There are very minimal requirements as far as getting started and maintaining a home education in Utah, making it easy for new homeschoolers and seasoned homeschoolers to continue their education with virtually no restrictions. As with every other state, a notice of intent must be submitted to your child’s school, stating that you are withdrawing to homeschool. Similar to their northern neighbors in Idaho, those choosing to homeschool in Utah only have two other requirements that must be met.
Basic Requirements to Begin Homeschooling
- An affidavit must be filed with your local school board for each of your children when you begin homeschooling. It should contain a statement that your child will be withdrawing from school, if applicable, and that you are assuming sole responsibility for the education of your child. According to an amendment as of May 1, 2024, a notarized affidavit is no longer a requirement. It is advised to check with your local school district for most up to date information
- Provide instruction to your children – Utah only has one qualification for home educators and it is that the educators must be the parent or legal guardian of the homeschooled child
Subject and Attendance Requirements
There is no specific curriculum or list of subjects required for homeschooled students, nor is there a set number of days or hours required for attendance. Once you have chosen the subjects to teach, you can reach out to your local school district and ask to borrow some of the textbooks, usually at no cost!
Suggested Record Keeping
Although there is no requirement as to what kind of records should be kept while homeschooling in Utah, it is recommended that you maintain some kind of documentation about what your child learned during their home education, especially if they might attend traditional school or college in the future. Some suggested materials to include in your records would be:
- Academic calendars and schedules: when, where, how did you educate at home
- Curriculum materials: books, tests, papers, materials
- Extracurricular activities: dual-enrollment information or any clubs and sports
Post-Homeschool Life
As stated, the minimal requirements to homeschool in Utah make it quite easy to get started, but what about students who wish to pursue a higher education? Parents should consider any prerequisites that might be in place for your child’s future plans, and then create a curriculum that will meet these requirements. As your child approaches their junior high or high school years, allow them to research colleges or universities for what they might be interested in and then reach out to their academic advisors about actions that can be taken to aid in the enrollment and admission process.
Utilizing Dailies to Homeschool in Utah
At Dailies, we understand that families choose to homeschool their children for any number of reasons; we aren’t here to question WHY you are homeschooling, we are here to question HOW we can help! We believe that every child deserves personalized, holistic support on their journey to academic success and unfortunately, our strained school systems can’t always provide this. As your trusted education success partner, we are here to support in any way we can, whether it be signing you up for class or simply answering some quick questions.
Check us out at dailiespods.com to discover more!
