Homeschool Affidavit PA: What to Include and How to File It Right

Pennsylvania's homeschool affidavit is not optional, and it is not a formality. Under 24 PA C.S. §13-1327.1, the affidavit — or its legal equivalent, an unsworn declaration under penalty of perjury — is the document that activates your legal right to operate a home education program. File it incorrectly, file it late, or omit a required element, and the district has grounds to question whether your program is lawfully operating at all.

The good news is that once you know exactly what the law requires, the filing is straightforward. Pennsylvania is a high-regulation state for homeschooling — 44,692 students were officially enrolled in home education programs in the 2024-2025 academic year, a 72% increase over 2019-2020 — but the affidavit itself covers a fixed checklist. This guide walks through every required element and the most common mistakes families make when submitting it.

What the Pennsylvania Homeschool Affidavit Actually Is

The affidavit is a sworn statement filed with the superintendent of your local school district. It notifies the district that you are establishing or continuing a home education program. In Pennsylvania, you do not need district approval to homeschool — you only need to notify the superintendent. The affidavit is that notification.

There are two legally equivalent forms:

1. A notarized affidavit — sworn before a notary public.
2. An unsworn declaration under penalty of perjury — signed and dated by the supervisor, without a notary, but carrying the same legal weight under Pennsylvania law.

Most families use the notarized version because many district offices expect it and some administrators are unfamiliar with the unsworn declaration option. Either is legally valid under the statute. If your district insists the notarized form is the only acceptable form, that is incorrect, but it may not be a fight worth having with your local office.

When to File

The affidavit must be filed before you begin your home education program. After the first year, it must be refiled annually — the statute's implied deadline aligns with the district's back-to-school cycle, and most districts expect it by August 1 each year before the upcoming school year begins.

If you withdraw your child from public school mid-year, you must file the affidavit at that point rather than waiting for the fall. Districts cannot lawfully demand that you wait until the traditional start of the school year.

The Eight Required Elements

The law is explicit about what the affidavit must contain. A submission that is missing any of these elements can be rejected by the district. Here is what 24 PA C.S. §13-1327.1 requires:

1. Supervisor's name The supervisor is the parent, guardian, or legal custodian responsible for the home education program. You must hold a high school diploma or its equivalent to serve as supervisor. The affidavit must identify you by name.

2. Student's name and age Every child covered by the affidavit must be listed. If you are homeschooling multiple children, list each one.

3. Address and telephone number of the home education site This is typically your home address. If instruction takes place elsewhere — at a co-op location, for example — clarify this in your records, though the home address is the standard and expected answer.

4. Assurance of English-language instruction The affidavit must include a statement confirming that instruction will be provided in the English language. This does not prohibit you from teaching foreign languages or from being a bilingual household; it simply means English is the primary language of instruction.

5. An outline of proposed educational objectives by subject area This is consistently the element that causes the most unnecessary anxiety. The statute requires an outline of what you intend to teach. Critically, it also explicitly states that this outline "shall not be utilized by the superintendent in determining if the home education program is out of compliance."

In plain terms: the outline is a bureaucratic placeholder. A brief list of subject areas — English, mathematics, science, history, health, art, music, physical education — satisfies the requirement. You are not bound to teach exactly what you list, and the district cannot use this outline to challenge your program.

6. Evidence of immunization or valid exemption You must attach documentation showing that your child has received the immunizations required for school-age children, or that a valid medical, religious, or philosophical exemption is on file. Pennsylvania allows all three exemption types.

7. Evidence of required health and medical services This includes evidence of vision and hearing screenings as required by Article XIV of the Pennsylvania School Code. Dental exams may also be required at specific grades. Your child's pediatrician visit records typically cover this. The district can only ask for what the law specifies — not blanket medical history.

8. Certification regarding criminal history The supervisor must certify that no adult living in the home has been convicted of certain criminal offenses within the past five years. This is a self-certification in the affidavit itself; you are not required to obtain or submit a formal criminal background check.

What the District Cannot Demand

This is where many families run into trouble — not from anything they did wrong, but from districts demanding more than the law requires.

Under Act 196 of 2014, the district superintendent no longer reviews or approves your educational portfolio. That role now belongs entirely to a private, qualified evaluator of your choice. Many district offices — particularly in rural areas that were doing things the old way before 2014 — still attempt to demand documents they are not entitled to see.

The district cannot lawfully require:

• A copy of the parent supervisor's high school diploma (the affidavit is your self-certification)
• The child's birth certificate beyond what is needed to confirm age
• Detailed medical histories beyond the specific screenings mandated by Article XIV
• Access to your educational portfolio or any work samples
• Standardized test scores
• A list of evaluators selected from a district-approved roster
• Proof of curriculum purchases or lesson plans

If a district demands these items before accepting your affidavit, you can respond in writing citing the relevant statute. The PA Department of Education's guidance and advocacy organizations such as the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and the Pennsylvania Homeschoolers Accreditation Agency (PHAA) provide resources for families facing district overreach.

After You File: What Comes Next

Filing the affidavit is the start of your annual compliance cycle, not the end. Pennsylvania's law then requires:

• 180 days or 900/990 hours of instruction (900 hours for elementary grades K-6; 990 hours for secondary grades 7-12)
• A contemporaneous log listing reading materials by title, maintained throughout the year
• Work samples from each required subject area
• Standardized testing in grades 3, 5, and 8 in reading, language arts, and mathematics
• An annual portfolio review by a qualified evaluator, with the evaluator's certification letter submitted to the district superintendent by June 30

The evaluator's letter is the only document the superintendent receives at the end of the year. It simply states that an appropriate home education program is being conducted. The portfolio itself stays in your possession.

Keeping Your Records Ready

One practical mistake families make is treating the affidavit as a one-time filing and then losing track of the documentation that must back it up throughout the year. The health and immunization records you attach to the affidavit, the criminal history certification, the educational objectives — these should be kept in your records alongside your portfolio materials.

If the district ever challenges your program — which they may do by certified mail if they have a "reasonable belief" that appropriate education is not occurring — having clean, organized records is your first line of defense. You have 30 days to respond to a compliance challenge with your evaluator's certification.

Building a well-organized portfolio from day one makes the annual evaluator review straightforward and ensures you are never scrambling to reconstruct records in response to district pressure.

If you want a complete system for managing all of Pennsylvania's documentation requirements — from the contemporaneous reading log to grade-banded work sample frameworks and evaluator-ready portfolio assembly — the Pennsylvania Portfolio & Assessment Templates provides fillable PDF templates designed specifically for 24 PA C.S. §13-1327.1 compliance.

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