How do I start homeschooling in Illinois?

If your child has never been enrolled in public school, you can simply begin, Illinois requires no notification, registration, or permission. If your child is currently enrolled, send the school written notice of withdrawal, request their complete student record, and then begin. Illinois requires instruction in six broad subject areas, in English.

What do I need to homeschool in Illinois?

Legally, very little: no teaching certificate, no registration, no testing, and no minimum hours. Practically, you need a plan for the six required subject areas, a way to withdraw your child if they are currently enrolled, and, most importantly for staying sane, some kind of community.

Is homeschooling hard?

The academics are easier than most parents expect; a homeschool day typically takes one to three hours for an elementary student. The harder parts are the emotional adjustment, the isolation if you do not build community, and learning to stop measuring your family against a classroom.

Start here

Homeschool 101

Everything a new Illinois homeschooling family needs, in the order you'll need it

You have probably read a stack of homeschooling articles by now, and nearly every one of them was written for whatever state the author lives in. Illinois is different, and different in your favor. The notice of intent, the portfolio review, the annual standardized test: those belong to some other state's rules, not to yours.

Start here, in this order

If you're brand new, work top to bottom. It's sequenced the way the questions actually arrive, not the way a curriculum catalog would file them. Law first. Curriculum much later than you'd think.

Start With What Illinois Requires

Before curriculum, before anything: find out how little the law actually asks of you. It's a shorter page than you're expecting it to be.

What a Homeschool Day Looks Like

Sample schedules by age, and why an elementary day genuinely takes one to three hours rather than seven.

Which Homeschool Style Fits You?

A short quiz plus an honest comparison of the five main approaches, so curriculum shopping stops being overwhelming.

What Homeschooling Actually Costs

Three real annual budgets, the costs nobody warns you about, and how to do it cheaply if money is tight.

Finding Your People

How homeschooled children actually make friends, and a practical plan for building community from scratch.

The questions everyone asks

Socialization

The honest answer, including the part where the concern isn't entirely wrong, and a practical plan.

Homeschooling High School

Credits, transcripts, diplomas, dual enrollment, testing, and college applications.

Homeschooling Kindergarten

The year where doing less is genuinely doing better, and why reading can wait.

Special Needs & 2e

What happens to the IEP, what services you may still access, and teaching a child who learns differently.

Record Keeping

Illinois requires almost nothing. Here's the small amount worth doing anyway.

Glossary

Deschooling, living books, 2e, narration, Carnegie unit, every term people use as if you already know it.

Quick answers

Do I have to register with anyone in Illinois?: No. There's no notice of intent and no registration requirement. More
Do I need a teaching degree?: No. Certification requirements apply to public school teachers, not to parents. More
What subjects must I teach?: Language arts, math, biological and physical science, social science, fine arts, and physical development and health, in English. More
How do I pull my child out of school?: Written notice to the principal, request their records, return school property. Sample letter
Can my child still get a real diploma?: Yes. You issue it. No GED needed. More
How much will this cost?: Most families spend $300-$1,500 per child per year. Full breakdown
Is testing required?: No. Illinois requires no standardized testing of homeschoolers. More

About the legal information on these pages

Nothing on this site is legal advice. Illinois Homeschooler is a homeschool information site, not a law firm. These Illinois law pages are plain-English summaries intended to help families get oriented, and they may not reflect recent changes or how a particular district interprets its obligations. Confirm anything you're relying on with the Illinois State Board of Education or an attorney.

Last reviewed: July 26, 2026

The part you can't read your way into

Find one group that meets on a regular schedule and commit to a full semester before you judge it. A co-op, a park day, a library group, a team. The first three visits are always awkward and the fifth usually isn't.

Start with the law Find your style

Free download

The Illinois Homeschool Starter Kit

A one-page compliance checklist, a withdrawal letter you can copy word for word, and a record-keeping log that fits on a single sheet. The paperwork part, done, so you can get on with the actual question of what to teach.

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