By Bob Paterson Yes, homeschooling is legal in Illinois. Parents and guardians may educate their children at home without obtaining advance approval or registering the homeschool with the state. Illinois treats a qualifying homeschool as a form of private education. However, parents must provide instruction in the subjects required by state law and offer an education that is at least equivalent to what children of a similar age and grade receive in public schools.
What Does Illinois Law Say About Homeschooling?
Illinois does not have a separate comprehensive homeschool statute governing every aspect of home education. Instead, homeschooling operates primarily through the compulsory-attendance provisions of the Illinois School Code and court decisions interpreting those provisions.
Illinois generally requires children who are between compulsory-school ages to attend school. However, children attending qualifying private or parochial schools are exempt from ordinary public-school attendance requirements.
The Illinois Supreme Court established that a homeschool can qualify as a private school when the child receives appropriate instruction at home. As a result, a parent can legally satisfy Illinois compulsory-attendance requirements by operating a legitimate homeschool program.
Do You Have to Register a Homeschool in Illinois?
No. Illinois currently does not require parents to register a homeschool before beginning home education.
The Illinois State Board of Education provides a voluntary homeschool registration form, but completing it is not required by state law.
Illinois lawmakers previously considered legislation that would have created a mandatory homeschool notification system. However, that proposal did not become law. Therefore, parents should not confuse proposed registration requirements with the law currently in effect.
Although registration is voluntary, parents who remove a child from an existing public school should notify the school that the student is being withdrawn for homeschooling.
Doing so helps prevent the child from being recorded as repeatedly absent and potentially being referred for a truancy investigation.
What Subjects Must Be Taught in an Illinois Homeschool?
Illinois parents have considerable flexibility in choosing curriculum and teaching methods, but the education must cover the main branches of learning taught to children of corresponding age and grade in public schools.
The required areas include:
- Language arts
- Mathematics
- Biological and physical sciences
- Social sciences
- Fine arts
- Physical development and health
Instruction in these subjects must be provided in the English language.
Parents are generally free to choose textbooks, online programs, educational materials, homework methods, schedules, and teaching approaches that meet their child’s needs.
However, simply keeping a child at home without providing meaningful instruction does not satisfy Illinois compulsory-attendance law.
Does Homeschool Education Have to Be Equivalent to Public School?
Yes. This is one of the most important Illinois homeschool requirements.
The education provided at home must be at least equivalent to the education available to children of corresponding age and grade in public schools.
This does not mean a homeschool must copy a public school’s daily timetable or use identical textbooks.
Parents have broad discretion concerning how subjects are taught. However, if authorities receive credible information suggesting that a child is not actually receiving an adequate education, the Regional Superintendent of Schools may investigate possible noncompliance with compulsory-attendance requirements.
In such a situation, parents may need to demonstrate that the homeschool program provides legally sufficient instruction.
Does a Homeschool Parent Need a Teaching License?
Illinois does not generally require a parent to hold an Illinois professional educator license merely to homeschool their own child.
The Illinois Supreme Court’s homeschool precedent requires the person providing home education to be competent to teach, but the current system does not impose the same teacher-licensing requirements that apply to teachers working in Illinois public schools.
Parents therefore commonly provide instruction themselves or use textbooks, tutors, online courses, educational programs, or combinations of different resources.
The parent remains responsible for ensuring that the child’s overall education satisfies Illinois requirements.
Are Standardized Tests Required for Homeschool Students?
No. Illinois does not generally require homeschooled students to take state standardized tests.
Parents may choose to administer achievement tests or other assessments to measure the child’s progress, but they are not ordinarily required to submit those results to the Illinois State Board of Education or a local public school.
Illinois also does not prescribe a specific statewide homeschool examination that students must pass each year in order to continue homeschooling.
Keeping academic records is nevertheless useful, especially for high-school students who may later return to public school or apply to college.
Are There Required Homeschool Hours or School Days?
Illinois does not prescribe a specific number of daily instructional hours or a fixed homeschool calendar in the same way that public schools operate under detailed attendance requirements.
Parents have flexibility concerning when and how instruction takes place.
That flexibility does not eliminate the requirement to provide an education equivalent to an appropriate public-school education. A very limited or sporadic program could therefore create problems even though Illinois does not require homeschool parents to follow a particular daily timetable.
Can a Homeschooled Child Return to Public School?
Yes. A parent may later enroll a homeschooled child in an Illinois public school.
The receiving school determines the appropriate grade placement and may evaluate the student’s academic work. It may request evidence of courses completed or use testing to decide where the child should be placed.
This becomes especially important at the high-school level because the school must determine which homeschool courses, if any, will receive credit toward its graduation requirements.
For that reason, families homeschooling high-school students should maintain transcripts, course descriptions, grades, assignments, and other records showing the work completed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Can a homeschool parent issue a high school diploma in Illinois?
A parent operating a legitimate homeschool generally determines when the student has completed the homeschool program. However, colleges, employers, military programs, and vocational schools may have their own admission requirements, so families should design high-school coursework with the student’s future plans in mind.
Q2. Can a homeschooled student automatically participate in public-school sports?
No statewide rule currently gives every homeschooled student an unconditional right to participate in a local public school’s athletic teams. Participation can depend on district policies, enrollment requirements, and rules of the organization governing the particular sport.
Q3. Can a public school refuse all homeschool credits when a student returns?
A public school may evaluate homeschool coursework before awarding credit, particularly at the high-school level. However, placement decisions should not be arbitrary. Parents should retain detailed academic records so the school can properly assess completed coursework.
Q4. Does Illinois provide money to parents for homeschooling?
No. Illinois does not generally fund a family’s private homeschool curriculum. Parents are normally responsible for purchasing textbooks, online programs, tutoring, educational supplies, and other resources they choose to use.