn September's filing into a ritual. Declaration of Intent by September 1, every year, five minutes online. Put it next to a calendar reminder and it never becomes a scramble.
• Write the annual assessment from your log, not your memory. In May, a year of one-line moments becomes a genuine per-subject progress report in an evening instead of a guilty reconstruction. Keep at least three years of them.
• File the test results with the assessments. Private, yours, and quietly powerful whenever a placement conversation happens.

Where a records tool fits

Ivy Waters International is planned as a private school built for exactly this: you teach your own way, log real moments in about ten seconds each, and the plan is for the record to organize itself, attendance accumulating toward your 180 days, moments grouped by subject ready for your annual progress report, and a coherent transcript and portfolio growing alongside for the moments Georgia doesn't require but life does, like a return to school or a move across state lines.

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

Where do I file Georgia's Declaration of Intent?

With the Georgia Department of Education directly, online, not with your local school district. Georgia simplified this in 2013.

How often does my child need to take a standardized test in Georgia?

Every three years, beginning at the end of third grade. Results stay with you and are never submitted to the state.

Does my family qualify for Georgia's Promise Scholarship if we're already homeschooling?

Almost certainly not. Eligibility requires two consecutive semesters of prior enrollment in a Georgia public school located in the bottom 25% of school rankings statewide, which excludes nearly every family already homeschooling.

Can homeschooled students participate in public school sports in Georgia?

Yes, under the Dexter Mosley Act, students in grades 6 through 12 can participate at their zoned public school if they meet enrollment and academic conditions. A child withdrawn from public school is ineligible for 12 months from the Declaration of Intent filing date.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Requirements are stated per O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690(c) as checked July 2026. Laws change, so verify current rules with the Georgia Department of Education.