Pennsylvania homeschool law for high school: graduation, diploma and records

Pennsylvania's compulsory attendance law, 24 P.S. § 13-1327, is satisfied by a home education program under 24 P.S. § 13-1327.1, a properly qualified private tutor, a religious day school, or an accredited day or boarding school. A home education program is not considered a nonpublic school under the School Code (24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(b)).

24 P.S. § 13-1327; 24 P.S. § 13-1327.1

The law as of September 29, 2026.

Pennsylvania at a glance

As of September 29, 2026

Notice to the state: Depends on the option
Home education program: the parent files a notarized affidavit with the superintendent of the district of residence before the program begins and annually thereafter on August 1, stating the supervisor's name, each child's name and age, the program's address and phone number, that the required subjects are offered in English with an outline of proposed educational objectives by subject, evidence of immunization and required health services, and a certification that the supervisor, all adults in the home and legal custodians have no listed criminal convictions in the past five years. An unsworn declaration under 42 Pa.C.S. § 6204 has the same effect as the sworn affidavit, and PDE publishes sample unsworn declarations. Private tutor: the tutor files a copy of the Pennsylvania teaching certificate and the criminal history record with the superintendent.24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(b)(1); 42 Pa.C.S. § 6204(a); 24 P.S. § 13-1327(a); PDE, Home Education and Private Tutoring (sample affidavits and unsworn declarations)
Records the law asks for: Depends on the option
Home education program: the supervisor must provide and maintain on file, for each student, a portfolio consisting of a log made contemporaneously with instruction that designates reading materials by title, samples of the student's writings, worksheets, workbooks or creative materials, and standardized test results in grades 3, 5 and 8. The portfolio goes to the evaluator; only the evaluator's certification is submitted to the superintendent, by June 30 each year. The statute sets no period for keeping the portfolio.24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(e)(1); 24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(h.1)
Testing or evaluation: Depends on the option
Home education program: in grades 3, 5 and 8 the student takes a nationally normed standardized achievement test in reading/language arts and mathematics from PDE's approved list, or the Statewide tests, and the test may not be administered by the child's parent or guardian. Each year an evaluator (a licensed clinical or school psychologist, a Pennsylvania-certified teacher, or a qualifying nonpublic school teacher or administrator, and never the supervisor or spouse) interviews the child, reviews the portfolio and certifies in writing whether an appropriate education is occurring; persons with other qualifications may evaluate with the superintendent's prior consent.24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(e)(1)-(2); 24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(h.1), (i.1)
Graduation requirements: Some set in state law
24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(d) establishes these minimum courses in grades 9 through 12 as a requirement for graduation in a home education program; the private tutoring route has no graduation requirements and no direct path to a state-recognized diploma (PDE guide). PDE's May 2026 guide also says students 'should' complete health (1 course), physical education (2) and electives (6) and cites 22 Pa. Code Chapter 4; that longer list is department guidance, not the statutory list.
Four years of English
Three years of mathematics
Three years of science
Three years of social studies
Two years of arts and humanities
24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(d); PDE, Home Education and Private Tutoring Guide (May 2026), Graduation Requirements
Diploma: Issued by: supervisor (parent) or a PDE-approved diploma-granting organization
Under 24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(d.1), added by Act 196 of 2014, a diploma awarded by the supervisor or by a PDE-approved diploma-granting organization, to a student who completed the subsection (d) requirements while in a compliant home education program, has all the rights and privileges that the Commonwealth, its agencies (including PHEAA) and its political subdivisions give a diploma awarded under the School Code; a supervisor's diploma must be on PDE's standardized form and signed by the student's twelfth grade evaluator. PDE must set criteria for approving diploma-granting organizations and post the list, publishes the supervisor diploma form (PDE 6008), and does not itself issue or track home education diplomas. A Commonwealth Secondary School Diploma is available by passing a high school equivalency test or completing 30 semester hours at an accredited postsecondary institution (22 Pa. Code § 4.72).24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(d.1); 22 Pa. Code § 4.72; PDE, Home Education and Private Tutoring Guide (May 2026), Diplomas
Compulsory school ages: 6 to 18: from the time the parents elect to have the child enter school, which must be no later than age 6, until the child reaches 18; the term excludes a child who holds a certificate of graduation from a regularly accredited, licensed, registered or approved high school (definition amended by Act 16 of 2019).24 P.S. § 13-1326

