Homeschool in Saskatoon: Registration, Funding, and Local Resources

Saskatoon families looking to home-educate have a choice most Saskatchewan families don't: two school divisions serve the city, each with its own registration process and funding program. Picking the right one matters — not just for the paperwork, but for the money you're leaving on the table if you don't apply in time.

Here's what you need to know about starting home-based education in Saskatoon specifically.

Which Division Do You Register With?

Saskatoon is served by two school divisions:

• Saskatoon Public School Division (SPSD) — the public secular option, serving the majority of Saskatoon addresses
• Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools (GSCS) — the Catholic separate division

You are not required to register with the division your child currently attends. You can register with either division regardless of where your child is currently enrolled, provided your home address falls within its geographic boundaries.

For most Saskatoon addresses, both divisions serve the same area. The choice comes down to personal preference, philosophical alignment, and which division's support services better match what you're looking for.

If French is your primary language of instruction, the Conseil des écoles fransaskoises serves Francophone families across Saskatchewan, including Saskatoon.

How to Register: The Core Requirements

Saskatchewan's home-based education is governed by The Education Act, 1995 and the Home-Based Education Program Regulations, 2015. Both Saskatoon divisions follow the same provincial requirements.

Deadline: August 15 for a September start. If you're withdrawing mid-year, you give 30 days' notice before your intended start date.

Your registration package has two parts:

Home-Based Education Application form — available from your division's office or website. It asks for student information, grade level, and parent/guardian contact details.

Written Educational Plan — this is what most families overthink. The regulations require:

• A statement of your philosophical approach (a paragraph is enough — describe your general method)
• At least three broad annual goals each for Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies
• The activities, methods, and resources you'll use
• How you'll assess your child's progress

You do not need daily lesson plans, a scope-and-sequence document, or alignment with the provincial curriculum. The plan is a declaration of your intent, not a syllabus.

Contact the home-based education coordinator at your chosen division's office — not the school principal, not a classroom teacher — to request the form and confirm the submission process.

Withdrawing Your Child From Their Current Saskatoon School

If your child is currently enrolled in a Saskatoon school, you withdraw them in writing at the same time you register for home-based education. You do not need the school's permission.

Send a short written notice to the school stating that your child will no longer be attending and requesting that their records be transferred to you. The school is legally required to release those records.

Some Saskatoon families encounter pushback at this stage — a principal who wants to "discuss your decision" or a school secretary who tells you the process takes longer than it does. You're not obligated to attend any meeting or wait for school approval. Your registration with the division is what matters legally, not the school's acknowledgment.

Funding Available in Saskatoon

Saskatoon Public School Division offers approximately $500 per student toward technology and curriculum resources for registered home-based families. This is not provincial funding — it comes from the division's own budget and is available to families registered with SPSD.

To access this funding:

• Be registered with SPSD as a home-based education family
• Submit the funding application by the division's deadline (confirm the current deadline with SPSD directly — it varies year to year)
• Keep receipts for eligible purchases (curriculum materials, educational software, books, equipment)
• Submit your receipts for reimbursement

Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools — contact GSCS directly to ask about current home-based education funding. Division programs change annually, and the amounts aren't published consistently online.

Neither division's funding is guaranteed to continue at the same level year over year, so confirm amounts and deadlines each fall before committing to purchases.

Annual Reporting: What You Owe the Division at Year-End

At the end of each school year, you submit an Annual Progress Report to your division. Two options:

Portfolio — a collection of your child's work across the core subject areas. There's no prescribed format. A selection of writing pieces, math work, science projects, and anything else that shows what your child learned is standard. A brief narrative describing what you covered and how your child progressed over the year is often included.

Standardized test results — divisions must make standardized testing available to home-based families who request it. If you prefer this option, those results fulfill the reporting requirement.

Most Saskatoon families submit portfolios. Testing is available but never mandatory.

Online Courses and Sask DLC

The Saskatchewan Distance Learning Centre (Sask DLC) offers online courses that home-based students can take. The rule: taking 1 or 2 courses keeps you within the home-based education framework. Taking 3 or more courses reclassifies your child as an institutional student for that year, which affects your home-based status.

This is relevant for high school students in Saskatoon who want to supplement their home program with online science, French, or elective credits. Keep the Sask DLC enrolment to two courses or fewer per year to maintain your home-based standing.

Local Support in Saskatoon

Saskatchewan Home Based Educators (SHBE) is the provincial support organization. Membership is $35 per year. SHBE runs the largest annual homeschool convention in the province and maintains a directory of families by region. For Saskatoon families, this is the primary way to find local co-ops, field trip groups, and families using similar approaches.

Saskatoon has an active home-based education community. Once you're registered and connected with SHBE, you'll find groups organized around particular methods (Charlotte Mason, classical, interest-led), age groups, and subject areas. Many families run informal co-ops where parents take turns teaching specific subjects to small groups.

What the Process Looks Like in Practice

A typical Saskatoon family registering for the first time:

1. Contacts their chosen division office in July or early August
2. Requests the Home-Based Education Application and asks for the funding application at the same time
3. Writes a one-to-two page educational plan covering the four required subject areas
4. Submits both before August 15
5. Receives acknowledgment from the division
6. Begins their home program in September
7. Puts aside samples of work throughout the year for the annual portfolio

The whole registration process takes a few hours of actual work. Most of the time families spend on it is in the planning and second-guessing stage — the filing itself is straightforward.

If you want the full withdrawal package for Saskatchewan — covering the withdrawal letter, Notice of Intent template, and Written Educational Plan framework — the Saskatchewan Legal Withdrawal Blueprint is built specifically for families going through this process.

Common Questions for Saskatoon Families

Can I register with a division outside Saskatoon? Generally no — registration is tied to your home address. Your address determines which division serves you.

Does my child need to take provincial assessments? No. Saskatchewan does not require home-based students to take provincial standardized tests. Divisions must make testing available if you request it, but you're not obligated to use it.

What if we move to a different part of Saskatoon? If you move to an address served by a different division, you'll need to re-register with the new division at the start of the next school year.

Can I pull my child mid-year? Yes. Mid-year withdrawals follow the same process — 30 days' notice to the division before your start date, and a written withdrawal notice to the school.

Saskatoon's home-based education community is large enough that you'll find families in every neighbourhood doing something similar. The paperwork is manageable, the funding offsets real costs, and the division staff, in most cases, are accustomed to processing these applications.

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