My Learning Source Colorado › Homeschooling in Colorado › Laws & requirements

⚖️ Colorado Homeschool Laws & Requirements

What Colorado law asks of homeschool families — notice or registration, school days and subjects, testing, records and diplomas — summarized from our Colorado guide with links to the official sources.

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

Testing, records, diplomas and going back to school

Testing or evaluation: in grades 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, the child takes a nationally standardized achievement test, or a qualified person evaluates the child's academic progress. A qualified person is chosen by the parent and is a Colorado-licensed teacher, a teacher employed by an independent or parochial school, a licensed psychologist, or a person with a graduate degree in education. The parent pays. Results go to the district that received your notice or to a Colorado independent or parochial school; if you use a school, give its name to the district (C.R.S. 22-33-104.5(2)(c), (3)(f)). CDE notes that a co-op that evaluates students must use qualified people, and that reporting results is still the parent's job.

Scores: a composite score above the 13th percentile keeps the child exempt from compulsory attendance. At or below the 13th percentile, the district must require the child to attend a public, independent or parochial school until the next testing period, but only after the child has a chance to retest with another version of the test or a different nationally standardized test the parent picks from a State Board list. With an evaluation, the question is whether the child is making sufficient academic progress according to the child's ability. A private school that receives results must tell the district if the score or evaluation falls short (C.R.S. 22-33-104.5(5)).

Records: keep permanent records for each child, including attendance, test and evaluation results, and immunization records. The district that got your notice can ask for them, with 14 days' written notice, only if the superintendent has probable cause to believe the program isn't following the law (C.R.S. 22-33-104.5(3)(g)).

Diplomas: there is no state diploma, and district diplomas go only to students who attended a public high school in the district. CDE says the parent may graduate the student by issuing a diploma, and taking the GED is optional. Homeschool programs are not accredited by the state or districts.

Going back to public school: the district may test the child to decide grade placement, and places the child where it thinks best, with the parent's consent. The district must accept the home program's transcripts for credit, unless it tests the child and the testing doesn't verify the transcript (C.R.S. 22-33-104.5(4)).

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

Loading the full Colorado site… If it does not appear, everything on this page is readable above.