2026–2027 Homeschool Laws and Requirements
How to Homeschool in Oregon
Yes, you can homeschool your child in Oregon. You do not need a teaching license or an approved curriculum; Oregon sets no subjects, no days and no hours, and you choose your books and your methods. Oregon asks two things: one written notice to your Education Service District when you begin, and a standardized test at the end of grades 3, 5, 8 and 10, given by a neutral tester, whose results stay with you unless the district asks.
Updated 9 October 2026 · Sources read 8 October 2026
Free printable guide
The Oregon homeschool quick reference, 2026–2027
One page to keep: what Oregon requires, the dates, and the official links, checked for the 2026–2027 school year. Open it here first, then download it.
What Oregon homeschool law requires
The whole list for the 2026–2027 school year, from ORS 339.010, 339.030 and 339.035 and the Department of Education's home schooling pages:
| Requirement | What Oregon asks | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|
| Notice | To your Education Service District (ESD) in writing, online or by mail, within 10 days of withdrawing your child from school or of the start of the school year. The ESD must acknowledge it in writing. It is a one-time notice: you file again only when you move to another ESD. | ORS 339.035; ODE, Information for Families |
| Subjects, hours, teacher | No required subjects, no curriculum approval, no days or hours and no teacher qualification. You may choose your own curriculum, with no duty to follow the state's standards. | ODE, Information for Families |
| Testing | At the end of grades 3, 5, 8 and 10, with the scores due by August 15: an approved nationally normed achievement test (the Iowa, Stanford or TerraNova batteries), given by a qualified neutral person not related to the child by blood or marriage, from the ESD's list. A family new to homeschooling has 18 months before the first test. You keep the scores and show them only if the ESD asks. | ORS 339.035; ODE, Information About Testing |
| Low scores and disabilities | A composite score below the 15th percentile means a retest within a year; the law provides further steps only if low scores repeat. A child with a disability may be evaluated under a privately developed plan instead of the test. | ORS 339.035 |
| Ages and diploma | Compulsory attendance from 6 (a sixth birthday on or before September 1) to 18. The state issues no diploma for a home school; you issue your own. | ORS 339.010; ODE |
ODE: information for families ODE: testing and homeschool testers
How to start homeschooling in Oregon
- Send a written notice to your Education Service District (ESD), online or by mail, within 10 days of withdrawing your child from school or of the start of the school year. The ESD must acknowledge it in writing; it is a one-time notice, filed again only when you move to another ESD.
- Withdraw your child from the school.
- Choose your materials. Oregon names no subjects, approves no curriculum and sets no duty to follow the state's standards; Faith Schooling's reading, language arts and mathematics programs give the year a sequence, and you add the rest.
- Plan the year. Oregon counts no days or hours; the free Homeschool Rhythm Builder turns your week into a printable plan.
- Arrange the test at the end of grades 3, 5, 8 and 10: an approved nationally normed achievement test (the Iowa, Stanford or TerraNova batteries), given by a qualified neutral person from the ESD's list who is not related to the child by blood or marriage, with the scores due by August 15. A family new to homeschooling has 18 months before the first test. Keep the scores and show them only if the ESD asks.
How Faith Schooling covers Oregon's requirements
Oregon sets no days or hours. A year of 36 weeks with four or five mornings a week is the common shape, and it is yours to set.
Oregon names no subjects and tests reading and arithmetic at the end of grades 3 and 5. Faith Schooling's programs are the reading and the arithmetic: a sequenced reading, language arts and mathematics textbook for every grade from Kindergarten to Grade 5 with teaching guides, so the skills a nationally normed test measures are the skills the year taught, in order. Science, social studies, health and the arts are yours to choose.
Oregon asks for the test scores at the end of grades 3, 5, 8 and 10, kept at home and shown only if the ESD asks. The dated, finished pages of each program are that record, and a HARVEST report is a placement note for the file.
- Reading
- Phonics, Decoding, and Early Fluency K–5 reading textbooks in four quarterly volumes a year, with complete teaching guides
- Language arts and writing
- Grammar Garden K–5 language and writing coursebooks, four a year, with Preceptor Guides
- Mathematics
- Building Number Sense K–5 mathematics textbooks; Kindergarten to Grade 2 add practice workbooks and teaching guides
- Everything else
- Your choice Oregon names no subjects; science, social studies, health and the arts are yours to choose
- Bible
- The Apostolic Academy not something Oregon requires; free: Scripture memory, Bible study and printables for the family
The curriculum map Phonics, Decoding, and Early Fluency Grammar Garden Building Number Sense HARVEST placement Homeschool Rhythm Builder
What Oregon does not require, and you should still do
- Place your child before grade 3. Oregon's first test comes at the end of third grade, or 18 months after you start; HARVEST, the free placement check, tells you at the start where your child stands in reading and math and names the grade and quarter to begin.
- Plan the year. Oregon counts no days or hours; the Homeschool Rhythm Builder turns your week into a printable plan.
- Keep the pages. Oregon asks only for the scores, but a dated stack of finished work is the record a school will want if your child ever returns, and the plainest answer if a score is ever low.
HARVEST free placement Homeschool Rhythm Builder The Apostolic Academy
Common questions
- What is required to homeschool in Oregon?
- A one-time notice to your Education Service District and an approved nationally normed test at the end of grades 3, 5, 8 and 10, with the scores kept at home. No required subjects, hours, curriculum approval or teacher qualification.
- How do I start homeschooling in Oregon?
- Notify your ESD within 10 days of withdrawing (or of the school year's start), keep its written acknowledgment, choose your materials, and note the first test date.
- Are standardized tests required for Oregon homeschoolers?
- Yes, at the end of grades 3, 5, 8 and 10: the Iowa, Stanford or TerraNova batteries, given by a qualified neutral person from the ESD's list, scores due by August 15 and kept at home. A composite below the 15th percentile means a retest within a year; a child with a disability may be evaluated under a privately developed plan instead.
- How many instructional hours does Oregon require?
- None. Oregon sets no days or hours.
- Can I homeschool kindergarten in Oregon?
- Yes. Compulsory attendance begins at six (a sixth birthday on or before September 1), so the notice is due from that year.
- Does Oregon give a homeschool diploma?
- No. The state issues none for a home school; you issue your own.
Official Oregon homeschool resources
Read from the state's own pages for the 2026–2027 school year on the date shown. The Oregon Revised Statutes, the administrative rules and the Department of Education are the final word; this page is a plain-language guide, not legal advice.
- ORS chapter 339 (2025 edition) — 339.010 compulsory attendance from 6 to 18; 339.030 the exemption for a child taught at home by a parent; 339.035 the notice to the ESD, its acknowledgment, the examinations at grades 3, 5, 8 and 10, the 15th percentile and the privately developed plan — checked 2026-10-08
- Oregon Department of Education — Home Schooling (the four pages: families, districts, testing, statutes and rules) — checked 2026-10-08
- Oregon Department of Education — Information for Families: the 10-day notice, your own curriculum, the testing grades, the August 15 date, the 18-month grace, the PDP — checked 2026-10-08
- Oregon Department of Education — Information About Testing and Homeschool Testers: the approved tests, who may give them, the disability exemption — checked 2026-10-08