Georgia at a glance
| What | The rule |
|---|---|
| Days | Instruction each 12 months equivalent to 180 school days, each school day at least 4.5 school hours, unless the child is physically unable to comply. |
| Declaration of Intent | To the Georgia Department of Education within 30 days of starting a home study program, and by September 1 each year after: the names and ages of the students, the address of the program, the local school system and the 12 months you treat as your school year. Submitted online, by fax or by mail. |
| Who teaches | A parent or guardian with a high school diploma or a state-approved high school equivalency (HSE) diploma, teaching only their own children; a tutor with the same credential may be hired. |
| Subjects | A basic academic educational program that includes, at least, reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies and science. |
| Attendance | Georgia no longer collects attendance reports from home study programs, and the current statute lists none. The 180 days of 4.5 hours still apply, so keep your own record of the days you taught. |
| Progress report | The instructor writes an annual progress assessment report for each required subject and keeps it for at least three years. It is not submitted. |
| Tests | A nationally standardized test at least every three years, beginning at the end of 3rd grade, given in consultation with a person trained in such tests. Results are kept, not submitted. |
This summarizes Georgia's homeschool law as of November 9, 2026. Laws change and districts read them differently: check the current text and your district's instructions, and ask a homeschool association in Georgia when something is unclear.
The year, in order
- Within 30 days of starting, then by September 1 each year: file the Declaration of Intent with the Georgia Department of Education (online, by fax or by mail). It lists the students' names and ages, the address of the program, your local school system and the 12-month period you treat as your school year.
- All year: teach reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies and science, and keep an attendance record of the days with at least 4.5 hours.
- End of 3rd grade, then at least every three years: a nationally standardized test, given in consultation with a person trained in such tests. Keep the results.
- End of each school year: write the progress assessment report for each required subject and keep it for at least three years.
180 school days of 4.5 hours
Section 20-2-690(c)(5) requires the home study program to provide instruction each 12 months equivalent to 180 school days of education, with each school day consisting of at least four and one-half school hours unless the child is physically unable to comply. Georgia does not add the hours up across the year the way Pennsylvania or Missouri do; it counts days, and a day is only a day at 4.5 hours. That makes the attendance record a two-column job: the date, and whether the lessons that day reached 4.5 hours. Logging each lesson in minutes does the second column for you.
Attendance: kept, not reported
Home study programs once sent attendance forms to the state every month. Since 2013 they do not, and the current statute lists no attendance report at all; the only paperwork that leaves your house is the Declaration of Intent. Keep the record anyway: it is the evidence that the program met the 180 days, it feeds the progress report, and a transcript for college or a driver's license certificate of enrollment is easier to produce from it.
The progress report and the tests
At the end of each school year the instructor writes an annual progress assessment report covering each required subject, and keeps it for at least three years. Beginning at the end of 3rd grade, the child takes a nationally standardized test at least every three years, given in consultation with a person trained in the administration and interpretation of norm-referenced tests; the records are kept but need not be submitted. A year record that lists the days, the hours by subject, the reading by title and the work samples is most of the progress report already written.
How My Award Tracker counts the Georgia year
A Georgia child's dashboard shows school days of 4.5+ hours against 180: a date counts only when the lessons logged on it reach four and a half hours, so a short day is visible as soon as it happens. The hours of instruction are shown too, for your own planning. The year record prints the daily log with the minutes per lesson, hours by subject and the reading by title, which is also the material for the annual progress report.
Mark a child as homeschooled, pick Georgia and the month your school year starts, and the targets fill in. Log each lesson by subject in minutes; the dashboard shows the days and hours so far, and the year record PDF prints the daily log, hours by subject, reading by title and signature lines. Every feature is free for your first 30 days; then Plus is $9.99 a year for one child and the Family plan $29.99 for up to 6. Start your Georgia record, or read about homeschool records first.
Keep the record on paper, free
Homeschool attendance and hours log (PDF): one line per lesson with the date, subject, what you covered, the reading by title and the minutes, a page total and signature lines. The same log in Excel counts the school days, the hours and the core-subject hours as you type. Already keep a paper planner? Take a photo of each page in My Award Tracker and the lessons are read into your record; you check every row first.
Other states
- Homeschool record keeping by state: What to keep in every state, how to count days and hours, and a free printable log.
- Pennsylvania: 180 days or 900/990 hours, the portfolio and the June 30 evaluation.
- New York: 900/990 hours, the IHIP, quarterly reports and the annual assessment.
- Missouri: 1,000 hours, 600 in the core subjects, 400 at home.
Frequently asked questions
Does Georgia want attendance records?
Not anymore. Monthly attendance forms stopped in 2013, and the current statute lists no attendance report, only the Declaration of Intent each September. The requirement is still the equivalent of 180 school days of at least 4.5 hours, so an attendance record you keep at home is how you show it, and districts and colleges sometimes ask for one.
Does a 3-hour day count?
Not as one of the 180: the statute says each school day consists of at least four and one-half school hours unless the child is physically unable to comply. Two shorter sessions on the same date add up to one day, and the law sets no cap on how long a day can be.
When is the Declaration of Intent due if we start mid-year?
Within 30 days after you establish the home study program, then by September 1 every year you continue. The Georgia Department of Education accepts it electronically, by fax or by mail and passes a copy to your local school system.
Do we send the progress report or test scores to anyone?
No. The annual progress assessment report stays with you for at least three years, and standardized test results are kept but not submitted to public education authorities. Keep both with the attendance record.
Can a parent issue a high school diploma in Georgia?
A home study program is the school, and the statute lets the parent or guardian sign the documents that verify enrollment, status, grades and other educational information, including for employment of minors and public assistance. Colleges and employers ask for the transcript, so keep the hours and grades by course through all four years.
How many hours a year is 180 days of 4.5 hours?
810 hours. Georgia counts days, not hours, so the number only matters for your own planning: a 5-hour day gives you a margin, and a 4-hour day does not count at all.