Wyoming homeschool requirements

Wyoming is among the least-regulated states since HB 46 (2025) ended curriculum submission. Teach seven subjects; a home-based program faces no testing, no set days or hours and no record-keeping rule. A notice goes to the district only if the child is leaving a public school — or, on the separate ESA pathway, every year, and the ESA also carries an annual test.

Last reviewed June 5, 2026 · corrected September 23, 2026 · Sources below

Minimal regulation Notice in some cases

Another state:

Wyoming homeschool requirements at a glance

Notice: Only in some casesWhere it goes: Local school district. When: When a child leaves a public school, at the time of leaving. On the ESA pathway, every year, and the Department's parent contract sets the first notice at no later than 15 days after the contract's effective date.
Required subjects: Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Civics/Government, History, Literature, Science
Instruction time: NoneNo specific days or hours requirement in the homeschool statute.
Testing or evaluation: NoTesting applies only on the ESA (Steamboat Legacy Scholarship) pathway — a home-based educational program has none. Wyoming requires no testing or evaluation of a home-based educational program, and a family that wants the state test can ask its district to include the child — the Department's guidance for parentally placed students says private-school and homeschool students are not required to take the state assessment but are invited to take it free of charge. The ESA is different. W.S. 21-2-904(b)(ii)(B) requires an ESA student to take the statewide assessment under W.S. 21-2-304(a) or a nationally normed achievement exam every year; the state test covers grades 3-10, and the Department publishes a list of accepted normed exams for the grades it does not reach. The duty to report is the Department's, not the statute's: the ESA Family Handbook requires the results, or the vendor's documentation that the child finished the exam, to be sent to the Department within 14 days of the parent receiving them, and says a student whose results are not uploaded by then may not be eligible to continue in the program.
Records: No
Parent qualifications: Not required
Compulsory attendance ages: 7–16Wyoming keys the start to the child's seventh birthday falling on or before August 1 of the year — or September 15, if the child started kindergarten under a request the district approved under W.S. 21-3-110(a)(xxxviii) — so a child who turns seven later in the year is covered from the following year instead. The duty ends at the sixteenth birthday or on completing the tenth grade, whichever comes first (W.S. 21-4-102(a)). One duty reaches further than the attendance ages: the withdrawal requirement in W.S. 21-4-102(c) applies to any child under 18, so a 16- or 17-year-old leaving a public school is still covered by it.
Ways to homeschool: Two pathways
Law: W.S. § 21-4-101, -102 (HB 46, 2025)
Official source: edu.wyoming.gov ↗

Do I have to notify anyone to homeschool in Wyoming?

Only in some cases. Wyoming requires a notice only in the circumstances described here. Where it goes: Local school district. How: Leaving a public school: under W.S. 21-4-102(c) a parent of a child under 18 who has not already told the district that the child is enrolling elsewhere — in another district, a private school or a home-based educational program — meets in person with a district counselor or administrator and signs a written consent to the withdrawal, which also authorizes release of the student's identity and address to the Wyoming National Guard Youth Challenge program for recruitment into that program only. The statute sets no form, deadline or office for that earlier notice, so ask your district what it accepts before relying on it instead of the meeting. On the ESA pathway: an annual notice of intent to participate, to your resident school district (W.S. 21-2-905(f)(i)). When: When a child leaves a public school, at the time of leaving. On the ESA pathway, every year, and the Department's parent contract sets the first notice at no later than 15 days after the contract's effective date. HB 46 (the Homeschool Freedom Act, effective July 1, 2025) ended the annual curriculum submission Wyoming used to require; the seven-subject standard stayed. A home-based educational program files no annual notice. The only notice is the one W.S. 21-4-102(c) requires when a child under 18 leaves a public school, and a child who was never enrolled needs none. The ESA is a separate pathway and does carry a notice, whether or not the child ever attended a public school: W.S. 21-2-905(f)(i) says the parent of a K-12 ESA student shall annually give the resident public school district notice of intent to participate, and W.S. 21-4-102(d) treats that notice as satisfying the compulsory attendance law. The deadline for the first one is not statutory — it is a term of the Department's parent contract, which requires written notice to the district no later than 15 days after the contract's effective date. The Department's ESA Family Handbook says the program's acceptance email may serve as that notification, and tells families to ask their own district how to file the annual one. The pre-kindergarten ESA track does not carry this notice.

What subjects does Wyoming require homeschoolers to teach?

Wyoming requires instruction in Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Civics/Government, History, Literature, and Science. W.S. § 21-4-101(a)(vi) defines a 'basic academic educational program' of these 7 subjects; HB 46 removed only the curriculum-submission requirement, not the subject standard.

How many days or hours of instruction does Wyoming require?

None. Wyoming does not set a minimum number of instructional days or hours for homeschoolers. No specific days or hours requirement in the homeschool statute.

Is standardized testing required to homeschool in Wyoming?

No. Wyoming does not require standardized testing for homeschooled students. Testing applies only on the ESA (Steamboat Legacy Scholarship) pathway — a home-based educational program has none. Wyoming requires no testing or evaluation of a home-based educational program, and a family that wants the state test can ask its district to include the child — the Department's guidance for parentally placed students says private-school and homeschool students are not required to take the state assessment but are invited to take it free of charge. The ESA is different. W.S. 21-2-904(b)(ii)(B) requires an ESA student to take the statewide assessment under W.S. 21-2-304(a) or a nationally normed achievement exam every year; the state test covers grades 3-10, and the Department publishes a list of accepted normed exams for the grades it does not reach. The duty to report is the Department's, not the statute's: the ESA Family Handbook requires the results, or the vendor's documentation that the child finished the exam, to be sent to the Department within 14 days of the parent receiving them, and says a student whose results are not uploaded by then may not be eligible to continue in the program.

