State guide
Homeschooling in Ohio: the annual notification and the six named subjects
Ohio home education now runs on a single notification. This page states exactly what the notice must contain and when it is due, lists the six subject areas the statute names, and maps Faith Schooling against them — including the four it does not publish.
Checked 31 August 2026
What does Ohio require to homeschool?
Ohio requires one thing: a notification to the superintendent of your child's district of residence. Under Ohio Revised Code § 3321.042 the notice gives your name and address, your child's name, and an assurance that the child will receive education in English language arts, mathematics, science, history, government and social studies. The exemption takes effect on receipt.
Ohio's requirements were rewritten by House Bill 33, effective 3 October 2023. Older guides still describe testing, assessment reports, hour counts, curriculum outlines and instructor qualifications. Those do not appear in the current section. Read the statute as it stands, and confirm anything that matters with your district superintendent's office.
| Requirement | What it means | Governing authority |
|---|---|---|
| Who it covers | Home education means the education of a child between six and eighteen years of age, directed by the child's parent. It does not include a child enrolled full time in a public or chartered nonpublic school. | R.C. § 3321.042(A) |
| Annual notification | Written notice to the superintendent of the child's school district of residence. | R.C. § 3321.042(C) |
| What the notice contains | The parent's name and address, the child's name, and an assurance that the child will receive education in the subject areas required under the section. Nothing more. | R.C. § 3321.042(C) |
| When it is due | Within five calendar days after commencing home education, moving into a new school district, or withdrawing from a public or nonpublic school — and by the thirtieth day of August each year thereafter. | R.C. § 3321.042(C) |
| Subject areas | English language arts, mathematics, science, history, government and social studies. | R.C. § 3321.042(B) |
| Effect and acknowledgment | The exemption is effective immediately upon receipt of the notice. The district superintendent provides written acknowledgment of receipt no later than fourteen calendar days after receiving it. | R.C. § 3321.042(C) |
| Returning to public school | A child enrolling in a public school after home education is placed in the appropriate grade level, without discrimination or prejudice, based on the district's policies. | R.C. § 3321.042(D) |
| Not stated in the section | No assessment, no testing, no portfolio, no minimum instructional hours, no curriculum outline and no instructor qualification. The section is also not subject to rules adopted by the department. | R.C. § 3321.042(E) |
The five-day rule and the 30 August date
Ohio's timing has two halves and both matter. The first notification is due within five calendar days of the triggering event — commencing home education, moving into a new district, or withdrawing a child from a public or nonpublic school. After that, the notification is due by the thirtieth day of August each year.
Five calendar days is short. If you are withdrawing a child mid-year, prepare the notice before the withdrawal so the two happen in close order. The notice goes to the superintendent of the district of residence, which is not always the district the child attended. Confirm the correct office and the accepted delivery method with the district before you send it, and keep the superintendent's written acknowledgment, which is due back to you within fourteen calendar days.
How Faith Schooling maps to the six named subject areas
Ohio's list is broad. It names English language arts, mathematics, science, history, government and social studies. Faith Schooling covers two of the six.
There is no way to present that as a better fit than it is. The publisher's own curriculum map says it is complete for reading and language arts, publishes a sequenced K–5 mathematics series that is still growing, and does not currently publish science or history programs. That leaves four of the six subject areas your annual notification assures the superintendent your child will receive.
| Named subject area | Faith Schooling material | Status |
|---|---|---|
| English language arts | Phonics, Decoding and Early Fluency — six full-year student texts (8,952 student pages) with teaching guides; 300 decodable readers, fifty per grade; Foundations to Fluency, 96 workbooks arranged by pattern; Phonics Lab; Learning Cursive, ten workbooks; the Grammar Garden browser game; language arts sets in the practice library | Covered |
| 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 underneath it | Sequenced and growing — each grade page lists exactly what exists now |
| Science | None published | You supply this |
| History | None published | You supply this |
| Government | None published | You supply this |
| Social studies | None published | You supply this |
The four subjects you supply are not optional
It would be easy to read Ohio's light procedure as light substance. The statute closes that door itself: if there is evidence that a child exempt under the section is not receiving an education in the required subject areas, the child may be subject to R.C. § 3321.19, the section dealing with investigation of a child's school attendance.
So the notification is an assurance about six subject areas, and four of them have to come from somewhere other than this publisher. Choose your science, history, government and social studies material before the school year begins, alongside the reading and mathematics spine, rather than intending to sort them out in October.
