Homeschooling in Connecticut: Guidance for Getting Started

Yes! In terms of rules for homeschooling in Connecticut, the Constitution State is a low-regulation state with very few requirements, making it relatively easy to homeschool there. 

The Connecticut Department of Education outlines these five simple steps for homeschoolers. Note that the wording actually says “It is suggested that homeschooling parents” do these things. Some CT homeschool organizations claim that these are not actual requirements at all but merely policies without the force of homeschooling laws. You’ll have to decide if you want to comply with the suggestions or not.

If you are switching from public to homeschooling in Connecticut, first file a letter of withdrawal so there is no confusion over truancy. But if your child has never been enrolled in a CT public school, you can skip this step.

File a Notice of Intent: Instruction of Student at Home with your local school board. (This must be done annually.)

Through your school year, teach these required subjects:

• Reading
• Writing
• Spelling
• English Grammar
• Geography
• Arithmetic
• U.S. History
• Citizenship (including a study of town, state and federal governments)
• Science (is recommended but not required)
  
  You are expected to provide an education that is at least equivalent to what students in public school receive.
  
  

The state board of education suggests (but does not mandate) that parents “keep a log of attendance which reflects days and hours of instruction.” So come up with a recordkeeping system that works for you.

Keep a portfolio of student work, including “samples of activities, assignments, projects and assessments, as well as a log of books and materials used.” Each year, meet with local school officials to evaluate your child’s progress as evidenced by the portfolio.

By way of proof, your primary document is the notice of intent. Once your local superintendent signs that, be sure to keep a copy on file. Other proof includes your annual portfolio that outlines what curriculum you used and samples of your child’s work. A representative from the local school board may want to meet with you each year to go over that portfolio and confirm adequate progress. 

If you want to keep additional records for yourself or in the case of an authority questioning your homeschool practice, it’s a good idea to track

• instructional days 
• books you read
• field trips

To make this recordkeeping easy, use the Sonlight Planner. It was designed by homeschoolers who know what you’ll need throughout your school year.

There are no specific attendance requirements for Connecticuters who homeschool. The notice of intent does ask about the days in the school year, but there is no required number of instructional days or hour requirements. 

As a homeschooler, you’ll find that homeschooling is incredibly efficient compared to public school, and thus the homeschool day is much shorter than a typical school day. 

The CT Notice of Intent says nothing about a curriculum. However, the Connecticut portfolio guidelines do reference “a log of books and materials used.” So if you are using a curriculum, that’s what you’d list for this particular item in the portfolio. For example, let’s say you’re using Sonlight curriculum. You could simply print out the scope and sequence for the program you’re using and include that in your annual portfolio. Easy! 

The state of Connecticut does mandate a short list of subjects to cover: reading, writing, spelling, English grammar, geography, arithmetic, United States history, and citizenship. Further, a homeschool education is expected to be at least equivalent to that received in a public school. 

To see what Connecticut students learn in public school, reference these two links:

1. Common Core State Standards (which CT adopted as their own state standards)
2. CT Core Standards for K-3

So now that you know the rules for homeschooling in Connecticut, the decision is yours. Do you think you can effectively provide an education that meets all the standards without a curriculum? Legally, you aren’t mandated to have a curriculum. But using a homeschool curriculum is going to make life so much easier!

• You’ll know you’re covering everything you need to teach.
• You’ll save incredible amounts of time since you aren’t scouring the internet for lesson plans or pre-reading dozens of books and placing library holds. 
• When someone asks about your books and materials, it’s so simple to just show them your curriculum!

The easiest solution to the curriculum dilemma is to purchase a Sonlight All-Subjects Package. It will cover everything Connecticut requires—and more! 

Read the invaluable perks of Sonlight’s literature-based approach here. And then you’ll know that an online homeschool curriculum simply can’t hold a candle to a print-based, living books way of learning!

There is no mandatory evaluation or standardized testing in the Nutmeg State. If you do choose to test your children, though, put those results in your annual portfolio as additional proof of your hard work.

After you’ve filed your Notice of Intent and planned how you’ll teach the required subjects, it’s time to design your day-to-day routine and organize your supplies. Here are two videos that will point you in the right direction:

First, file your Intent to Homeschool. You can get this form from your local superintendent’s office, but there’s a sample one on the Connecticut Department of Education website here.

Then brush up on the basics with our 101 Guide to Getting Started as a Homeschooler here.

Choose a curriculum that will cover the required topics: reading, writing, spelling, English grammar, geography, arithmetic, United States history, and citizenship.

Come up with a system for filing items for your child’s annual portfolio. It can be as simple as a plastic tote that you toss work into throughout the year.

Designate a spot in your home where you can organize your homeschool supplies and books. You don’t have to have a homeschool room! A shelf in your living room or dining room will suffice! You can do table work at the kitchen table and savor Read-Alouds on the couch in the family room.

School is compulsory in Connecticut from the ages of 5 to 18.

Since school is mandatory from ages 5-18, kindergarten is not optional. You cannot skip kindergarten. But you can provide a kindergarten education for your five-year-old at home by homeschooling. 

Consider using Sonlight’s Kindergarten Program: Exploring American History for your five year old. Or you may want to opt for Sonlight’s Pre-Kindergarten Package which is designed for ages 4-5.

If you’re unsure which to choose, reach out to an Advisor. They’ve helped thousands of parents choose the best fit, and their services are totally free.

You can homeschool a child from K-12 in Connecticut. Or you can opt to homeschool for only one year, starting as young as 5 or at any grade along your child’s path. How long you homeschool depends on your family’s situation. 

If you want to homeschool in Connecticut for free, you can lean on no-cost resources 

• provided by the state, such as the CT Learning Hub and the Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) resources, 
• available at your local library, 
• or found on the internet.

But before you opt for free homeschooling in Connecticut, know that this route is costly in ways besides money. Parents whose primary goal is to spend zero dollars on homeschooling spend an inordinate amount of time piecing together freebies, downloading and printing them, and creating lesson plans. 

While this DIY approach may save money, it costs dearly in terms of time and energy. 

And, possibly worst of all, parents who try to homeschool for free often question the quality of the education they provide. Are there gaps? Are these freebies actually designed with sound instructional intent? Or are they merely click bait used to sell ad space? 

Don’t shortchange your child and stress yourself out by trying to homeschool for free. Purchase the best pre-planned curriculum you can afford.