How to Start Homeschooling in Delaware

Delaware has roughly 3,920 homeschool students — about 2.67% of the student population — and the number has grown steadily since 2020. If you're thinking about pulling your child out of public school, you've probably already discovered that Delaware has some of the least burdensome homeschool requirements in the country. No curriculum approval. No portfolio reviews. No state-administered tests.

What there is: a specific two-step registration process that most first-time families get wrong, and five required subject areas that you need to cover. Get those two things right, and you're operating fully within the law from day one.

Step 1: Understand Delaware's Legal Framework

Delaware classifies homeschools as "nonpublic schools" under 14 Del. Code §2703A. This is the statutory foundation for everything. You're not getting a special exception or a waiver — you are operating a nonpublic school in your home, with the same legal standing as any other nonpublic institution in the state.

This classification matters because it means the public school district does not supervise your homeschool once you've withdrawn. The district has no authority to approve your curriculum, review your records, or evaluate your child's progress. The Department of Education (DDOE) does not require a minimum number of instructional days. Nonpublic schools do report initial enrollment annually and end-of-year attendance, and many families use a 180-day calendar as an optional planning benchmark.

The compulsory attendance law (14 Del. Code §2701) covers children from age 5 by August 31 of the school year through age 16. Once your child is enrolled in your nonpublic homeschool, the compulsory attendance requirement is satisfied.

Step 2: Complete EdAccess Registration

EdAccess is Delaware's state portal for nonpublic schools, including homeschools. This is the first step before you present withdrawal paperwork to the current school.

Creating an account and registering your homeschool through EdAccess establishes your family's legal record at the state level. This registration:

• Creates an official record that your child attends a nonpublic school
• Protects you from truancy complaints originating from state-level inquiries
• Requires initial enrollment reporting to DDOE by September 30 each academic year

The EdAccess registration asks for basic information: your name, the names and ages of children you're homeschooling, and your school year start date. You don't need to list curriculum materials, submit a plan, or get any approval.

After DDOE processes the submission, EdAccess generates an official Acknowledgment Letter. Keep a copy; you will present it to the current school to complete the withdrawal.

Step 3: Send a Formal Withdrawal Notice to the Current School

This is the step that catches families off guard — and the most common reason Delaware homeschoolers receive truancy letters.

EdAccess registers your child with the state. It does not automatically complete the current-school withdrawal. If you registered on EdAccess but never presented the Acknowledgment Letter and written notice to the school, your child can still appear as an absent enrolled student in the school's system.

You need to send a separate written withdrawal notice directly to your child's current school administration. The notice should:

• State your child's full name, grade, and date of birth
• Clearly state that you are withdrawing your child to enroll in a nonpublic homeschool
• Reference Delaware's nonpublic-school classification (14 Del. Code §2703A) if you want to preempt any pushback
• Include the date the withdrawal takes effect

Send this by email so you have a timestamped paper trail, or mail it certified return receipt. The school is not being asked to "approve" your withdrawal — you're notifying it, not asking permission.

Step 4: Know the Five Required Subjects

Delaware requires homeschools to provide instruction in five subject areas:

1. Reading
2. Writing
3. Mathematics
4. Science
5. Social Studies

That's the complete list. There's no state definition of what counts as covering these subjects, no required number of hours per week, no assessment that proves mastery. You decide how you teach them and what materials you use.

This gives you broad freedom — classical, Charlotte Mason, unit study, all-in-one curriculum packages, or a mix — without any approval step. The five subjects are the floor, not a ceiling.

What You Don't Have to Do in Delaware

Understanding what's not required is just as useful as knowing what is:

No curriculum submission. You don't need to share your curriculum plan with the district or the state.

No portfolio reviews. Many states require periodic portfolio reviews by district officials or approved evaluators. Delaware does not.

No standardized testing. Delaware homeschoolers are not required to take state standardized tests or submit test scores.

No minimum instructional days. The 180-day figure is a common optional planning benchmark, not an enforcement requirement. DDOE does not audit whether you hit a day count.

No teaching credentials. You don't need a teaching degree or certification to homeschool in Delaware.

No annual approval. After you complete the required annual enrollment reporting, there's no ongoing approval process.

High School and Transcripts

Delaware parents have full authority to issue their own homeschool diplomas and transcripts. There's no state template required and no district sign-off needed. This means you control what goes on the transcript — course titles, grade weights, GPA calculation.

For college-bound students, this matters enormously. Delaware's SEED Scholarship covers tuition at Delaware Technical Community College (DTCC) for students with a 2.5 GPA, and the Inspire Scholarship covers full tuition at Delaware State University (DSU) for students maintaining a 2.75 GPA. Both programs accept homeschool transcripts — you'll just need to document that the grades on the transcript reflect real coursework.

Students planning for four-year colleges should also consider the SAT or ACT as an objective benchmark, since many admissions offices use standardized test scores to anchor their review of homeschool transcripts.

Charter School Families

About 10% of Delaware students are enrolled in charter schools, and charter exits into homeschooling follow the same process as traditional public school withdrawals. Complete EdAccess registration and obtain the Acknowledgment Letter first, then present it with the formal written withdrawal to the charter. The charter school doesn't have any additional authority to delay or review your withdrawal — the same statute applies.

Sports and Activities

Delaware's DIAA (Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association) bars homeschool students from participating in public school sports. This is one of Delaware's genuine limitations compared to states that allow dual enrollment for athletics. If athletic participation is a priority, look at private league options, club sports, and homeschool co-op athletic programs. DHEA (Delaware Home Education Association) maintains a list of co-op resources.

Getting the Paperwork Right

The legal framework in Delaware is genuinely simple. The part where families run into trouble is the paperwork — specifically, knowing exactly what to say in your EdAccess registration, what to include in your school withdrawal letter, and what to do if the school's attendance office calls you anyway.

The Delaware Legal Withdrawal Blueprint covers the full process in detail: the EdAccess step-by-step, the exact language for your withdrawal letter, a compliance record template, and a pushback script for when school staff try to make the process harder than it is. If you want to start with confidence and avoid the truancy letter scenario, that's the starting point.

Delaware makes homeschooling genuinely accessible — you just have to know the two steps.

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