MISSOURI
Homeschooling in Missouri: Requirements, Paperwork, and How to Start
Missouri asks for no notice of intent at all. What it asks for is a record: a plan book, a portfolio, evaluations, and a thousand hours logged across the year.
Homeschooling in Missouri, Summarized
The Eight Things Missouri Asks of You
Legal in Missouri
Yes
two named forms
Compulsory ages
7 to 17
or 16 high-school credits
Your two options
Home school or Family Paced Education
identical rules, different funding
Funding available
Family Paced Education track only
home schools are barred
Do I notify anyone?
Not required to begin
only to withdraw from school
Paperwork load
Low
records kept, never submitted
Parent qualification
None required
Standardized testing
Not required
Legal requirements last reviewed: June 2026 · Plain English · Not legal advice
Homeschooling is legal in Missouri
What You Need to Know
Missouri asks for nothing to begin — there is no notice of intent, and withdrawal from public school is triggered only by your written request. The obligation is private and evidential instead: a plan book, a portfolio, evaluation records, and a thousand hours a year, six hundred in the core subjects.
What Missouri Asks of You
Nothing to file, a great deal to keep — and one label decides funding.
Must do
Send the district a written request to drop your child from its rolls, if they are enrolled
Keep a plan book, diary or other written record of subjects taught and activities undertaken
Keep a portfolio of your child's work samples and evaluation records
Offer 1,000 hours a year — 600 in the core subjects, 400 of those at your regular location
Dates that matter
Before or at the time of withdrawal from public school
The hours accumulate across the year — there is no filing deadline because there is no filing
Good practice — not required
Log hours as you go: 1,000 with a 600-hour core split is hard to reconstruct after the fact
Keep the plan book current — it is the document that makes the rest of the record legible
The trade-off
No MOScholars account — the statute excludes home schools from the program
Identical records and hours to the other track. The one consequence of the label is funding: RSMo 167.012 home schools are barred from MOScholars by name.
Must do
Send the district a written request to drop your child from its rolls, if they are enrolled
Keep a plan book, diary or other written record of subjects taught and activities undertaken
Keep a portfolio of your child's work samples and evaluation records
Offer 1,000 hours a year — 600 in the core subjects, 400 of those at your regular location
Dates that matter
Before or at the time of withdrawal from public school
The hours accumulate across the year — there is no filing deadline because there is no filing
Good practice — not required
Log hours as you go: 1,000 with a 600-hour core split is hard to reconstruct after the fact
Keep the plan book current — it is the document that makes the rest of the record legible
Declared, not filed — there is no state registration for a Family Paced Education school, and no background check for its teachers. The records and hours are the same as the home school track.
Missouri wants a thousand hours logged and a portfolio to match. StudyPug builds both while your child works.
Funding for Missouri Home Education
The key numbers before the details.
PROGRAM
MOScholars education savings account
WHO QUALIFIES
Family Paced Education, income-capped unless on an IEP
STANDARD AWARD
Around $7,145 for 2025-26 — 100% of the State Adequacy Target
HIGHER TIERS
125% at reduced lunch · 175% with an individualised plan
How It Works
From registration to reimbursement, step by step.
1
Check which track you are on
This decides the rest. Missouri bars home schools under RSMo 167.012 from MOScholars and admits Family Paced Education schools under 167.013. The records and hours are identical either way.
2
Check which tier you fall in
The award is a percentage of the State Adequacy Target: 100% as standard, around $7,145 for 2025-26, rising to 125% at free or reduced lunch and 175% with an individualised plan.
3
Keep your records either way
The plan book, portfolio and thousand hours stand on both tracks. But an FPE family drawing MOScholars must also sit state or norm-referenced tests and report the results.
Funding rules move faster than law. Amounts and eligibility can change every school year and every legislative session — always confirm with the official program sources below before you spend. Funding facts last reviewed: August 2026.
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 export to seed your plan book
One-click package showing 1,000 hours with 600 in the core subjects
Every child in one account — up to 5
Questions About Homeschooling in Missouri
Quick answers for homeschooling families.
Is homeschooling legal in Missouri?
Yes, and it is expressly authorised rather than merely permitted. The statute names two forms — a home school and a Family Paced Education school — and both carry the same record and hour requirements.
Do parents need a teaching certificate?
No. Missouri sets no credential, degree or certification requirement for a homeschooling parent, and nobody reviews your suitability — the statute puts the emphasis entirely on the records you keep instead.
Does Missouri fund homeschooling?
Yes, but only on the Family Paced Education track. RSMo 167.012 home schools are barred from MOScholars by name and RSMo 167.013 schools are admitted, though the two carry identical records and hours. Standard eligibility pays 100% of the State Adequacy Target, around $7,145 for 2025-26, with higher tiers above that.
Do I have to tell anyone I am homeschooling?
Not to begin. There is no notice of intent in Missouri. The only communication required is a written request to your public school district to drop your child from its rolls, and only if they were enrolled there.
What is the thousand-hour rule?
You offer at least 1,000 hours of instruction a year. Six hundred of those must be in the core subjects — reading, language arts, mathematics and the rest — and on the Family Paced Education form, four hundred of those six hundred must occur at the regular location.
What records should I keep, and for how long?
Three things, kept contemporaneously and never submitted: a plan book, diary or other written record of subjects taught and activities undertaken; a portfolio of your child's work samples; and a record of evaluations. No retention period is set, and no authority collects them.
Nothing is submitted — so why keep records at all?
Because they are the requirement. Missouri's obligation is evidential rather than procedural: there is no filing, but the records must exist and be credible. They are also what you would produce if the arrangement were ever questioned.
Official Sources
Confirm the rules and apply directly with your state.
RSMo 167.012 — Home School
→The home-school form, its records and its hours.
revisor.mo.gov — 167.012
RSMo 167.013 — Family Paced Education
→The second named form and how it differs.
revisor.mo.gov — 167.013
RSMo 167.042 — Withdrawal
→The written request that removes a child from the rolls.
revisor.mo.gov — 167.042
Other States:
Homeschooling in Montana·Homeschooling in Nebraska·Homeschooling in Nevada— each reviewed against its own official sources
See How Families Run Their Homeschool on StudyPug
Lessons, practice, and the records above — one family plan.
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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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