Washington, D.C. Homeschool Requirements: The Portfolio OSSE Can Ask to See

The District's home schooling rules are a short chapter of municipal regulations, Chapter 52 of Title 5, Subtitle E of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (5-E DCMR), backed by the compulsory attendance law in Title 38 of the D.C. Code. Below is what both say, in their own words, alongside the guidance the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) gives families.

The short version

• File a notice with OSSE at least 15 business days before you start, on OSSE's form. Wait for the verification letter before you begin.
• Renew by August 15 every year you continue, and give 15 business days' notice before you stop.
• Teach eight subjects: language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, art, music, health, and physical education.
• The teaching parent needs a high school diploma or its equivalent, or a waiver from OSSE.
• Keep a portfolio of your child's work for at least a year. OSSE may ask to review it, no more than twice a school year, at a time and place you both agree on.
• No set curriculum. OSSE says outright that you may use an online curriculum run by a third party.
• Attendance is required from age five to 18.

Before you start: the notice and the letter

Section 5202 requires a parent or legal guardian to give written notice on OSSE's official form. The form indicates your consent to the chapter's requirements, and it must reach OSSE:

at least 15 days, not including Saturdays, Sundays, or District holidays, prior to the first date of home instruction.

OSSE's homeschool FAQ adds the step the regulation doesn't mention. Approved families are emailed a verification letter, and once the verification letter has been received the parent or legal guardian may officially begin. The FAQ puts processing at about ten calendar days, and the forms can be filed online through the DC Homeschool portal, linked from OSSE's homeschooling requirements page.

You can start in the middle of a school year. You don't need your child's school's permission, but the FAQ asks you to work with the school so your child is properly withdrawn for the purposes of truancy reporting requirements. Don't pull your child out until the letter is in hand.

Every year after, and if you stop

Under section 5203, every year the home schooling continues, you file a notification form identifying each child being home schooled, no later than August 15th of each year. And if you stop for any reason, you notify OSSE in writing 15 days ahead, again not counting weekends or District holidays.

Ages and the penalty

The District's attendance law, D.C. Code § 38-202, covers a child who has reached the age of 5 years or will become 5 years of age on or before September 30th of the school year, and the obligation extends until the minor reaches the age of 18 years. In other words, it starts with kindergarten.

Under § 38-203, a parent whose child is absent without a valid excuse shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. A conviction may bring a fine of not less than $100 or up to five days in jail, or both, and each unlawful absence of two full days, or four half days, in a school month is a separate offense. The court must consider community service instead. A filed, verified home schooling program is how you stay on the right side of this law.

What you teach, and who can teach it

Section 5204 asks for thorough, regular instruction of sufficient duration to implement the home school program, and for instruction that includes, but need not be limited to:

language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, art, music, health, and physical education.

There are no required hours or days in the chapter. And the very next subsection protects your method:

Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted to require that home schooling should include programs or methods used by the District's public schools.

Nor does it require you to follow the public schools' curricular frameworks. OSSE's requirements page says parents are not required to use a specific curriculum, and may include the use of an online curriculum, administered by a third-party provider.

Two rules about the teacher. Under section 5207, a parent who teaches must have a high school diploma or its equivalent. A parent without one may petition OSSE for a waiver, with evidence of the petitioner's ability to provide thorough, regular education. And the instruction must come from the child's own parent or legal guardian. OSSE says parents may not provide home instruction to the students of other parents, so you can't home school a neighbor's child, or have a neighbor home school yours.

The portfolio, and what a review looks like

This is the requirement that sets the District apart from a notice-only state. Section 5205 says you keep, for each child, a portfolio that includes:

evidence of the child's current work, such as examples of the child's writings, worksheets, workbooks, creative materials, assessments, or any other materials that demonstrate that the child is engaged in thorough, regular educational activities in a range of subjects.

