Indiana State Legislature
Indiana Code IC 20-8.1-3-17 Compulsory Attendance Statute
Private Education: Home Schooling on the DOE website
Indiana Home Schooling
Compulsory School Age
Compulsory attendance - Between 7
and 18 years of age (with parental consent, 16).
Teacher certification required - No
Indiana law requires homeschoolers
to provide 180 days of instruction and keep attendance
records, though there is no special form for these records,
which are, as the code states, "kept solely to verify the
enrollment and attendance of any particular child upon
request of the state superintendent of public instruction."
Homeschools must provide instruction equivalent to that
given in the public schools, but, as stated on the DOE
website, "state law does not define equivalency of
instruction." Further, "state law exempts home schools from
the curriculum and program requirements which public schools
must follow."
Required number of hours per day per year - Equal to the
public schools.
- You must teach in English.
- You shall furnish to the state superintendent of
schools (if they request it) the number of children by
grade level that you are teaching.
- You must keep attendance records, solely to verify
the enrollment and attendance of the particular child
upon request of the state or the local school.
- The schools have no authority to approve or
disapprove your homeschool.
- These laws are protected by case laws and
legislative statute. There are no teacher qualifications
and standardized testing is not mandatory. A home school
is legally considered a private school.
Indiana Code 20-8.1-3-23
Enacted 1973
Amended 1991
(a) An accurate daily record of the attendance of each
child who is subject to compulsory school attendance under
section 17 of this chapter shall be kept by every public and
private school.
(b) In a public school, the record shall be open at all
times for inspection by attendance officers, school
officials, and agents of the department of labor. Every
teacher shall answer fully all lawful inquiries made by an
attendance officer, school official, or agent of the
department of labor.
(c) In a private school, the record shall be required to
be kept solely to verify the enrollment and attendance of
any particular child upon request of the state
superintendent of public instruction or the superintendent
of the school corporation in which the private school is
located.
Indiana Code 20-8.1-3-24
Enacted 1973
Amended 1991
(a) Each principal and teacher in every public school
that is attended by any children who are subject to the
compulsory school attendance laws under section 17 of this
chapter shall furnish, on request of the superintendent of
the district in which they are employed, a list of names,
addresses, and ages of all minors attending their school.
When a pupil withdraws from school, they shall immediately
report to the superintendent his name and address and the
date of his withdrawal.
(b) Each principal or school administrator in every
private school that is attended by any children who are
subject to the compulsory school attendance laws under
section 17 of this chapter shall furnish, on request of the
state superintendent of public instruction, the number of
children by grade level attending the school. When a
pupil withdraws from school, and no public or other private
school has requested the pupil's educational records within
fifteen (15) school days after the date the pupil withdrew
from school, then the private school shall report to the
state superintendent of public instruction or the
superintendent of the school corporation in which the
private school is located, the name and address of the pupil
and the date he withdrew from school.
