- Delaware asks for no portfolio, no tests and no evaluator. A homeschool is a nonpublic school under 14 Del. C. § 2703A, and its students are exempt from public school enrollment (§ 2703).
- Register your homeschool online in the DDOE’s EdAccess system and keep the Acknowledgment Letter. Then report enrollment by September 30 and end-of-year attendance by July 31 (§ 2704).
- The DDOE keeps no records for you. It recommends an academic portfolio with grades, attendance and test scores.
Picture one child’s homeschool records folder. It holds the DDOE’s Acknowledgment Letter, the attendance record you’ll need for the July report, your child’s grades, and a few work samples. If you test, the score report goes in too.
This page covers the single-family homeschool, the type most Delaware families register (DDOE). A multi-family homeschool or one coordinated with your school district works a little differently. See which type you’re on.
What Delaware requires instead of a portfolio
Delaware has no portfolio rule. Every child between 5 and 16 must be enrolled in public school, but a student who is home-schooled under § 2703A is exempt (14 Del. C. §§ 2702, 2703). Under § 2703A, a homeschool “is considered a nonpublic school.”
| Requirement | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Register | Open a homeschool (a nonpublic school) with the DDOE and enroll your child | DDOE |
| Enrollment report | Each year, no later than September 30 | 14 Del. C. § 2704(b) |
| Attendance report | End-of-year attendance, each year on or before July 31 | 14 Del. C. § 2704(a) |
| Ages | From 5 (a fifth birthday on or before August 31) until 16 | 14 Del. C. § 2702 |
Here’s the easy part. The homeschool law sets no tests and no teacher qualifications (14 Del. C. §§ 2703-2704; HSLDA). The DDOE does not approve or monitor any homeschool’s curriculum. You choose the curriculum, and you decide grades and promotion to the next grade (DDOE).
How to register a Delaware homeschool
Register before you leave your child’s current school. The DDOE says that to homeschool in Delaware, you must open a nonpublic school with it and enroll your children. Registration takes three steps (DDOE):
- Apply for an EdAccess account, the DDOE’s online system.
- Fill in the Nonpublic School Application in EdAccess. It goes to the DDOE for approval.
- Once it is approved, print or save the Acknowledgment Letter. It shows your homeschool is open and your child is enrolled.
That letter matters. The DDOE says public schools will not withdraw your child to a homeschool without it. Once your child is enrolled in the homeschool, you withdraw from the old school.
A few more DDOE rules. It will deny an application if your child has an active truancy case. If your child is 16 or older, registering is optional. An online school or program is not a homeschool to the DDOE, so your child still needs an open Delaware homeschool to use one.
The three types of Delaware homeschool
Delaware law names three types of homeschool (14 Del. C. § 2703A). All three file the same two reports.
| Type | Who teaches | What’s different |
|---|---|---|
| Single-family | You teach your own child, mainly at home | Nothing more; this page’s rules |
| Multi-family | Parents teach children who are not all siblings, at one or more homes or other places | One person acts as liaison and reports enrollment and attendance for every family |
| Single-family, coordinated with the local school district | You teach your child, mainly at home | The local superintendent approves your curriculum and decides in writing that your child gets “regular and thorough instruction” |
The DDOE’s information packet names two main types, single-family and multi-family. HSLDA says the DDOE does not recognize the coordinated type, and it does not recommend it.
Who checks your homeschool
No one reviews your child’s work. Delaware has no evaluator and no tests, and after registration the DDOE gets only your two reports (14 Del. C. § 2704). It does not keep report cards, diplomas or any other records for homeschool students (DDOE).
Your grades and promotion decisions stay with you. The DDOE says promotion is reported in the yearly enrollment report, no later than September 30. Once you open the school, you are its administrator, responsible for curriculum and attendance records (DDOE).
The Delaware homeschool year, date by date
Delaware has two fixed homeschool dates each year. The table adds the ages and the other dates worth knowing.
| When | What | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fifth birthday on or before August 31 | School is required that school year | 14 Del. C. § 2702 |
| Before you withdraw | Register in EdAccess and get the Acknowledgment Letter | DDOE |
| By September 30 | Enrollment report for the new school year, including promotion | 14 Del. C. § 2704(b); DDOE |
| All year | Keep your attendance record | DDOE |
| By July 31 | End-of-year attendance report | 14 Del. C. § 2704(a) |
| Age 16 | Registering becomes optional | 14 Del. C. § 2702; DDOE |
How long to keep homeschool records in Delaware
The law sets no time. But the DDOE keeps no records for homeschools, open or closed, so your copies are the only copies. It recommends keeping a portfolio and records, since your child may need them “years down the road.”
