Colorado Homeschool Immunization Requirements: What You Must Keep on File

When you withdraw your child from a Colorado public or private school and begin a home-based educational program, the school no longer controls your child's immunization records. Those records belong to you — and the state's home education statute requires that you keep them. What it does not require is that you submit them anywhere on a routine basis or that your child be vaccinated at all.

Here is the precise legal picture.

What the Law Actually Says

Under C.R.S. §22-33-104.5, parents operating a nonpublic home-based educational program must maintain immunization records on a permanent basis. The statute groups immunization records alongside two other required document categories: attendance records and assessment results (standardized test scores or portfolio evaluation letters from odd-year testing).

The requirement is to retain the records — not to submit them to the Colorado Department of Education, not to report them annually to your school district, and not to have your child's vaccination status reviewed by any district official unless specific legal circumstances arise.

Exemptions Are Available

Colorado allows parents to opt out of vaccination requirements through two types of exemptions:

Medical exemption: A licensed physician certifies that a specific vaccine or vaccines are medically contraindicated for the child. The written certification from the physician substitutes for the vaccination record for the exempted vaccines.

Non-medical exemption (religious or personal belief): Colorado is one of a minority of states that allows non-medical exemptions from immunization requirements. Parents who have a religious or personal belief objection to vaccination can document this through a signed Certificate of Exemption. As of recent Colorado law, completing an online educational module about vaccine-preventable diseases is required before the non-medical exemption certificate is issued by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).

For homeschooling purposes, if you have a valid exemption on file, that document serves as the immunization record you are required to retain. The exemption does not expire or require annual renewal for the purpose of your home education program's record-keeping obligations.

Who Can Request Your Records and When

The same procedural protection that applies to your attendance logs applies to your immunization records. A district superintendent cannot demand to inspect your home-based program's records arbitrarily. The statute requires 14 days written notice and probable cause to believe the program is violating state guidelines before any demand for records can be made.

In practice, routine immunization record requests from school districts to homeschool families are uncommon. The situation where immunization status becomes immediately relevant is when a homeschooled child participates in a public school activity — joining a sports team under CHSAA eligibility, taking part-time classes through the district, or enrolling in a concurrent enrollment program at a local community college. In those cases, the public institution may require proof of vaccination or an exemption certificate as a condition of participation, just as they would for any enrolled student.

Transferring Records When You Withdraw

When you formally withdraw your child from a public school, the school will typically offer to transfer academic records. Vaccination records maintained by the school nurse's office may or may not be automatically included in what the school sends you. Request them explicitly in your withdrawal communication if you want the school's copy.

Having the school's immunization records in hand before you withdraw simplifies your own record-keeping. You'll have a complete documented history in one place without needing to reconstruct it from pediatrician records later.

If your child is currently enrolled in a private school with its own immunization documentation practices, review the school's policy on records release when you provide notice of withdrawal. Private schools generally cooperate with records requests, but some have their own procedures for releasing health records that differ from the public school process.

Practical Record-Keeping Setup

For a homeschool program's permanent files, the immunization component is the simplest to organize. You need one of the following:

• A copy of your child's complete immunization record from the school or pediatrician
• The physician's written medical exemption certificate
• The CDPHE-issued non-medical exemption certificate

Store this document alongside your attendance logs and assessment records. These three categories together make up your complete compliance file under Colorado's home-based education statute. None of them are submitted anywhere on a regular schedule — they are retained at home and produced only if a district ever establishes the legal threshold for requesting records.

Keeping Records Current Over Multi-Year Homeschooling

One aspect that trips up families who homeschool for several years: immunization schedules continue. Booster shots, adolescent vaccines like Tdap and meningococcal, and any new recommendations that come into effect during your homeschool years need to be added to your records as they happen.

Your pediatrician maintains the authoritative immunization record and can print a copy at any appointment. Make it a habit to request an updated copy annually or after any vaccination appointment and file it in your homeschool records. This ensures that when you need current documentation — for a sports physical, concurrent enrollment, or re-enrollment — you're not scrambling to contact the pediatrician's office under time pressure.

For families using the CDPHE online immunization record system (CIIS — Colorado Immunization Information System), parents can request access to view and print their child's records directly through the state portal. This provides an independent verification source that doesn't depend on the school or pediatrician providing records on demand.

When Immunization Status Becomes Relevant to Re-Enrollment

If you ever re-enroll your child in a public or private school after homeschooling, the school will request current immunization records or a valid exemption at that time. A gap in school-administered immunization tracking during your homeschool years is normal and does not create problems during re-enrollment, as long as you can document current status through your own records or your child's pediatrician.

For a full overview of what your home-based program's compliance file needs to include — covering the Notice of Intent, attendance logs, assessment requirements, and immunization records — the Colorado Legal Withdrawal Blueprint organizes all three statutory record categories into one actionable framework.

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