MISSISSIPPI
Homeschooling in Mississippi: Requirements, Paperwork, and How to Start
One certificate filed by September 15, and Mississippi asks nothing else. No records, no testing, no subject list, no minimum hours. It is among the lightest regimes in the country.
Homeschooling in Mississippi, Summarized
The Seven Things Mississippi Asks of You
Legal in Mississippi
Yes
Compulsory ages
6 to 17
Funding available
$8,007 per student
special-needs eligibility
Do I notify anyone?
Yes — once each school year
by September 15
Paperwork load
Low
nothing beyond the certificate
Parent qualification
None required
Standardized testing
Not required
Legal requirements last reviewed: August 2026 · Plain English · Not legal advice
Homeschooling is legal in Mississippi
What You Need to Know
The sole statutory obligation is a Certificate of Enrollment, filed with your county School Attendance Officer by September 15 each year. Beyond that there is nothing: no mandatory records, no assessment at any grade, no parent credential, no subject list, no minimum hours or days, and no curriculum to be approved.
What Mississippi Asks of You
One certificate a year. That is the whole statute.
Must do
File a Certificate of Enrollment for each compulsory-age child with your county Attendance Officer
Dates that matter
September 15 of each school year
Good practice — not required
Keep attendance and work samples anyway — the Department recommends it without requiring it
Keep a copy of the certificate: it is the only document the arrangement generates
No subject mandate, no instructional-hours or days minimum, no curriculum approval, and no records to submit. The certificate is genuinely the entire obligation.
Mississippi keeps no record of your child's year — yours is the only one. StudyPug builds it while your child works.
Funding for Mississippi Home Education
The key numbers before the details.
PROGRAM
Education savings account
AMOUNT
$8,007 per student for 2025-26
HOW IT'S SET
The per-pupil state allocation for special-needs students
WHO QUALIFIES
Needs an IEP from the district your child attended
How It Works
From registration to reimbursement, step by step.
1
Check eligibility first
Narrower than 'special needs': it needs an active IEP written in the past three years by the Mississippi district the child attended, so one who never attended cannot qualify.
2
Apply for the account
The award was $8,007 per student for 2025-26, equal to the per-pupil state allocation for special-needs students, so it moves with that figure.
3
Keep your receipts
The account is spent against approved categories and is auditable. Mississippi asks nothing of homeschooling families generally, but an account changes that for the money you hold.
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 record — Mississippi asks for none, but recommends one
Hours & attendance log that fills itself in
Progress reports you can download and share
Scope & Sequence export — the state prescribes no subjects, so yours is the plan
One-click receipts package, itemised and dated
Every child in one account — up to 5
Questions About Homeschooling in Mississippi
Quick answers for homeschooling families.
Is homeschooling legal in Mississippi?
Yes, and it is one of the least regulated arrangements in the country. The sole statutory obligation is filing an annual Certificate of Enrollment with your local county School Attendance Officer.
Do parents need a teaching certificate?
No. No parent credential, teaching license or minimum educational attainment is required. Any parent, guardian or custodian may homeschool, and nobody assesses the question.
Does Mississippi fund homeschooling?
There is an education savings account paying $8,007 per student for 2025-26, but eligibility is tied to the special-needs allocation rather than being open to everyone. Confirm your child qualifies before planning around it, because the amount equals the per-pupil state allocation for special-needs students.
What is the Certificate of Enrollment?
A single annual filing for each compulsory-school-age child, submitted to your county School Attendance Officer by September 15. There is no approval attached to it — it records that your child is enrolled in your home instruction program.
Do I have to teach particular subjects?
No. Mississippi sets no subject mandate, no minimum instructional hours or days, and no curriculum approval or submission. What and how you teach is entirely your decision.
What records should I keep, and for how long?
None are mandated. The Department recommends, without requiring, that parents retain attendance records and samples of work. Because nothing is collected anywhere, keeping your own is the only way a record of the year exists at all.
Is there any testing?
None. No state-mandated assessment, standardised testing or portfolio evaluation applies at any grade level. If you want a benchmark, a nationally normed test taken privately is the usual route.
Official Sources
Confirm the rules and apply directly with your state.
Mississippi Home School
→The Department's page — the Certificate of Enrollment and how to file it.
mdek12.org — Home School
Compulsory School Attendance Office
→The office that receives your Certificate of Enrollment.
mdek12.org — Attendance Enforcement
Education Scholarship Account
→The special-education account, and who actually qualifies.
mdek12.org — Special Education ESA
Other States:
Homeschooling in Missouri·Homeschooling in Montana·Homeschooling in Nebraska— 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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