- Oregon law requires no portfolio. You send your education service district (ESD) a written notice once, within 10 days of starting, says the Oregon Department of Education (ODE).
- Your child takes an approved standardized test at grades 3, 5, 8 and 10, given by a qualified neutral tester. ODE’s deadline is August 15.
- The scores come to you. You send them to the ESD only if it asks, so keep every one.
The papers here are this year’s folder of your child’s work, the notice you sent your ESD and the letter it sends back, and the test score report after a testing year.
This page covers teaching your child at home under ORS 339.030(1)(e) and ORS 339.035. A private teacher follows the same notice and test rules. Private school families don’t. See which route you’re on.
Does Oregon require a homeschool portfolio?
No. Oregon’s homeschool law never uses the word “portfolio,” and it doesn’t ask for a log, an attendance record or a set number of hours. It asks for two things: the notice and the tests.
Good news: the rest is up to you. The home exemption names no subjects and no hours, unlike the exemptions for private schools and private teachers (ORS 339.030(1)). ODE says you choose your own curriculum, and the state’s standards are there to guide you if you want them.
There’s one place Oregon law says “portfolio.” A school district may let a homeschooler qualify for school sports by sending a portfolio of work samples to a district committee (ORS 339.460(2)(b)). See school sports.
So a folder of the year’s work still earns its place. The ESD can ask for test scores, a school decides what counts for credit, and a sports committee may want to see work.
The notice to your ESD
When you start teaching at home, or withdraw your child from public school to teach at home, you notify your ESD in writing (ORS 339.035(2)). ODE says to do it within 10 days of withdrawing your child, or of the start of the school year. You can send it online or by mail.
You send it once, not every year. Your ESD is the one that contains your school district (ORS 339.035(1)), and it must acknowledge your notice in writing. Keep that letter.
Moving to a new ESD? Notify the new one in writing (ORS 339.035(2)). ODE also asks you to tell your ESD if you move outside your school district, and if you stop homeschooling.
The law covers children from 6 to 18 who haven’t finished 12th grade. A child counts as 6 if the sixth birthday falls on or before September 1 (ORS 339.010). You can delay a 6-year-old’s start by one school year with a written notice to your school district (ORS 339.030(1)(f)).
The tests at grades 3, 5, 8 and 10
Your child takes an approved test at grades 3, 5, 8 and 10 (ORS 339.035(3)). ODE says to test at the end of those grades, by August 15.
| Step | What the law says | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Pick the test | One from the State Board of Education’s approved list. ODE lists the two latest versions of the Iowa tests, the Stanford Achievement Test and TerraNova/CAT 3. | ORS 339.035(3)(a), (b)(A); ODE |
| Book a tester | A “qualified neutral person.” ODE says not related to your child by blood or marriage, with a qualification such as an Oregon teaching license. ODE keeps a list of testers. You pay. | ORS 339.035(3)(b)(A); ODE |
| Time the first test | At least 18 months after you withdraw your child from public school. If your child never went to school, before the end of grade 3. | ORS 339.035(3)(b)(B), (C) |
| Get the scores | The tester scores the test and reports to you. | ORS 339.035(3)(c) |
| Share with the ESD | Only if the ESD superintendent asks. | ORS 339.035(3)(d) |
If the composite score is below the 15th percentile, your child takes another test within a year. If that score drops again, the ESD superintendent may let you keep teaching, or place your child’s learning under a licensed teacher you choose and pay. If scores keep dropping, or you don’t agree to the licensed teacher, the superintendent can order school for up to 12 months in a row (ORS 339.035(4)).
ODE puts it simply: above the 15th percentile, the ESD won’t step in. Homeschooling for less than one school year needs no test, and there’s no opt-out otherwise.
Breaking the rules in ORS 339.035 is a Class C violation (ORS 339.990). Missed a testing year? ODE says to check in with your ESD and make a plan to test.
Children with disabilities
A child with an IEP or a privately developed plan is checked for progress the way the plan recommends. With a privately developed plan, you send the evaluation report to the ESD in place of test scores. The tests apply only if the plan calls for them (ORS 339.035(5)). ODE calls this plan a PDP, “the homeschool version of an IEP.”
School sports and activities
Your school district can’t shut out a homeschooler from the sports and activities at the school where you live, if your child meets its other rules (ORS 339.460(2)). To show academic eligibility, your child either:
- scores at or above the 23rd percentile on an approved test taken before the school year, and you send the results to the district, or
- meets an alternative the district sets with you, such as a portfolio of work samples reviewed by a district committee.
ODE says sports families test every year, by August 15. Through 8th grade, the activities include ones held before or after school (ORS 339.460(1)(d)).
What counts as a work sample?
The law doesn’t say. Where a district takes a portfolio for sports, its committee decides, so ask what it wants to see.
These are our examples, not rules: dated pages from each subject across the year, a list of books read, a writing piece from fall and one from spring, and photos of projects.
