Georgia asks for very little. Georgia is a light-touch state. There is something to file, and it is short. Below is exactly what, by when, and where it comes from in the code.

What you file, and by when

Submit a Declaration of Intent to Utilize a Home Study Program to the Georgia Department of Education (electronically, via the GaDOE portal - not to the local district) within 30 days of establishing the program, and annually thereafter by September 1. It must list the names and ages of the students, the address where the program is located, and the dates of the school year.

Days or hours

Instruction each 12 months equivalent to 180 school days, with each school day consisting of at least 4.5 school hours - unless the child's education is impeded by physical or mental disability, or by an emergency.

Subjects you must cover

Reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science.

Records you keep

Parents must maintain attendance records for the home study program and keep the annual written progress assessment reports for at least three years. Since 2016 (HB 739) monthly attendance reports are NO LONGER submitted to the state - attendance records are kept at home only. Standardized test results are also retained, not submitted.

Testing or evaluation

Students must take a nationally standardized achievement test at least every three years beginning at the end of the third grade. Scores are retained by the parent and are not reported to the state or the local district. Separately, the teaching parent must write an annual progress assessment report evaluating the child's progress in each required subject; also retained, not submitted.

Diplomas and transcripts

Georgia does not issue diplomas, credits, or transcripts for home study students; the parent issues the diploma and transcript, and a parent-issued diploma is treated as valid for state purposes (including HOPE Scholarship eligibility, which has a specific homeschool pathway administered by GSFC requiring SAT/ACT scores and a transcript). The teaching parent must hold at least a high school diploma or a state-approved High School Equivalency (HSE) diploma; tutors employed must meet the same standard. There are no state-imposed graduation credit requirements. Note the Georgia Promise Scholarship (SB 233, 2024; first awards 2025-26) provides $6,500 accounts, but eligibility is tied to students zoned for low-performing schools and its interaction with a declared home study program is narrow - verify eligibility rules directly with the Georgia Education Savings Authority rather than assuming home study participation qualifies.

Where this comes from

Statute: O.C.G.A. 20-2-690(c) (home study program requirements); O.C.G.A. 20-2-690.1 (compulsory attendance, ages 6-16); O.C.G.A. 20-2-2110 et seq. (Georgia Promise Scholarship)

Source: https://codes.findlaw.com/ga/title-20-education/ga-code-sect-20-2-690/

Last reviewed: July 2026 · our confidence in this entry: high

Homeschool law changes, and a page like this goes stale without announcing it. Check the statute above against your own reading before a filing deadline. If we are out of date, we would rather hear it from you than have you find out at the district office.

Keeping the records is the other half of this. Our Records System has the editable transcript with the GPA already wired, 131 course descriptions, and this same statute-cited summary for all fifty states and DC. Thirty-nine dollars, one household, however many children you have.