Rhode Island homeschool requirements
To homeschool in Rhode Island, get approval from your local school committee, provide 180 days, and teach the required subjects (including Rhode Island history). Attendance records go back to your district, and assessment requirements are set locally — there is no statewide test.
Last reviewed June 5, 2026 · corrected September 23, 2026 · Sources below
Rhode Island homeschool requirements at a glance
- Notice
- RequiredWhere it goes: Local school committee. When: Before starting; reviewed annually.
- Required subjects
- Reading, Writing, Geography, Arithmetic, U.S. History, Rhode Island History, Civics/Government, Health, Physical Education
- Instruction time
- 180 days · 5.5 hrs/day180 days at about 5.5 hours/day (substantially equivalent to public school).
- Testing or evaluation
- YesR.I. Gen. Laws § 16-19-2 says nothing about testing or about evaluating progress, and it sets no schedule for either — none of those words appears in it. What the statute does require is that your local school committee approve your at-home instruction plan before you begin (§ 16-19-1(a)), and it may approve only teaching that is 'thorough and efficient.' The rest comes from the Rhode Island Department of Education's guidance, which says you and the school committee should agree on a way of evaluating your child's progress in all the required subjects, that this may include testing in those subjects at regular intervals, and that it should be settled while your plan is being approved. So there is no statewide standardized test and no grade-pegged schedule — what you are asked for, and how often, is whatever your committee approved. RIDE also says regular reports must go to your local superintendent, or to whoever your district names as its home instruction contact, so ask early when yours wants them.
- Records
- Yes — plan, attendance, progress reports
- Parent qualifications
- Not required
- Compulsory attendance ages
- 6–18Rhode Island's attendance duty reaches a child who has turned six, or will turn six, on or before September 1 of the school year, and also any child enrolled in kindergarten whatever their age. It runs until the child completes eighteen years of life, which is the eighteenth birthday (R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-19-1(a)). That same subsection makes attendance not obligatory for a child taught through a course of at-home instruction approved by the school committee of the town where the child lives. A superintendent may also waive attendance, but only on proof that the pupil has an alternative learning plan for a high school diploma or its equivalent, developed with a school guidance counselor and the principal (§ 16-19-1(b)); that is a route for an enrolled student, not the home instruction route.
- Ways to homeschool
- Approved education plan (local school committee)
- Law
- R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 16-19-1, 16-19-2; § 16-22-2 (civics); § 16-22-4 (health and physical education)
- Official source
- ride.ri.gov ↗
Do I have to notify anyone to homeschool in Rhode Island?
Yes. Rhode Island requires homeschooling families to file a notice. Where it goes: Local school committee. How: Written application/plan submitted for approval. When: Before starting; reviewed annually. Rhode Island uses an approval model (not mere notice); committees approve when the plan shows ~180 days, required subjects, and an assessment arrangement. District practices vary.
What subjects does Rhode Island require homeschoolers to teach?
Rhode Island requires instruction in Reading, Writing, Geography, Arithmetic, U.S. History, Rhode Island History, Civics/Government, Health, and Physical Education. Instruction in English 'to the same extent' as public school (R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-19-2); Rhode Island history is a distinctive requirement. Section 16-19-2 itself names only reading, writing, geography, arithmetic, United States history, Rhode Island history and the principles of American government. Health and physical education come from § 16-22-4 and civics from § 16-22-2, and each of those sections makes its subject a condition of approval under chapter 19 — a school committee may not approve at-home instruction without it. RIDE's home instruction FAQ lists all nine.
How many days or hours of instruction does Rhode Island require?
Rhode Island's rule: 180 days at about 5.5 hours/day (substantially equivalent to public school).
Is standardized testing required to homeschool in Rhode Island?
Yes. Rhode Island requires a test or another accepted form of evaluation. How often: Set by your school committee when it approves your plan. What is accepted: Varies by district: standardized test, portfolio review, progress report/interview, or other method accepted by the local committee. R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-19-2 says nothing about testing or about evaluating progress, and it sets no schedule for either — none of those words appears in it. What the statute does require is that your local school committee approve your at-home instruction plan before you begin (§ 16-19-1(a)), and it may approve only teaching that is 'thorough and efficient.' The rest comes from the Rhode Island Department of Education's guidance, which says you and the school committee should agree on a way of evaluating your child's progress in all the required subjects, that this may include testing in those subjects at regular intervals, and that it should be settled while your plan is being approved. So there is no statewide standardized test and no grade-pegged schedule — what you are asked for, and how often, is whatever your committee approved. RIDE also says regular reports must go to your local superintendent, or to whoever your district names as its home instruction contact, so ask early when yours wants them.
What records do I need to keep to homeschool in Rhode Island?
Rhode Island requires these records: education plan; attendance register, kept the same way a public school keeps its register; and progress reports or test scores, if you and the committee agreed on testing. How long, or where they go: Returned to the school committee, the superintendent, truant officers and RIDE; regular reports go to whoever runs home instruction in your district. Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-19-2 the register is not only kept — it is returned to the school committee, the superintendent of schools, truant officers and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and it is made the same as a public school's register. RIDE says regular reports must be submitted to your local superintendent, or whoever else your district designates as the contact for home instruction, so ask how and when yours wants them. Anything beyond that — portfolios, extra progress reports — is set by your district.
Do parents need a teaching certificate or other qualification to homeschool in Rhode Island?
No. Rhode Island does not set a general qualification for homeschooling parents.
What ages does Rhode Island's compulsory attendance law cover?
Rhode Island's compulsory attendance law covers children from age 6 to age 18. Rhode Island's attendance duty reaches a child who has turned six, or will turn six, on or before September 1 of the school year, and also any child enrolled in kindergarten whatever their age. It runs until the child completes eighteen years of life, which is the eighteenth birthday (R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-19-1(a)). That same subsection makes attendance not obligatory for a child taught through a course of at-home instruction approved by the school committee of the town where the child lives. A superintendent may also waive attendance, but only on proof that the pupil has an alternative learning plan for a high school diploma or its equivalent, developed with a school guidance counselor and the principal (§ 16-19-1(b)); that is a route for an enrolled student, not the home instruction route.
What are the ways to homeschool in Rhode Island?
In Rhode Island, families homeschool under this pathway: approved education plan (local school committee).
Is homeschooling legal in Rhode Island?
Yes. Homeschooling is legal in Rhode Island, as it is in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. To homeschool in Rhode Island, get approval from your local school committee, provide 180 days, and teach the required subjects (including Rhode Island history). Attendance records go back to your district, and assessment requirements are set locally — there is no statewide test.
How to get started in Rhode Island
Sources for Rhode Island
Every requirement above comes from our review of Rhode Island’s rules, checked against these sources on June 5, 2026 and corrected on September 23, 2026 after re-reading the official source for what changed. Homeschool law changes, and a state can amend its rules between our reviews — read the official source before you file anything or rely on a date here. How we review state requirements.
Nearby states
States that share a border with Rhode Island:
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