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🚀 How to Start Homeschooling in Colorado

The first steps for a Colorado family starting to homeschool: what to file, how to leave a public school, and where to find co-ops, classes and help — drawn from our Colorado guide and articles.

Homeschooling in Colorado: the basics

Three legal routes: (1) a nonpublic home-based educational program under C.R.S. 22-33-104.5, which is what most families mean by homeschooling; (2) enrolling the child in an independent or parochial (private) school that provides a basic academic education for at least 172 days (C.R.S. 22-33-104(2)(b)); or (3) instruction at home by a teacher licensed in Colorado (C.R.S. 22-33-104(2)(i)(I)). The law says a home-based program is not under a school district's supervision and "does not qualify as a private and nonprofit school."
"Umbrella" schools: CDE says an "umbrella school" is not a concept recognized in Colorado law. Some offer records and transcripts under the label of a private school. Which route you are using matters: since 2026, students who meet the attendance law through a private school can't enroll part time in a public school or a part-time homeschool program (SB26-023). CDE says a student whose umbrella school is not providing private school instruction for compulsory attendance stays eligible, if the family files a notice of intent with a district.
Notice of intent: written, to any school district in Colorado, 14 days before you start and each year after. It lists only each child's name, age, place of residence and number of hours of attendance. CDE posts a notice of intent template and says it does not collect notices itself.
Days and hours: at least 172 days of instruction averaging four instructional contact hours a day (C.R.S. 22-33-104.5(3)(c)).
Subjects: communication skills of reading, writing and speaking, mathematics, history, civics, literature, science, and regular instruction in the U.S. Constitution (C.R.S. 22-33-104.5(3)(d)). You choose and pay for curriculum; CDE says the state can't advise on curriculum.
Teacher: the parent or an adult relative the parent designates. No teaching license is required, and teacher licensing and employment laws don't apply (C.R.S. 22-33-104.5(2)(a), (3)(a)).
Compulsory age: 6 on or before August 1 through age 16 ("under the age of seventeen") (C.R.S. 22-33-104(1)(a)). For a home-based program the law does not require a notice until the child is 6, or the program itself until 7, and does not require either after 16.
Withdrawing from public school: send your notice of intent to a Colorado district at least 14 days before you start and tell the school your child is leaving. If you file with a district other than the one you live in, CDE suggests also notifying your district of residence to avoid truancy action. A child who was habitually truant in the last six months of school can't be enrolled in a home-based program unless the parent also submits a written description of the curriculum with the notice (C.R.S. 22-33-104.5(3)(b)).
State tests: homeschool students don't take the state assessments (CMAS) as a requirement. If a parent asks, the local education provider must let the child take a state assessment and give the parent the results; the parent pays the costs (C.R.S. 22-7-1006.3(9)(b)).

Read the full section in our Colorado guide

Official sources

Summarized from our Colorado guide (as of October 2026) and articles. Rules change — confirm on the official pages before you act.

More for Colorado homeschool families

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