Homeschool in Regina: Registering with Regina Public Schools and What to Expect

Regina families choosing home-based education are often surprised by how manageable the process actually is — once they know which office to contact and what the division is actually asking for. The provincial regulations govern the framework, but Regina Public Schools implements them with its own forms, timelines, and reimbursement structure. This is what the provincial website doesn't tell you.

Your Two Registration Options in Regina

If you live in Regina, your home-based education registration goes through one of two school divisions:

• Regina Public Schools — the non-denominational public division serving most Regina addresses
• Regina Catholic Schools — for families who want to register within the Catholic system

Your address determines which division you belong to, and your registration goes to that division regardless of whether your child has been previously enrolled. If your child currently attends a Regina Public school, you withdraw from that school and register home-based education through Regina Public Schools at the same time.

The two divisions handle home-based education independently. The information in this post focuses primarily on Regina Public Schools, which is the larger division. Regina Catholic Schools has a similar structure — contact their student services office directly for their specific forms and current reimbursement terms.

Registering with Regina Public Schools

The home-based education registration process with Regina Public Schools involves:

1. Complete the Home-Based Education Plan. Saskatchewan's Home-Based Education Program Regulations 2015 require you to describe your philosophical approach and set out three broad annual goals per core subject: Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. This does not need to be a multi-page document. Two to three sentences per subject is typically sufficient.

2. Submit before August 15 for a September start. The provincial regulation requires the Notice of Intent to be submitted to the school division by August 15 for families starting at the beginning of the school year. Mid-year registrations require 30 days advance notice under the regulations — though in practice, Regina Public Schools typically processes mid-year requests promptly.

3. Withdraw your child from their current school. If your child is currently enrolled in a Regina school, notify the school in writing that your child is being withdrawn and that you are registering for home-based education. The school records the withdrawal and releases academic records to you on request. You do not need the school's permission to proceed.

4. Receive confirmation from the division. This is an acknowledgment of receipt, not an approval. Home-based education in Saskatchewan is a right of parents under the Education Act, 1995, not a privilege the division grants.

Regina Public Schools' $800 Curriculum Reimbursement

Regina Public Schools offers a curriculum reimbursement of approximately $800 per registered home-based education student — one of the higher amounts among Saskatchewan's 27 school divisions. Saskatoon Public Schools offers around $500; Prairie Spirit School Division prorates based on registration date.

The reimbursement works as follows:

• You purchase eligible curriculum materials throughout the school year
• You retain all receipts
• At the point specified by the division (often spring), you submit receipts for reimbursement
• The division reimburses up to the maximum amount for eligible purchases

Eligible expenses are curriculum-focused: textbooks, workbooks, structured learning programs, educational software subscriptions, science kits, and similar materials with a clear educational purpose. Office supplies, sports fees, and general household items do not qualify.

Confirm the current reimbursement amount and eligible categories when you register. Division budgets can shift year to year, and you want written documentation of what's covered before you start spending. Keep receipts from day one — even purchases made before formal confirmation can sometimes be submitted if they occurred after your registration date.

Writing Your Educational Plan

The educational plan is often the part that makes new families nervous. It shouldn't be. Regina Public Schools is not evaluating your pedagogical credentials. The regulation asks for:

• Your philosophical approach to home-based education (one paragraph is fine: "We use a classical approach focused on reading great literature and primary sources" or "We follow an interest-led model with structured work in core subjects each morning")
• Three broad annual goals per core subject — these are intentionally broad. A goal like "develop fluency with multiplication and division through Grade 4 level" or "read independently at age-appropriate level with comprehension" satisfies the requirement

You do not need to list specific resources, commit to a particular curriculum package, or prove you have teaching credentials. Saskatchewan law does not require homeschooling parents to hold a teaching certificate.

Annual Progress Reporting in Regina

At the end of the school year, Regina Public Schools requires an Annual Progress Report demonstrating what your child studied and that reasonable educational progress was made. This is not standardized testing. The division is not comparing your child against provincial curriculum benchmarks.

Most families submit:

• A written narrative describing what was covered in each subject area
• A reading list
• Samples of written work or projects
• Photos of hands-on learning activities

The easiest way to produce this report without stress is to keep a monthly log throughout the year. A simple document or notebook with notes on what you did each month takes 15 minutes to maintain and makes June's report a matter of cutting and pasting. Families who keep no records all year find the report far harder than it needs to be.

Saskatchewan home-based education families are not required to permit home visits by division staff. If you receive a request for an inspection or home visit, you can ask for the regulatory basis for that requirement — it doesn't exist in provincial regulation for home-based education families.

Withdrawing Mid-Year from a Regina School

The most common moment families contact Regina Public Schools about home-based education isn't August — it's mid-year, after something has gone wrong at school. Bullying that isn't being addressed, a child in crisis, a breakdown in special needs supports, or simply a family that has done enough research to know they want to make the switch now.

Regina Public Schools accepts mid-year registrations. The practical steps are identical to a September start, with one addition: you need to notify your child's current school in writing on the same day or before you submit your home-based education registration. The school closes out enrollment and stops marking absences. Without this written notification, the school continues tracking your child as enrolled and absent.

The written withdrawal notice is a short document: your child's name, the date of withdrawal, and a statement that you are registering for home-based education. That's all it needs to contain. Email to the principal is sufficient; you don't need a notarized letter or any formal documentation beyond this.

For families navigating mid-year withdrawal — particularly those dealing with a difficult school situation where the relationship with administration is strained — the Saskatchewan Legal Withdrawal Blueprint provides the withdrawal letter template, the exact regulatory language you're entitled to reference, and a checklist covering both the school notification and the division registration steps in the correct order.

Regina's Homeschool Community

Regina's home-based education community is smaller than Saskatoon's in absolute numbers but well-organized. Families here tend to know each other across a smaller pool of groups, which means new families typically get integrated quickly.

SHBE (Saskatchewan Home Based Educators) is the provincial organization and has Regina-area members. The $35 annual membership connects you to the broader provincial network and their convention.

Local Facebook groups ("Regina homeschool" or "Saskatchewan homeschool Regina") are the most active spaces for day-to-day questions, second-hand curriculum exchange, and co-op coordination. Regina families also have access to co-ops ranging from informal social meetups to structured subject-area groups at the high school level.

Prince Albert School Division families (about two hours north) are part of the same provincial framework with the same registration requirements, though their division-specific reimbursement amount and contact procedures differ. If you're in the Prince Albert area, contact the division's student services office directly — the provincial rules are identical, but the local implementation details vary.

University Pathways from Regina

The University of Regina has admitted home-educated students through a "Casual Student" validation pathway — a mechanism that allows students to demonstrate academic readiness through course performance rather than a conventional transcript. Contact the U of R admissions office in Grade 11 to understand the current process. The pathway exists and has been used, but it requires proactive planning on your part.

Sask DLC (Distance Learning Centre) is the option most Regina home-based families use to build an official high school transcript. Sask DLC offers provincially accredited courses online; your child can complete Sask DLC courses alongside your home-based program to accumulate the formal credits needed for a recognized Saskatchewan diploma.

Regina's location in the south of the province also gives families access to the Saskatchewan Polytechnic campus, which offers GED testing for students 18 and older and dual-credit opportunities for high school students in some programs.

The First Step

If you're ready to start, the practical sequence is: pull your child's division contact from the Regina Public Schools website, download or request the home-based education application form, draft your educational plan (it's shorter than you think it needs to be), and submit. If your child is currently enrolled, send the withdrawal letter to their school on the same day.

That's the complete administrative picture for getting started with home-based education in Regina.

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