HSLDA advises keeping records at least two years. It says to keep high school records forever. Both are advice, not law.
Our advice: keep a few originals on paper. Those are the Acknowledgment Letter, any letter from a school or the DDOE, and high school work you may need for credit. Save a copy of each EdAccess report you file, too. Everything else can be a scan.
What goes in a Delaware homeschool portfolio
What goes in is up to you, because no law asks for one. The DDOE’s own list is short: grades, attendance and test scores.
The DDOE says a portfolio may be needed by your child’s next step, like a college or an employer, or if your child goes back to a Delaware public school. If that happens, the public school decides the grade your child is placed in. The DDOE also can’t promise that a college or employer will accept your records, so ask them early what they need.
Homeschool work samples make the portfolio real. Examples, not rules: a dated math page, a writing sample, your reading list, a science lab sheet, the report card you write, and a test score report if you test.
Can your records be digital?
Yes, as far as the law goes. Delaware sets no format for homeschool records, and there is no evaluator to review a digital homeschool portfolio. The two reports are online already, in EdAccess.
Whoever asks decides what they accept: a public school placing your child, a college or an employer. Keep copies you could print. That is advice, not law.
What changes in 2026 and 2027
2026
No change to the homeschool law. Sections 2703A and 2704 were last amended in 2021 and 2023, and no law since has changed the homeschool sections (§§ 2703, 2703A and 2704). The 2023 change moved the enrollment report’s due date to September 30.
One new law touches homeschoolers. HB 350, signed July 23, 2026, asks the DDOE to study whether homeschool students could join public school extracurricular activities, like sports and clubs, perhaps through a pilot program. Homeschool groups take part, and the report is due by December 31, 2027. It does not open any activity to homeschoolers yet.
For now, HSLDA says each school or district decides whether homeschoolers can join.
2027
No change is scheduled. The General Assembly convenes January 12, 2027, and any new bill would come after that. Your 2026-27 attendance report is due by July 31, 2027, and the 2027-28 enrollment report by September 30, 2027.
Keeping your records in KidsFoldr
The DDOE keeps nothing for you, so the easy answer is to keep it all, on your phone instead of a shelf of binders. Snap each paper for peace of mind, and the paper can go. Every page is filed by child, grade and type, with schoolwork, tests and report cards sorted by subject, and nobody sorts or types a thing.
The few originals named above stay on paper. Snap them too, so a copy is always at hand. Snap a test appointment or a school notice with a date on it, and that date lands on your family calendar, linked back to the paper, with nothing to type.
When a school or a college asks, the portfolio the DDOE recommends is ready. Start a New portfolio for a grade or your own dates, and print or share the PDF. You pick the sections. For Delaware, you might switch on:
- The attendance or hours log, which Fill from papers can start for you from the days your child has work on file (you still enter your numbers in EdAccess yourself)
- Report cards, for the grades you give
- Test results, if you test
- Work samples, sorted by subject
- Letters and notices, for the Acknowledgment Letter
The year’s schoolwork, tests and report cards are kept for good as scans, high school years included. Turn on automatic backup, and every paper goes to KidsFoldr Cloud as it is filed. One tap on Back up copies every paper to your own Google Drive or iCloud, and every paper is searchable by any word on it.
Common questions
Do I need a homeschool portfolio in Delaware?
No law requires one, and no one reviews it. The DDOE recommends keeping an academic portfolio with grades, attendance and test scores, because it keeps no records for you.
How do I register a homeschool in Delaware?
Open an EdAccess account, fill in the Nonpublic School Application, and keep the Acknowledgment Letter once the DDOE approves it. Your child’s public school needs that letter to withdraw your child (DDOE).
What reports do Delaware homeschoolers file?
Two a year: an enrollment report by September 30 and an end-of-year attendance report by July 31 (14 Del. C. § 2704). Both are filed online in EdAccess.
How long should I keep homeschool records in Delaware?
The law sets no time. The DDOE keeps no copies and says your child may need records years later. HSLDA advises at least two years, and high school records forever.
Can Delaware homeschoolers join public school sports?
No law gives them the right; HSLDA says each school or district decides. HB 350, signed in 2026, asks the DDOE to study the question and report by December 31, 2027.