State guide
Homeschooling in Florida: the notice, the portfolio and the annual evaluation
Florida is a portfolio state. It names no subjects and counts no hours — instead it asks you to document the year as you live it and have that year evaluated once. This page states each requirement, lists the five evaluation options, and shows what printed curriculum puts in the portfolio.
Checked 31 August 2026
What does Florida require to homeschool?
Florida requires written notice to your district school superintendent within 30 days of establishing a home education program, a portfolio kept for two years, and one annual educational evaluation filed with the superintendent's office. Section 1002.41 names no required subjects, sets no minimum hours, and excludes home education from the requirements of a school day.
That combination makes Florida unusual. Most states either name subjects or count time; Florida does neither. It asks instead for evidence that education happened and that the student made progress. The obligation is therefore continuous rather than a single filing, and families who treat the portfolio as a June project find it much harder than families who keep it as they go.
| Requirement | What it means | Governing authority |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of intent | Written notice, signed by the parent, to the district school superintendent of the county in which the parent resides, giving the full legal names, addresses and birthdates of all children enrolled in the program — filed within 30 days of establishing it. | Fla. Stat. § 1002.41(1)(a) |
| What the district may ask | The superintendent accepts the notice and immediately registers the program. The district may not require additional information or verification unless the student chooses to participate in a district program or service, and may not assign a grade level to the student. | Fla. Stat. § 1002.41(1)(b) |
| Teaching certificate | The parent is not required to hold a valid regular Florida teaching certificate. | Fla. Stat. § 1002.41(1) |
| Activity log | A log of educational activities made contemporaneously with the instruction, designating by title any reading materials used. | Fla. Stat. § 1002.41(1)(d)1. |
| Work samples | Samples of any writings, worksheets, workbooks or creative materials used or developed by the student. | Fla. Stat. § 1002.41(1)(d)2. |
| Portfolio retention | The parent determines the content, preserves the portfolio for 2 years, and makes it available for inspection, if requested, by the superintendent or the superintendent's agent on 15 days' written notice. Nothing in the section requires the superintendent to inspect it. | Fla. Stat. § 1002.41(1)(e) |
| Annual evaluation | An annual educational evaluation documenting the student's demonstration of educational progress at a level commensurate with ability, by one of five methods, filed annually with the superintendent's office. | Fla. Stat. § 1002.41(1)(f) |
| If progress is not shown | The superintendent notifies the parent in writing. The parent then has 1 year to provide remedial instruction, after which the student is reevaluated; continuation is contingent on progress at the end of that probationary year. | Fla. Stat. § 1002.41(2) |
| Notice of termination | On completion of the program, written notice of termination is filed with the superintendent, together with the annual evaluation, within 30 days. | Fla. Stat. § 1002.41(1)(c) |
| Not required | No subject list, no minimum hours, no minimum days, no curriculum approval. A home education program is excluded from meeting the requirements of a school day. | Fla. Stat. § 1002.41(3) |
The word that governs the portfolio is "contemporaneously"
The statute asks for a log of educational activities made contemporaneously with the instruction, designating by title any reading materials used. That single word does most of the work. A log written alongside the teaching is a record; a log reconstructed in May is a reconstruction, and it will read like one to anyone who inspects it.
The practical answer is a short daily habit: the date, what was taught, and the titles of the reading materials used. That is exactly what the statute names, and no more. Keep it in whatever form you will actually maintain — a paper notebook is as valid as a spreadsheet, and the parent determines the content of the portfolio.
The five annual evaluation options
Florida lets the parent select the method of evaluation from the five listed in the statute. The evaluation is filed annually with the district school superintendent's office in the county where the student resides.
Confirm the current wording before you choose, particularly the certification and licensing details, because those are the parts most likely to shift.
| Option | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Teacher review | A Florida-certified teacher selected by the parent evaluates progress after reviewing the portfolio and talking with the student. The teacher must hold a valid regular Florida certificate to teach academic subjects at the elementary or secondary level. |
| Nationally normed test | The student takes any nationally normed student achievement test administered by a certified teacher. |
| State assessment | The student takes a state student assessment test used by the school district, administered by a certified teacher at a location and under conditions approved by the district. |
| Licensed evaluator | The student is evaluated by an individual holding a valid, active license under s. 490.003(7) or (8). |
| Mutually agreed measure | Any other valid measurement tool mutually agreed upon by the district school superintendent and the parent. |
Printed curriculum builds most of the portfolio for you
The second portfolio element is samples of writings, worksheets, workbooks or creative materials used or developed by the student — precisely the artifacts that print-based curriculum produces every day without extra effort.
The Faith Readers weekly rhythm runs five daily lessons — Introduce, Reader, Handwriting, Apply, Check — across 35 weeks per grade, 210 weekly sets from Kindergarten through Grade 5, each daily lesson published at 10 to 15 minutes. Every written day leaves a dated page. Learning Cursive produces a page a day. The practice library holds more than 30,000 printable pages organized by subject, grade and skill, with the first three in every set open to everyone.
One caution belongs on a page like this. The practice library is practice, not curriculum. A portfolio filled only with loose worksheets documents drill rather than a program. Keep completed textbook and workbook pages as the backbone and use practice sheets as what they are — reinforcement.
