Hawaii Homeschool Laws & Requirements

Compulsory School Attendance Age

Hawaii compulsory attendance generally applies to children who:

• Will be at least 5 years old on or before July 31 of the school year • Have not reached age 18 by January 1 of that school year

Children who qualify for a lawful exception to compulsory school attendance, including homeschooling, are not required to attend a public or private school.

Homeschool Notification and Enrollment

A parent or legal guardian who intends to homeschool must notify the public school the child would otherwise attend.

The parent may submit either:

• Hawaii Department of Education Form 4140, Exceptions to Compulsory Education, or • A written letter of intent to homeschool

A letter of intent should include the child's name, address, telephone number, date of birth, grade level, parent or guardian signature, and date.

Homeschooling may begin once the signed Form 4140 or letter of intent has been submitted to the child's designated school.

Parents do not have to wait for approval before beginning homeschooling.

The school will acknowledge receipt of the homeschool notification and maintain a copy.

Annual Notification

Parents do not normally have to submit a new homeschool notice every year.

A new notice should generally be submitted when the family moves into the geographic area of another school, or when the student transitions to another school level, such as elementary to middle school or middle school to high school.

Parents should also notify the school if homeschooling ends because the student enrolls in another school or the family moves outside Hawaii.

Instructional Days and Hours

Hawaii does not impose a specific statewide number of homeschool instructional days or a specific daily number of homeschool hours.

However, parents must maintain a record of the educational program, including the number of hours per week devoted to instruction.

Parents may determine their own school calendar, daily schedule, lesson length, educational pace, vacation periods, and year-round or traditional schedule.

Required Curriculum and Subjects

Hawaii places responsibility for developing the homeschool curriculum on the parent.

Parents are not required to submit their curriculum to the school for approval. However, parents must maintain a record of the planned curriculum.

The curriculum should be structured, based on educational objectives, appropriate for the child's needs and interests, cumulative and sequential, designed to provide current knowledge and skills, and appropriate for the child's abilities.

For elementary students, subject areas may include language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, art, music, health, and physical education.

Parents may use Hawaii academic standards as a guide, but families retain responsibility for selecting and providing the curriculum.

Curriculum Records

Parents should maintain a record of the planned curriculum containing information such as:

• Beginning date of the educational program • Ending date of the educational program • Number of instructional hours per week • Subjects being taught • Methods used to determine mastery • Textbooks and instructional materials used

For books, records may include the author, title, publisher, and publication date.

Parents are not routinely required to submit the curriculum record to the school, although the school may request to review it to assist the family with educational planning.

Annual Progress Report

Hawaii requires parents to submit an annual progress report for each homeschooled student.

Parents may satisfy the annual progress-report requirement through several methods. Options may include:

• Scores from a nationally normed standardized achievement test • Progress demonstrated through a nationally normed standardized assessment • A written evaluation by a teacher certified to teach in Hawaii • A written evaluation prepared by the parent

A parent-prepared evaluation should include a description of the student's progress in each subject taught, samples of the student's work, samples of tests, assignments, and grades if grades are given.

The annual progress report is submitted to the student's designated public school.

Standardized Testing

Hawaii requires homeschooled students to provide standardized assessment results in grade 3, grade 5, grade 8, and grade 10.

The assessment must be a nationally normed standardized achievement test.

Families may choose to have their student participate in qualifying testing through the designated public school at no cost when available. Parents may also arrange private testing at their own expense.

The student's standardized test scores may also be used to satisfy the annual progress-report requirement for that year.

Although Hawaii public schools currently test public-school students in grade 11 rather than grade 10 for some statewide assessments, the homeschool regulation continues to specify homeschool testing in grade 10.

Attendance and Academic Records

Hawaii expects parents to maintain records relating to their child's homeschool education.

Useful records include beginning and ending dates of instruction, weekly instructional hours, subjects taught, curriculum used, assessments, test scores, annual progress reports, samples of student work, grades, courses completed, credits earned, report cards, and transcripts.

Maintaining complete academic records is particularly important for high school students planning to attend college, enter the military, seek employment, or transfer to another school.

Parent Teacher Qualifications

Hawaii does not require the parent or legal guardian directing the homeschool to hold a Hawaii teaching certificate, hold a college degree, complete teacher training, or obtain curriculum approval from the Hawaii Department of Education.

Parents assume responsibility for providing the child's education and selecting appropriate instructional materials.

Curriculum Freedom

Hawaii parents have significant freedom to select the curriculum and educational resources used in the homeschool program.

Families may use printed curriculum, online curriculum, workbooks, educational websites, parent-created lessons, tutors, cooperative classes, hands-on instruction, educational videos, career and technical education, or a combination of educational resources.

Parents do not have to use a state-issued curriculum. The educational program should nevertheless be structured and appropriate for the student's age, abilities, needs, and educational progress.

Graduation

Hawaii does not issue a Hawaii public-school diploma to a student solely because the student completes an independent homeschool program.

The Hawaii Department of Education states that a homeschooled student does not receive a public high school diploma through homeschooling.

To receive a Hawaii public-school diploma, a student generally must attend a public high school for at least 3 full years and satisfy Hawaii's public-school graduation requirements.

Independent homeschool families may establish their own homeschool completion and graduation requirements and maintain their own academic records.

Families should maintain a complete transcript documenting courses completed, grades, credits earned, grade point average when applicable, and graduation date.

Parents should also research the requirements of colleges, universities, military branches, employers, scholarship programs, trade schools, and licensing organizations when planning a high school program.

High School Equivalency

A qualifying homeschooled student may pursue a Hawaii High School Equivalency Credential.

A student who has been properly homeschooled under Form 4140 may qualify to take an approved high school equivalency examination such as the GED or another approved equivalency assessment.

College Admission

Homeschooled students may apply to colleges and universities.

Families should maintain detailed transcripts and supporting academic records.

Parents may also request written acknowledgment from the student's designated Hawaii public high school confirming that the student was homeschooled in compliance with Hawaii homeschool requirements, provided required annual progress reports and standardized test scores have been submitted.

Alabama Church School Services for Hawaii Families

Hawaii families are not legally required to enroll with Alabama Church School in order to homeschool.

However, families may choose to use Alabama Church School for the curriculum, organization, documentation, and educational services we provide.

Hawaii families enrolled with Alabama Church School may receive available services including complete curriculum, enrollment documentation, attendance resources, academic records, annual progress documentation, report cards, transcripts, diplomas, graduation documentation, student records, educational support, and other available family and student services.

For families who prefer having established curriculum, organized records, transcripts, report cards, and graduation documentation rather than creating everything independently, Alabama Church School can provide additional educational structure while parents continue directing their child's education at home.

Enrollment with Alabama Church School does not replace the Hawaii parent's responsibility to submit the required homeschool notification, maintain curriculum records, submit annual progress reports, provide required standardized testing results, or comply with other applicable Hawaii homeschool requirements.