Let’s take a look at the steps to start homeschooling in Delaware as a single-family homeschool:
- Get to know Delaware’s homeschool law. While the requirements are outlined in the following steps, it’s good to know where to find the law. That’s in 14 Delaware Code § 2703A and § 2704. It’s also good to know what isn’t in the law. Delaware allows you as the parent to experience more freedom in meeting your child’s individual needs and interests and to spend less time on paperwork and bureaucracy: There are no required subjects, no required number of school days, no required tests/assessments and no hoops for you to jump through as a teacher.
- Apply for an EdAccess Account. To have a homeschool, you need to register it with the Delaware Department of Education using their “EdAccess” system:
- Apply for an Account at https://ssoapply.doe.k12.de.us/#home and select “Nonpublic School Account” from the dropdown.
- Follow the account setup process that is emailed, including setting up Multi-Factor Authentication to be able to log into the account. The Department of Education describes this process at https://education.delaware.gov/families/k12/homeschools-and-private-schools/opening-a-nonpublic-school/
- Open your homeschool. Once you have an account, log into EdAccess at https://launchpad.classlink.com/ddoe and choose the “Nonpublic School Application” icon. Add your school and the various fields requested, including the children you are enrolling. After this, you’ll need to wait a few days, but likely not more than a week for the Department of Education to open your school.
- Download your acknowledgement letter. Once your school is open, log into EdAccess again and download your Acknowledgment Letter. Check that the info is correct and that each child is listed as “Enrolled”. Store it in a safe place.
- If you are withdrawing your child from a public or private school, use a copy of this letter to show that school that your child is enrolled in your homeschool.
- If you are withdrawing your child from a public or private school, use a copy of this letter to show that school that your child is enrolled in your homeschool.
- Set reminders for two annual tasks:
- Report attendance: At end of each school year, starting generally around the beginning of June and before July 31, log into EdAccess and report the number of days your homeschool was open (the number of days each child was enrolled) and the number of days each child attended. In the past, the Department of Education has emailed a notice when this reporting becomes available in June.
- Report enrollment: At the beginning of each school year after mid-August and before September 30, log into EdAccess to report which children are enrolled and their grade levels.
- While the Department of Education offers a function during attendance reporting to also enroll for the next year at the same time, it has not worked recently. Log in to ensure your children are listed as “Enrolled” in your expected grade level.
That’s it. Using the EdAccess system is typically the hardest part of the process. Once that is taken care of, you are free to homeschool as you like.
Besides a single-family homeschool, there is an option of a “multi-family homeschool” (sometimes called an “umbrella organization”) where several families work together and someone from the group performs the role of “liaison” with the state to handle the registration, attendance and enrollment reporting for the whole group. If you are considering joining a group, ask if it is a multi-family homeschool or if you still need to be a single-family homeschool.