PURPOSE: To identify the legal requirements for home instruction

Any parent/guardian of any child who will have reached the fifth birthday on or before September 30 of any school year and who has not passed the eighteenth birthday may elect to provide home instruction in lieu of school attendance if the parent/guardian: 

• Holds a high school diploma; or 
• Is a teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Board of Education; or
• Provides a program of study or curriculum which may be delivered through a correspondence course or distance learning program or in any other manner; or
• Provides evidence that the parent/guardian is able to provide an adequate education for the child. 

Any parent/guardian who elects to provide home instruction shall annually notify the superintendent/designee no later than August 15 of the intention to instruct the child and provide a description of the curriculum, limited to a list of subjects to be followed for the coming year, and evidence of having met one of the criteria for providing home instruction. Any parent/guardian who moves into the division or begins home instruction after the school year has begun shall notify the superintendent/designee of the intention to provide home instruction as soon as practicable and shall comply with the requirements of VA Code §22.1-254.1 within 30 days of such notice.