- Keep three records: a plan book or log of subjects and activities, a portfolio of your child’s work, and a record of evaluations. Equivalent evidence works too (RSMo 167.012).
- Offer at least 1,000 hours of instruction. At least 600 go to the core subjects, and at least 400 of those happen at home.
- You register nowhere and file nothing. Only the local prosecuting attorney may review your records, and the record and hours rules stop at age 16.
Here are the papers. There’s your plan book or daily log, with the hours. Then there’s the folder of work samples, and the tests and graded pages that show progress.
If you pulled your child out of public school, keep the written notice you gave the school, too. This page covers a home school under RSMo 167.012. Families using a Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Account run an FPE school, with the same records (see home school or FPE school).
What goes in a Missouri homeschool portfolio
Good news: the list is short. As evidence that your child gets regular instruction, Missouri law says to “maintain” three records (RSMo 167.012(2)):
- A plan book, diary or other written record of subjects taught and activities
- A portfolio of samples of your child’s academic work
- A record of evaluations of your child’s academic progress
Or you can keep “other written or credible evidence” equivalent to those three. The statute uses the word “portfolio” for the work samples. The plan book and the evaluations are separate records beside it.
The law sets no format, no number of samples and no schedule. It names no test and no evaluator.
What counts as a work sample?
The statute asks for “samples of the child’s academic work” and stops there. Examples, not rules: a dated math page, a narration, a science lab sheet, a photo of a project.
“A record of evaluations” isn’t defined either. The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) says it could be regular tests in each subject or a yearly standardized test. That’s HSLDA’s reading, not the statute’s words.
The 1,000 hours, and how they split
You offer at least 1,000 hours of instruction. At least 600 are in the core subjects, and at least 400 of those 600 happen at your regular home school location (RSMo 167.012(2)).
| Hours | What counts | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | All instruction | RSMo 167.012(2) |
| 600 of the 1,000 | Reading, language arts, math, social studies, science, or related academic courses suited to your child’s age and ability | RSMo 167.012(2) |
| 400 of the 600 | Core hours at your regular home school location | RSMo 167.012(2) |
Your child attends for the whole school term, and Missouri’s school year runs July 1 to June 30 (RSMo 167.031). HSLDA reads the 1,000 hours as a per-term total, and notes that the law doesn’t define the “regular” location.
HSLDA strongly recommends a daily log of hours. The law doesn’t require one, but the statute makes a daily log showing instruction that meets the law a defense to a charge under the attendance law (RSMo 167.012(4)).
At 16 and older
The record and hours rules don’t apply once your child turns 16 (RSMo 167.012(3)). School is still compulsory until 17, or until your child completes 16 high school credits. For a home school, a credit is 100 hours or more of instruction in a course (RSMo 167.031).
Who sees your records
Usually, no one. Missouri has no state registration, and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) says it does not regulate or monitor home schooling. You keep your records at home. You don’t send them anywhere.
Only one official may look. Home school records “shall be subject to review only by the local prosecuting attorney” (RSMo 167.012(4)). If a state or juvenile investigation turns up only an attendance question, it goes to that prosecutor (RSMo 210.167; 211.031).
If you leave public school, send the school a written notice that you’re choosing another option, and ask it to drop your child from the rolls. The school must remove your child promptly (RSMo 167.042).
The Missouri homeschool year, date by date
Here’s the easy part: Missouri has no filing deadline. Everything below you keep or do at home.
| When | What | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Your school year (Missouri’s runs July 1 to June 30) | Offer 1,000 hours: 600 core, 400 of those at home | RSMo 167.012(2); 167.031 |
| All year | Keep the plan book or log, the work samples and the evaluations | RSMo 167.012(2) |
| When you leave public school | Written notice asking the school to drop your child from the rolls | RSMo 167.042 |
| Only if asked | The local prosecuting attorney may review your records | RSMo 167.012(4) |
| Age 16 | Record and hours rules stop | RSMo 167.012(3) |
| Age 17, or 16 credits | Compulsory attendance ends | RSMo 167.031 |
How long to keep homeschool records in Missouri
Missouri law sets no period. The statute says to “maintain” the records and stops there.
HSLDA advises always having at least two full years of records on hand. It says to keep high school records, all four years, forever. That’s advice, not law.
Our advice: keep your daily log for every year you homeschool. It is the record the law names as your defense when it shows instruction that meets the law.
Home school or FPE school: which rules apply
Both follow the same records and hours rules. The difference is the scholarship account.
| Route | Law | Records and hours | Scholarship account |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home school | RSMo 167.012 | Plan book or log, work samples, evaluations; 1,000 hours | Not allowed: a home school can’t enroll children in the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program |
| Family Paced Education (FPE) school | RSMo 167.013 | The same | Allowed, with no background check required |
Since 2025, home school and FPE school students can try out for public school sports, fine arts and some school-linked activities in your district. Your child must show residency, bring a sports physical, follow the same conduct rules and pay the same fees (RSMo 167.790).
Can a Missouri homeschool portfolio be digital?
The law doesn’t say paper. Its words are “written record” and “other written or credible evidence,” and neither the statute nor DESE says anything about format.
There’s no evaluator and no filing, so no one has to accept a digital homeschool portfolio. The only official who may review it is the prosecuting attorney. A printout covers anyone who wants paper.
What changes in 2026 and 2027
2026
No change to Missouri’s home school law in 2026. RSMo 167.012, 167.013, 167.031 and 167.042 read the same as before the 2026 session.
The last change came in 2025. Senate Bill 63 ended the old optional declaration of enrollment, added the written notice to drop a child from the rolls, and opened district activities to homeschoolers. A 2026 parental rights bill, House Bill 2426, failed in the House on April 30, 2026.
2027
No change is scheduled. The 2027 session opens January 6, 2027, and bills can be prefiled from December 1, 2026.
Your three records and your 1,000 hours stay the same.
Keeping Missouri records in KidsFoldr
The goal is a whole year of records with no binder to keep, no pile to sort and nothing to type. Snap a page as you teach, and KidsFoldr files it under your child, grade and subject. Then the worksheet can go: scan it for peace of mind, then toss it.
Keep the originals that matter on paper, though. That’s the signed copy of any notice you give a school, any letter from a district or prosecutor, and high school work you need for credit.
When a paper has a date on it, such as a letter from the district, a test day or a co-op calendar, snap it. The date lands on the family calendar, linked back to the paper, with nothing to type.
Tests and graded pages file by subject and are kept for good, so your record of evaluations grows as you teach. In the Attendance or hours log, tap Fill from papers to add a day for every date your child has schoolwork, then add the hours. When someone asks to see the year, pick dates or grades, and your records are a PDF to share or print.
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.
Common questions
Do I have to keep a homeschool portfolio in Missouri?
Yes. The law asks for a portfolio of work samples, plus a plan book or log and a record of evaluations, or equivalent evidence (RSMo 167.012).
Do I have to register or notify anyone?
No. Missouri has no state registration, and the declaration of enrollment ended in 2025. If you leave public school, give the school a written notice asking it to drop your child from the rolls (RSMo 167.042).
Does my child have to take a test?
No test is required. You keep a record of evaluations, and you choose what goes in it.
How long do I have to keep homeschool records in Missouri?
Missouri law sets no period. HSLDA advises keeping at least two full years on hand, and high school records forever.
Does the 1,000-hour rule apply to a 16-year-old?
No. The record and hours rules stop at 16, though school is still compulsory until 17 or 16 credits (RSMo 167.012; 167.031).