Saskatoon Public Schools Homeschool Registration: What You Need to Know

If you live in Saskatoon and choose public registration for home-based education, your registration goes to Saskatoon Public Schools — not the province, not the Ministry of Education. Saskatoon Public Schools is your registering authority under Saskatchewan's home-based education framework, and the division has its own application process, reimbursement program, and access to a designated home-based teacher for remedial instruction planning.

Here is what you actually need to do to register correctly with Saskatoon Public Schools and access the division's curriculum support funding.

Saskatoon Public Schools Is Your Registering Authority

Saskatchewan has 27 school divisions, and home-based education registration is local — you register with the division that covers your home address, regardless of which school your child previously attended.

For most Saskatoon families, that means Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools or Saskatoon Public Schools (Saskatoon School Division No. 13), depending on whether you want your registration in the public or separate school system. This post covers Saskatoon Public.

If you live just outside the city limits, you may fall within a different division — Living Sky School Division, Prairie Spirit School Division, or another regional division. Confirm your division before you submit anything.

What Saskatchewan Law Requires You to Submit

Registration with Saskatoon Public Schools, like all Saskatchewan divisions, must satisfy the province's Home-Based Education Program Regulations, 2015. You are required to submit:

1. Notice of Intent A written notification to the division stating your intention to operate a home-based education program. It must include:

• Each student's full legal name, gender, and date of birth
• The name of the last school attended and the grade level (or confirmation that no previous school attendance applies)
• Parent or guardian names, complete home address, and phone number

2. Written Educational Plan (WEP) This is the substantive planning document. It must set out at least three broad annual goals for each of the four core areas identified in provincial policy — Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies — along with your planned activities, methods, resources, and assessment approach.

Most families write this as a brief narrative, not a formal scope-and-sequence document. A paragraph for each of the four core areas addressing what you'll teach, what materials you'll use, and how you'll track learning is sufficient. The division is confirming that you have a constructive plan — not auditing your curriculum choices.

Saskatoon Public Schools has its own home-based education application form. Using the division's form is the most straightforward approach. If you use your own Notice of Intent and WEP, confirm the current submission instructions and make sure all required information is present.

Saskatoon's Designated Home-Based Teacher Support

Saskatoon Public Schools offers access to a designated home-based teacher for remedial instruction planning. This is division support, not a qualification or licensing requirement for the parent. Ask the division what support is available for your child and how to request it.

Deadlines: August 15 and September Funding Cutoffs

The August 15 deadline is provincial — it applies across all Saskatchewan school divisions and governs compliance for families starting in September. Your Notice of Intent should reach Saskatoon Public Schools by August 15 for a September start.

Missing August 15 does not strip your legal right to homeschool. The regulations prevent the registering authority from refusing registration when you made a reasonable attempt to comply. But there are funding consequences for late registration.

Saskatoon Public Schools reimburses up to $500 per student for technology, such as computers or tablets, with varying amounts for other curriculum materials. Receipts must be submitted by May. Confirm the exact date and eligible categories with the division before planning your budget.

Contact the Saskatoon Public Schools home-based education office directly to confirm the exact May receipt deadline and eligible categories. Division-level funding policies can shift from year to year, and the figure and deadline should be verified before you plan your curriculum budget around them.

Submitting Your Application

Submit your completed application to the Saskatoon Public Schools division office, addressed to the home-based education coordinator. Email is the most common method. Do not submit to your child's current school — the school is not the registering authority and cannot process home-based education applications.

If your child is currently enrolled at a Saskatoon Public school, send the school a separate withdrawal letter at the same time you submit your home-based application to the division. Request that the school's cumulative record be transferred as part of the withdrawal. The school's cooperation is not a condition for your legal right to begin home-based education.

After you submit a complete Notice of Intent and Written Educational Plan, you do not wait for formal approval before beginning instruction at the applicable program start date. For a mid-year start, observe the 30-day Notice of Intent lead time. Registration under Saskatchewan's framework is a notification, not a permission request.

What to Expect During the Year

Once registered, Saskatoon Public Schools' home-based education team may follow up with a welcome contact or orientation. Division practices vary — some divisions are hands-off after registration, others offer optional resource access or periodic check-ins. Your assigned home-based education contact at the division can clarify what Saskatoon Public's current engagement process looks like.

At year-end, you submit an Annual Progress Report to the division. It may use a Portfolio of Work — a periodic log with representative work samples and/or a summative record — or the results of a nationally normed standardized achievement test. Testing is optional; the report is not a formal curriculum evaluation.

Reimbursement: How It Works in Practice

To claim the reimbursement, keep receipts for eligible expenses throughout the year and submit them to the division according to its current process. The program provides up to $500 per eligible student for technology, while other curriculum-material amounts vary. Receipts must be submitted by May.

Do not assume general household items or internet service qualify. Computers and tablets may fall within the technology reimbursement, so confirm what's eligible with the division before making purchases specifically for reimbursement purposes.

If you are homeschooling multiple children, the reimbursement cap applies per student. Two eligible students could receive up to $1,000 in combined technology reimbursement from Saskatoon Public Schools.

Practical Notes Before You Submit

• Get the correct contact at Saskatoon Public Schools before submitting. Call the division office and ask for the home-based education coordinator. Submitting to a general inbox or the wrong department creates delays.
• Write the Written Educational Plan before you call. The plan can be concise and should cover the required information; confirm the division's current preferred format if you want reassurance.
• The law is on your side. If any school or division official suggests you need permission, approval, or a teaching certificate, that is incorrect. You are notifying, not applying.

The Saskatchewan Legal Withdrawal Blueprint includes ready-to-use templates for the Notice of Intent, Written Educational Plan, and Annual Progress Report — written to meet both the provincial requirements and the specific expectations of divisions like Saskatoon Public Schools.

See more Saskatchewan guides →