What records do I need to keep to homeschool in Wyoming?

Wyoming does not require homeschooling families to keep specific records. No statutory record-keeping (records advised for transcripts).

Do parents need a teaching certificate or other qualification to homeschool in Wyoming?

No. Wyoming does not set a general qualification for homeschooling parents.

What ages does Wyoming's compulsory attendance law cover?

Wyoming's compulsory attendance law covers children from age 7 to age 16. Wyoming keys the start to the child's seventh birthday falling on or before August 1 of the year — or September 15, if the child started kindergarten under a request the district approved under W.S. 21-3-110(a)(xxxviii) — so a child who turns seven later in the year is covered from the following year instead. The duty ends at the sixteenth birthday or on completing the tenth grade, whichever comes first (W.S. 21-4-102(a)). One duty reaches further than the attendance ages: the withdrawal requirement in W.S. 21-4-102(c) applies to any child under 18, so a 16- or 17-year-old leaving a public school is still covered by it.

What are the ways to homeschool in Wyoming?

In Wyoming, families homeschool under one of two pathways: independent home-based educational program (a notice to the district only if the child is leaving a public school) and ESA — Steamboat Legacy Scholarship (a notice of participation to your resident school district, required only if you take the ESA, and then every year).

Is homeschooling legal in Wyoming?

Yes. Homeschooling is legal in Wyoming, as it is in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Wyoming is among the least-regulated states since HB 46 (2025) ended curriculum submission. Teach seven subjects; a home-based program faces no testing, no set days or hours and no record-keeping rule. A notice goes to the district only if the child is leaving a public school — or, on the separate ESA pathway, every year, and the ESA also carries an annual test.

How to get started in Wyoming

Leaving a public school? Make sure the district is told

W.S. 21-4-102(c) covers any child under 18 who leaves a public school. If you have not already told the district that your child is enrolling elsewhere — another district, a private school, or a home-based educational program — you meet in person with a district counselor or administrator and sign a written consent to the withdrawal; that consent also authorizes release of your child's identity and address to the Wyoming National Guard Youth Challenge program, for recruitment into that program only. The statute sets no form, deadline or office for the earlier notice, so ask your district what it accepts before you rely on it in place of the meeting. A child who was never enrolled in a public school has nothing to file as a home-based program — but a child on the ESA has a yearly notice either way, described below.

Official resource (edu.wyoming.gov) →

Teach the seven required subjects

Reading, writing, mathematics, civics and government, history, literature, and science (W.S. § 21-4-101(a)(vi)). You choose the curriculum; HB 46 ended the annual curriculum submission but kept the subject standard.

No testing and no set days or hours

A home-based educational program faces no standardized testing and no annual evaluation, and the homeschool statute sets no minimum number of days or hours. If you would like your child to sit the state assessment anyway, the Department of Education's guidance for parentally placed students says homeschool and private-school students are not required to take it but are invited to take it free of charge — ask your district to include your child.

Keep records (recommended)

The law does not require record-keeping, but a simple record of subjects, work, and time makes a transcript much easier to build later.

Know what the ESA changes

Wyoming's Steamboat Legacy Scholarship — the state's education savings account — pays $7,000 a student a year, and taking it changes which law your child is schooled under: W.S. 21-2-904(f) says an ESA student receiving individualized instruction outside a school is not a home-based educational program student. It carries two duties homeschooling here does not. One is an annual statewide or nationally normed achievement test (W.S. 21-2-904(b)(ii)(B)); the results, or the vendor's documentation that your child finished the exam, go to the Department of Education within 14 days of your receiving them — that 14-day deadline is the Department's own program rule rather than the statute, and its handbook says a student whose results are not uploaded in time may not be eligible to continue. The other is an annual written notice of participation to your resident school district, which W.S. 21-2-905(f)(i) requires of a K-12 ESA student's parent whether or not the child ever attended a public school; the first one is due no later than 15 days after your parent contract's effective date, a term of that contract rather than the statute. A child on the ESA also may not be enrolled in a public school, though you can still buy individual classes from a district or charter school by contract.

Where the ESA stands right now

The program is operating and paying for 2026-27: the Department lists quarterly installments beginning in early September 2026, then early November, early February and early May, and says it can make those payouts now. Applications are annual, and the 2026-27 window closed on August 6, 2026, with no later window published yet. On the lawsuit: a district court froze the program for most of a year, and on May 14, 2026 the Wyoming Supreme Court reversed that preliminary injunction because the plaintiffs had not shown they would be irreparably injured (Degenfelder v. Wyoming Education Association, 2026 WY 54). The Court did not decide whether the program is constitutional — it sent the case back, and the Department's page says it is still being litigated in district court, so the program's long-term standing is not settled.

Official resource (edu.wyoming.gov) →

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Sources for Wyoming

Official source (edu.wyoming.gov) ↗HSLDA's Wyoming summary ↗

Statute: W.S. § 21-4-101, -102 (HB 46, 2025)

Last reviewed: June 5, 2026

Corrected: September 23, 2026, after re-reading the official source for what changed

Every requirement above comes from our review of Wyoming’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.

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