MINNESOTA
Homeschooling in Minnesota: Requirements, Paperwork, and How to Start
A report to your district by October 1, a letter of intent every year after, and an annual standardised test. Minnesota also asks the instructor to meet one of five qualification tiers.
Homeschooling in Minnesota, Summarized
The Six Things Minnesota Asks of You
Legal in Minnesota
Yes
as a nonpublic school
Compulsory ages
7 to 17
Do I notify anyone?
Yes — by October 1, every year
Paperwork load
Medium to High
testing and documentation
Parent qualification
One of five tiers must be met
Standardized testing
Annual, ages 7-16 · a floor applies
nationally norm-referenced
Legal requirements last reviewed: June 2026 · Plain English · Not legal advice
Homeschooling is legal in Minnesota
What You Need to Know
Minnesota treats home schools as nonpublic schools inside a compliance framework. File a report of instruction with your superintendent by October 1 of the first year and a letter of intent each year after. Test every child aged 7 to 16 annually. The instructor must satisfy one of five qualification tiers.
What Minnesota Asks of You
File by October, test every year, meet one of five tiers.
Must do
Report the child's name, birth date and address, and agree the test with your superintendent
File a letter of intent to continue each subsequent year, with any changes
Administer a nationally norm-referenced achievement test each year to children aged 7 to 16
Meet one of the five instructor qualification tiers
Keep documentation that the required subjects are being taught
Submit immunization statements, or a valid exemption
Dates that matter
October 1 of the first school year after the report is required
October 1 each subsequent year, for the letter of intent
Each school year for the test — the statute sets no specific calendar date
October 1 of the first year for immunization, and again in the grade-7 year
Good practice — not required
Settle the test with your superintendent early — it is agreed, not simply declared
Keep subject documentation current: it is not disclosed to the district, but it is required to exist
Results are not generally submitted. A total battery at or below the 30th percentile, or a full grade below age-peers, obliges you to obtain further evaluation for a learning problem.
Minnesota wants an annual test and documented subjects. StudyPug builds the year behind both while your child works.
Funding for Minnesota Home Education
The short answer, before the detail.
Minnesota provides no direct funding to homeschooling families.
There is no education savings account or voucher. What does exist is the K-12 Education Credit, worth up to $1,500 per qualifying child at 75% of qualified expenses, subject to an income phase-out — a tax credit rather than a spending account.
To your family
$0 — no state spending account
Tax credit
Up to $1,500 per child · 75% of qualified expenses
The catch
Income phase-out applies
What StudyPug Handles for You
Not templates you fill in — records that fill themselves in.
Work-samples portfolio that assembles itself
Hours & attendance log that fills itself in
Progress reports you can download and share
Scope & Sequence documenting the required subjects
One-click package pairing your records with the annual test
Every child in one account — up to 5
Questions About Homeschooling in Minnesota
Quick answers for homeschooling families.
Is homeschooling legal in Minnesota?
Yes. A home school qualifies as a school for compulsory-attendance purposes when it complies with the relevant statutes, which puts it in the same framework as other nonpublic schools rather than treating it as an exemption.
Do parents need a teaching certificate?
Not necessarily, but Minnesota is one of the few states that asks something here. The instructor must meet at least one of five tiers — holding a valid Minnesota teaching license in the field and grade is the first, and being directly supervised by someone who holds one is another.
Does Minnesota fund homeschooling?
Not directly. There is no education savings account or voucher. The K-12 Education Credit is worth up to $1,500 per qualifying child, calculated as 75% of qualified expenses and subject to an income phase-out, so it reduces tax rather than providing money to spend.
What testing is required?
A nationally norm-referenced standardised achievement examination, administered every school year to each home-schooled child aged 7 to 16. The statute sets no specific calendar date for it, and results are not generally submitted to the district.
What goes in the October 1 filing?
For the first year: your child's name, birth date and address, the tests you intend to use, and documentation of how the instructor meets a qualification tier. Each year after, a letter of intent to continue plus anything that has changed.
What records should I keep, and for how long?
Documentation that the required subjects are being taught, maintained throughout instruction. It is not generally disclosed to the district. One case makes it matter: if your child later enrolls full-time in a public school, you provide the school with those records at enrollment.
What about immunizations?
Immunization statements, or a valid medical or conscientious-beliefs exemption, go to your district superintendent by October 1 of your first year homeschooling in Minnesota, and again in the grade-7 year.
Official Sources
Confirm the rules and apply directly with your state.
Minn. Stat. § 120A.22
→Compulsory instruction, the subjects and the qualification tiers.
revisor.mn.gov — § 120A.22
Minn. Stat. § 120A.24
→The reporting obligations and their October deadlines.
revisor.mn.gov — § 120A.24
Minn. Stat. § 121A.15
→Immunization requirements and the available exemptions.
revisor.mn.gov — § 121A.15
Other States:
Homeschooling in Mississippi·Homeschooling in Missouri·Homeschooling in Montana— each reviewed against its own official sources
See How Families Run Their Homeschool on StudyPug
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StudyPug is a records tool, not legal advice. Homeschool rules, funding amounts, and deadlines change at least yearly — always confirm with the official sources above before you act. Requirements can also differ at the school-board or district level, so check with your local board or district too. We review every jurisdiction page and show you the date we last checked it; each requirement in your dashboard carries its own source and last-verified date.
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