How Faith Schooling maps to a Florida year
Because Florida names no subjects, the mapping question changes shape: not whether the material satisfies a list, but whether it produces a year in which an evaluator can see progress. Reading and language arts, yes. Mathematics, in a series that is sequenced and still growing. Science, social studies and health, no — and most evaluators will expect to see something in those areas even though the statute names none.
| Area of study | Faith Schooling material | What it puts in the portfolio |
|---|---|---|
| Reading and language arts | Phonics, Decoding and Early Fluency — six full-year student texts (8,952 student pages) with teaching guides; 300 decodable readers; Foundations to Fluency, 96 workbooks arranged by pattern; Phonics Lab; Learning Cursive; the Grammar Garden browser game | Dated daily written work, weekly checks, completed workbook pages, and named reading materials for the log |
| Mathematics | Building Number Sense — a student text for every grade K–5, with practice workbooks and teaching guides for Kindergarten through Grade 2 today; the Faith Thinkers math practice library | Completed lesson and workbook pages. The series is sequenced and growing, so check each grade page for what exists now |
| Bible and family discipleship | The Apostolic Academy, which is free and open to everyone — Scripture memory, study guides, printables and family tools | Copywork, memory work and completed study pages |
| Science, social studies, health | None published | You supply these, and you should — an evaluator will look for them even though the statute names no subjects |
Florida associations and co-ops
The Florida Parent-Educators Association (FPEA) is the statewide organization. It publishes guidance on s. 1002.41, maintains local support-group listings, offers a starting-point resource for new homeschooling families, and holds an annual Florida homeschool convention. Check FPEA for current dates and venue.
Because Florida is administered district by district, the statute is uniform but the office you deal with is not. A local support group is the fastest route to knowing how your particular district handles filings and evaluations. Christian co-ops across Florida range from church-hosted enrichment mornings to graded academic co-ops and university-model schools, with sports and fine arts leagues in most metropolitan areas. Ask each group about its statement of faith and its commitment level before enrolling.
Field study that fills the gaps and the portfolio at once
Field study in Florida does two jobs: it covers science and social studies, which Faith Schooling does not publish, and it produces exactly the kind of dated, documented activity the portfolio is built from.
Categories worth planning around: space and applied science on the Space Coast; Spanish colonial history at St. Augustine; Everglades, wetland and freshwater spring ecology; Gulf and Atlantic marine biology; citrus, cattle and agricultural science; state government at the Capitol in Tallahassee, plus county and city civic institutions; and weather, hurricane and coastal geology study, which in Florida is practical as well as academic. Log each visit as it happens and file the child's write-up or drawings with the portfolio.
Before you rely on this page
This is a plain-language summary written to help you plan. It is not legal advice. Florida Statute § 1002.41 and your district school superintendent's office are the final word, and both the statute and district practice change; confirm anything that matters — particularly the evaluation options and their certification details — before you file.
Faith Schooling is a Christian K–5 curriculum publisher, not a school, and is not accredited. Its material is sold as one household All Access membership — $39 a month, or $299 for a founding first year and $349 a year after that — covering every child and every grade where the material exists. Everything in the Apostolic Academy is free.
Common questions
- What goes in a Florida home education portfolio?
- Two things under Fla. Stat. § 1002.41: a log of educational activities made contemporaneously with the instruction, designating by title any reading materials used; and samples of any writings, worksheets, workbooks or creative materials used or developed by the student. The parent determines the content, preserves it for two years, and makes it available for inspection on 15 days' written notice.
- When is the Florida notice of intent due?
- Within 30 days of establishing the home education program. The notice is written, signed by the parent, and goes to the district school superintendent of the county where the parent resides, giving the full legal names, addresses and birthdates of all children enrolled. When the program ends, written notice of termination is filed within 30 days, together with the annual evaluation.
- Does Florida require homeschoolers to teach specific subjects?
- Section 1002.41 sets no list of required subjects, no minimum hours and no minimum days, and states that a home education program is excluded from meeting the requirements of a school day. What it requires instead is documentation of educational activities and an annual evaluation showing progress commensurate with the student's ability. Most families teach a full range of subjects anyway.
- What form does the annual evaluation take?
- The parent selects one of five methods listed in s. 1002.41(1)(f): review by a Florida-certified teacher; a nationally normed achievement test administered by a certified teacher; a state assessment used by the district; evaluation by an individual licensed under s. 490.003(7) or (8); or any other valid measurement tool mutually agreed with the superintendent. The result is filed annually with the superintendent's office.
- What happens if the evaluation does not show progress?
- Under s. 1002.41(2) the superintendent notifies the parent in writing that progress commensurate with the student's ability has not been achieved. The parent then has one year from receipt of that notice to provide remedial instruction, after which the student is reevaluated. Continuation in the home education program depends on progress at the end of that probationary year.
- Can worksheets alone make up the portfolio?
- They can technically satisfy the work-samples element, but it is a weak portfolio. The practice library on this site holds more than 30,000 printable pages and exists to reinforce lessons — it is practice, never the curriculum. A portfolio of loose worksheets documents drill rather than a program. Keep completed textbook and workbook pages as the backbone and use practice sheets as reinforcement.
Sources
- Fla. Stat. § 1002.41 — home education programs (Florida Legislature, Online Sunshine) — checked 2026-08-31
- Florida Parent-Educators Association — Florida Statute 1002.41 — checked 2026-08-31
- Florida Parent-Educators Association — homeschooling starting point, support groups and convention — checked 2026-08-31