The portfolio should be maintained for at least one year and made available for review by the OSSE upon written request. Section 5206 sets the terms of a review. OSSE asks in writing, the review happens at a time and place mutually agreeable to you and OSSE, and there are not more than two (2) reviews conducted during a school year. The FAQ says you'll get the written request at least 30 days before the date. The regulation is also clear that reviews aren't routine:

Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require a regular periodic review of all portfolios.

If OSSE finds a problem

Section 5208 lays out every step, and it's worth knowing before it's ever needed:

1. OSSE sends a written Notification of Deficiencies within 30 business days of the review.
2. You answer in writing within 30 business days with a Corrective Action Plan showing how each deficiency has been or is being corrected. You can ask to meet with OSSE before the plan is due.
3. OSSE responds to the plan within 15 business days, and you can ask for a meeting about its response, which OSSE shall grant.
4. If the plan fails to correct the deficiencies, OSSE issues a Letter of Non-Compliance stating its reasons. You can appeal in writing to the State Superintendent within 15 calendar days, and then to the Superior Court.
5. If a final decision requires it, you enroll your child in a public or non public school within 45 days, unless the action is stayed by court order.

OSSE's FAQ describes the process plainly: OSSE works with families to try to correct any deficiencies. A full, organized portfolio is what keeps a review short.

Testing, transcripts, and a diploma

• Testing is optional. Under section 5209, a home schooled child may participate free of charge in the regular standardized testing at the public school the child is eligible to attend. The FAQ says to email the public schools' testing office at least 40 business days ahead.
• OSSE doesn't issue report cards or transcripts for homeschooled students. Your records are the record.
• Coming back to a public school: under section 5210, grade placement and any high school credit are determined by evaluation, which may include tests and an interview with your child.
• A District diploma is available through GED testing or the National External Diploma Program, according to the FAQ.

Sports, transit, the library, and special education

• No dual enrollment. A homeschooled child can't be enrolled in a public or public charter school at the same time.
• Sports are possible but not automatic. The FAQ says your child may petition the DC State Athletic Association. A member school's principal and athletic director must authorize it in writing, and your child needs a waiver of the eligibility rules.
• Free transit. Homeschooled students qualify for Kids Ride Free on Metrobus and Metrorail, with a government ID and proof of District residence.
• An Educator's Library Card from the DC Public Library is open to homeschooling parents who show their OSSE verification letter. It renews every July.
• College credit: the FAQ says homeschooled students are eligible for the University of the District of Columbia's CARE dual enrollment program, tuition free.
• Special education: a child who leaves a public school also leaves the specialized instruction and related services that came with it. OSSE is plain that the right to those services applies only to students who are enrolled in a District public school. The District's duty to find and evaluate children continues, though, and you can ask for an evaluation at any time.

Where Kitchen Table School fits

We didn't find a District program that pays for home schooling. The federal Opportunity Scholarship pays for participating private schools in the District, so we're not a listed provider in any District program. What the District does say, on OSSE's own page, is that an online curriculum run by a third party is a legitimate part of a home schooling program. Whatever you use, check it against the eight subjects in section 5204. Art, music, health, and physical education are on the list too, and they're yours to plan.

What this actually means for your week

The District doesn't test your child or tell you what to teach. What it can do is ask to see the work. So the habit that matters most is the boring one: date things, keep the best of each subject, and put them in one place every week, so a written request on a Tuesday is a folder you hand over, not a weekend of digging.

That is what we built for. Mrs. M teaches your child the core subjects one on one, at their level, and keeps a record of every session as a byproduct of teaching it: which subject, which lesson, what your child worked on, and how they did. That record isn't a portfolio by itself. OSSE asks for your child's own work, so keep the writing and the worksheets. But it sits well beside them, and it shows the regular, thorough instruction the chapter asks about. You're still the one who decides what your child learns. We don't promise any particular test score. Nobody honest does.

Curious how this works day to day with your own curriculum? Here's the honest guide to teaching your own curriculum with us, written for every out-of-state family, District families included. Since the District's whole system rests on the portfolio, homeschool record keeping is the natural next read. Or see the requirements for every state.