The Oregon homeschool year, date by date
Oregon has one fixed date, and only in a testing year: August 15 (ODE). Everything else counts from the day you start.
| When | What | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Within 10 days of withdrawing, or of the school year’s start | Written notice to your ESD, once | ORS 339.035(2); ODE |
| After your notice | The ESD acknowledges it in writing | ORS 339.035(2) |
| Grades 3, 5, 8 and 10, by August 15 | Approved test, given by a qualified neutral tester | ORS 339.035(3); ODE |
| First test after withdrawing | At least 18 months after the withdrawal date | ORS 339.035(3)(b)(B) |
| If the ESD asks | Send the test results | ORS 339.035(3)(d) |
| Below the 15th percentile | Another test within one year | ORS 339.035(4)(a) |
| Each year, for school sports | A test before the school year (ODE: by August 15), or the district’s alternative | ORS 339.460(2)(b); ODE |
| When you move to a new ESD | Written notice to the new ESD | ORS 339.035(2) |
How long to keep homeschool records in Oregon
The law sets no number of years. ORS 339.035 has no record-keeping rule at all.
Keep every test score report, though. The ESD can ask for results, and ODE says to keep them for your records.
High school work deserves a safe spot too. ODE notes that a school district may not accept homeschool coursework for credit, and Oregon has no official homeschool diploma. The GED is one route ODE names.
HSLDA’s advice, not law: keep work samples, book lists, letters from officials and test results for at least two years. Keep high school records, and any notice you filed in those years, forever.
Home instruction, private teacher or school: which rules apply
The notice and the tests apply to a child taught by a parent, a legal guardian or a private teacher (ORS 339.035(2)). They don’t apply to private school students.
| Route | Law | Notice and tests? | Your papers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taught at home by a parent or guardian | ORS 339.030(1)(e); ORS 339.035 | Yes | The ESD’s letter, each score report, the year’s work |
| Private teacher | ORS 339.030(1)(d); ORS 339.035 | Yes. The teacher covers the usual school courses for a period equal to public school. | The same |
| Private or parochial school | ORS 339.030(1)(a) | No | Whatever the school asks for |
| Public school at home, including online and charter schools | Public school enrollment (ODE) | No. Your child is a public school student. | Whatever the school asks for |
A district may let homeschoolers take some classes at their local school. ODE says a student who takes more than half their classes there is, technically, no longer homeschooled.
Will a tester or district accept a digital portfolio?
The law doesn’t say. Neither the statutes nor ODE’s pages say anything about digital, scanned or emailed records, except that you can send your notice electronically.
So whether a digital homeschool portfolio is accepted is up to whoever asks to see it: a district sports committee, or a school deciding on credit. Ask before you send. A printed copy works for anyone who wants paper.
What changes in 2026 and 2027
2026
No change to Oregon’s homeschool law in 2026. ORS 339.030 and 339.035 weren’t amended, and ORS 339.035 was last changed in 2013.
The 2026 session did change other parts of the same chapter, on school enrollment and homeless students (SB 1538 and HB 4149). Neither touches teaching at home. The 2025 session left the homeschool sections alone too.
2027
No change is scheduled. The Legislature’s 2027 session opens January 19, 2027 (ORS 171.010), and the Legislature lists no 2027 bills yet.
Your dates stay the same: one notice to your ESD, and tests at grades 3, 5, 8 and 10 by August 15.
Keeping the year’s work in KidsFoldr
The stack of worksheets can go, and the year stays organized with no sorting and nothing to type. Snap each page as you teach, and KidsFoldr files it by child, grade and type, with schoolwork and tests by subject too. It’s a homeschool record keeping app that does the filing for you.
- The paper goes, with no guilt. Scan a page for peace of mind, then toss it: no pile on the counter, no shelf of binders. Keep the originals that matter, though: each test score report, the ESD’s letter, and high school work a school may need for credit.
- The paperwork keeps up. A score report that arrives by email or as a PDF files the same way.
- Dates land on the calendar. If your tester emails the test date, forward it, and it goes on your family calendar, linked back to its paper, with nothing to type.
- The year is ready when someone asks. Start a New portfolio, pick your dates or grades, and get one PDF with a cover and contents. Share or print it from your phone, or share your child’s Portfolios folder read-only.
- Keepsakes stay safe, artwork and projects 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.
You pick the portfolio’s sections and their order. For Oregon, you might switch on:
- Work samples, grouped by subject, for a sports committee or a school.
- A reading log (title, author and date) for the year’s books.
- Test results for each score report, or Evaluations for a PDP evaluation report.
- Letters and notices for your notice and the ESD’s letter.
Common questions
Do I have to keep a homeschool portfolio in Oregon?
No. The law doesn’t require one. A folder of the year’s work still helps if a school, or a district sports committee, wants to see it.
When do I notify the ESD?
ODE says within 10 days of withdrawing your child, or of the start of the school year. You notify once, and again only if you move to a new ESD (ORS 339.035(2)).
Which grades are tested, and by when?
Grades 3, 5, 8 and 10 (ORS 339.035(3)). ODE’s deadline is August 15. The first test comes at least 18 months after you withdraw your child from public school.
Do I send test scores to the ESD?
Only if the ESD superintendent asks. The tester reports the scores to you (ORS 339.035(3)(c), (d)).
How long do I have to keep homeschool records in Oregon?
The law sets no period. Keep every score report, because the ESD can ask for it. HSLDA advises at least two years for other records, and high school records forever.