Saskatchewan Homeschool Registration: How to Register with Your School Division

Most families who contact their school division about home-based education in Saskatchewan expect an approval process — a committee, a review, a decision. There isn't one. Registration in Saskatchewan is a notification, not an application for permission. Understanding that distinction will save you a lot of anxious waiting.

Here is exactly how to complete registration correctly, what your submission needs to include, and what happens after you send it.

Which School Division Do You Register With?

Saskatchewan has 27 school divisions, and your registration goes to the one that covers your home address — not necessarily the division your child currently attends. Most families are served by their regional public school division, but there are two other options:

• A Catholic separate school division — if you want your home-based education registered within the Catholic system
• A conseil scolaire — if French is your language of instruction and you fall within a Francophone school division boundary

Your local school division's office can confirm coverage for your address. If your child is currently enrolled, you'll withdraw from their current school and register home-based education with the appropriate division — these are often the same division, but not always.

A designated official within each division manages home-based education registrations. This is not the school principal, not your child's classroom teacher. Contact the division office directly and ask for the home-based education coordinator or designated official.

What the Registration Requires

Saskatchewan's home-based education registration notice is called a Notice of Intent (a division may use its own form or label). Across the divisions, the required information includes:

Student information:

• Full legal name
• Gender
• Date of birth
• Previous school or educational history (if applicable)

Parent/guardian information:

• Names
• Home address
• Phone number

Educational program description: This is where families put the most effort, often unnecessarily. You are not submitting a detailed curriculum. You are not being evaluated by a specialist. Your Written Educational Plan should state the reason and philosophical approach, include at least three broad annual goals for each of Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies, and outline the educational activities, instructional methods, learning resources, and means of assessing and recording progress.

Example of a sufficient description for mathematics: "We will use Singapore Math Primary through to Grade 8, supplemented with Khan Academy for additional practice and hands-on problem-solving activities." That is sufficient as the mathematics portion; the full plan still covers the other required elements. Divisions are not evaluating pedagogical sophistication — they are confirming that the required information is present.

Submitting the Notice of Intent

Submit directly to your school division's designated home-based education contact. Most divisions accept:

• Email with attached form
• Fax (some older divisions still list fax numbers as primary)
• In-person drop-off at the division office

Do not submit to the school your child currently attends. The school office typically redirects you to the division anyway, which creates delays. Go to the source.

After submission, the division will acknowledge receipt. For a program beginning with the school year, you do not need to wait for an approval decision. For a mid-year start, the 30-day notice period applies; during that window, families technically remain subject to compulsory attendance, although divisions may expedite registration when the paperwork is complete.

If you are simultaneously withdrawing a child from an enrolled school, provide the school with written withdrawal notice at the same time you submit the Notice of Intent to the division. Ask the school to transfer your child's cumulative record to the home-based education program. You do not need their consent.

What Happens After You Register

Once registered for the school year, your obligations are:

1. Provide home-based education under the registered program.
2. Maintain a periodic log and submit an Annual Progress Report at the end of the school year. The report includes either a portfolio of work or standardized-test results. Testing is optional, but the division must make standardized testing available if you request it.

The division's designated official may contact you during the year with questions, but routine check-ins are uncommon. Saskatchewan's framework is light-touch: submit your Notice of Intent, teach your child, report at year-end.

Funding

Saskatchewan does not provide provincial home-based education grants to all families the way Alberta does. However, several individual school divisions offer reimbursement programs for curriculum materials:

• Regina Public Schools — up to $800 per elementary student (funding tied to a September 15 deadline)
• Saskatoon Public Schools — up to $500 specifically for technology, with other curriculum-material support governed by division rules
• Prairie Spirit School Division — prorated funding, with a March 1 cutoff for new registrants
• Northwest School Division — up to $750 reimbursement model

These amounts and deadlines change. Confirm current figures directly with your division when you register. Funding is tied to registration with that specific division, so if you live in a division offering reimbursement, there is a real financial reason to complete registration correctly and on time.

Common Registration Mistakes

Waiting for formal approval before starting. The division registers, it does not approve the educational approach. For a start-of-year program, follow the applicable school-year start date; for a mid-year program, the 30-day notice period applies before commencement.

Submitting to the school instead of the division. Schools aren't set up to process home-based education registrations. You'll lose time in the redirect.

Writing an overly elaborate educational plan. A concise plan with the required broad goals, activities, methods, resources, and assessment approach is sufficient. Detailed scope-and-sequence documents, daily schedules, and learning outcome lists are not required and don't improve your application's standing.

Missing division-specific deadlines for funding. The provincial Aug 15 deadline governs the upcoming academic year, while the 30-day notice rule applies to mid-year starts. Division funding deadlines (which vary) govern reimbursement eligibility. These are separate — missing a funding deadline does not automatically forfeit the legal right to homeschool when a reasonable attempt to comply was made, but it can cost you money.

If you want to make sure you're following Saskatchewan's requirements exactly — including what to write in the educational plan, how to handle a mid-year withdrawal, and what the Annual Progress Report needs to include — the Saskatchewan Legal Withdrawal Blueprint walks through each step with ready-to-use templates.

The Short Version

Registration in Saskatchewan means: find your school division, complete the Notice of Intent with the required student/parent information and Written Educational Plan, and submit it to the division's designated official. The Aug 15 deadline applies to the upcoming academic year. Mid-year families have a 30-day notice window. No approval of your educational approach is required.

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