Planning a year when nobody counts the hours
The current section specifies no minimum instructional hours. That removes a compliance chore and replaces it with a planning responsibility: nothing external will tell you whether your year was substantial, so work it out yourself in August.
Faith Schooling publishes a time figure for two things. The Faith Readers Weekly Lessons show 10 to 15 minutes for a daily lesson and 50 to 75 minutes for a week, across 35 weeks per grade and 210 weekly sets from Kindergarten through Grade 5. Learning Cursive is published as 10 to 15 minutes a day. Everything else — reading beyond the lesson, mathematics and the four subjects you supply — carries no published time and is yours to schedule.
Keep a simple dated log even though Ohio does not ask for one. It tells you honestly whether the year is working, and it is the record you would want if a question ever arose.
Ohio associations and co-ops
Christian Home Educators of Ohio (CHEO) states that it has served as the state homeschool organization in Ohio since 1983. It publishes notification guidance and a set of frequently asked questions specifically on R.C. § 3321.042, which is the clearest plain-language reading of the 2023 changes available. Check CHEO for current events and dates.
Ohio co-ops range from church-hosted enrichment days to graded academic co-ops and university-model schools, alongside homeschool sports and fine arts leagues. Statements of faith, tuition and weekly commitment differ widely; ask directly before enrolling, and ask what the family is expected to teach or supervise at home between meetings.
Field study that covers what Faith Schooling does not
Because Ohio names science, history, government and social studies — and Faith Schooling publishes none of them — field study here is core coverage rather than enrichment.
Categories worth planning a year around: state government at the Capitol in Columbus, plus county courthouses and local council meetings for the government strand; the Hopewell and Adena earthworks and Ohio's Native American history; the Ohio and Erie Canal and nineteenth-century transport and industry; aviation heritage around Dayton; Lake Erie shoreline ecology and Great Lakes science; working farms, county fairs and agricultural science; and Underground Railroad sites across the southern half of the state. Write the visits up and keep the work with the year's records.
Before you rely on this page
This is a plain-language summary written to help you plan. It is not legal advice. Ohio Revised Code § 3321.042 and your district superintendent's office are the final word, and Ohio's requirements changed materially with House Bill 33, effective 3 October 2023 — which is why so much older guidance is wrong. Confirm anything that matters before you file.
Faith Schooling is a Christian K–5 curriculum publisher, not a school, and is not accredited. It publishes English language arts and a growing K–5 mathematics series, and nothing for science, history, government or social studies.
Common questions
- What has to be in the Ohio home education notification?
- Under Ohio Revised Code § 3321.042 the notice provides the parent's name and address, the child's name, and an assurance that the child will receive education in the subject areas the section requires. That is all the statute specifies — no curriculum outline, no textbook list, no instructor qualifications and no assessment report. It goes to the superintendent of the child's district of residence.
- When is the Ohio notification due?
- Within five calendar days after commencing home education, moving into a new school district, or withdrawing from a public or nonpublic school — and by the thirtieth day of August each year thereafter. The five-day window is short, so prepare the notice before a mid-year withdrawal. The superintendent must acknowledge receipt in writing within fourteen calendar days.
- Does Ohio still require homeschool testing or an assessment report?
- Ohio Revised Code § 3321.042 as currently written specifies no assessment, testing or portfolio requirement, and the section is not subject to rules adopted by the department. Ohio's requirements were rewritten by House Bill 33, effective 3 October 2023. Many older guides still describe testing and assessment reports and are out of date; read the current section and confirm practice with your district.
- Does Faith Schooling cover Ohio's six subject areas?
- It covers two. English language arts is covered through Phonics, Decoding and Early Fluency, Foundations to Fluency, Phonics Lab, Learning Cursive and the practice library's language arts sets. Mathematics is covered by Building Number Sense, which is sequenced and still growing. Science, history, government and social studies are not published here, so families supply four of the six named areas.
- Is there a minimum number of instructional hours in Ohio?
- The current statute specifies no minimum instructional hours for home education. That removes a compliance chore but leaves the planning entirely to you, so set your own daily and yearly targets in August and keep a dated log — for your own honest read on the year, not for the state. Note that the section still ties the exemption to the six named subject areas.
Sources
- Ohio Revised Code § 3321.042 — home education (effective 3 October 2023, House Bill 33) — checked 2026-08-31
- Christian Home Educators of Ohio — frequently asked questions on R.C. 3321.042 — checked 2026-08-31
- Christian Home Educators of Ohio (CHEO) — checked 2026-08-31