The legal options for homeschooling in Pennsylvania

Home education programA parent, guardian or person with legal custody who holds a high school diploma or its equivalent acts as supervisor, teaches the required subjects for 180 days or 900 hours a year (elementary) or 180 days or 990 hours (secondary), files an affidavit with the district superintendent, keeps a portfolio, and has the portfolio evaluated each year. Basis: statute24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(a)-(c), (e); 24 P.S. § 13-1327(d)
Properly qualified private tutorRegular daily instruction in English by a tutor who is certified to teach in Pennsylvania public schools, teaches children of a single family, provides the majority of their instruction and receives a fee or other consideration satisfies compulsory attendance; the tutor files a copy of the certification and the required criminal history record with the superintendent of the student's district. Basis: statute24 P.S. § 13-1327(a)
Day school operated by a bona fide church or other religious bodyA child enrolled in such a school meets compulsory attendance if the school provides 180 days or 900 hours (elementary) or 990 hours (secondary) of instruction in the listed subjects and its principal files a notarized affidavit with the Department of Education; the statute speaks of enrollment in the school and does not describe home-based 'satellite' arrangements, which are a practice some such schools offer. Basis: statute24 P.S. § 13-1327(b)
Day or boarding school accredited by an association approved by the State Board of EducationEnrollment in an accredited day or boarding school satisfies compulsory attendance; home-based extension programs of such schools are described by HSLDA, not by the statute. Basis: statute24 P.S. § 13-1327(c)
Cyber charter school (public school, not homeschooling)A cyber charter school is an independent public school chartered by the Department of Education that delivers much of its instruction online; the Department states that cyber charter students are public school students, not homeschoolers, and that diplomas from PDE-chartered cyber charter schools are state-recognized. Basis: statute24 P.S. § 17-1703-A; PDE, Home Education and Private Tutoring Guide (May 2026), Diplomas

What Pennsylvania law means for your transcript

The statute lists graduation courses in 'years' but does not define a year or a credit, and PDE's May 2026 guide says graduation should rest on completing courses and covering state standards rather than on year or credit counts, so any credit-hour convention on a transcript is practice, not law.
A supervisor-issued diploma must be on PDE's standardized form and signed by the student's twelfth grade evaluator (24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(d.1)(1)(i)); keeping the transcript consistent with what that evaluator reviewed is practice, not a separate legal requirement.
Grades for district courses taken under 24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(f.2) are sent to the supervisor for the portfolio, and PDE's guide says dual enrollment credits count toward the home education graduation requirements.
PDE's guide says transcripts 'should be kept by the parent'; the statute itself requires the portfolio and the evaluator's certification, not a transcript.

College admission and state aid for Pennsylvania homeschoolers

A diploma that meets 24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(d.1) has all the rights and privileges afforded by the Commonwealth, Commonwealth agencies including the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), political subdivisions and local agencies to a diploma awarded under the School Code. PDE's guide states that completing the subsection (d) graduation requirements is a prerequisite for PHEAA state higher education funding unless the student holds a Commonwealth Secondary School Diploma.24 P.S. § 13-1327.1(d.1)(1); PDE, Home Education and Private Tutoring Guide (May 2026), Graduation and the PHEAA Form

Recent changes to Pennsylvania homeschool law

No amendment to 24 P.S. § 13-1327.1 was found after Act 55 of 2022, whose subsections (f.2) to (f.4) apply from the 2023-2024 school year: districts must let home education students take cocurricular activities, academic courses (up to at least one quarter of the school day) and career and technical education on the same basis as enrolled students, and the district sends course grades to the supervisor for the portfolio. Bills in the 2025-2026 session are not law: SB 1340 (amends the home education section; referred to Senate Education May 20, 2026), HB 2632 (educational tax credits; referred to Senate Education June 26, 2026) and HB 1667 (a Tax Reform Code bill; last action July 1, 2026, re-reported on concurrence as amended). A CHAP summary says HB 2632 and HB 1667 would bar certain tax credit scholarships for home education applicants.

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What we could not confirm

These points could not be checked against the statute or regulation text, so treat them with care:

PDE's May 2026 guide lists extra courses (health 1, physical education 2, electives 6) and says 22 Pa. Code Chapter 4 requires home education students to address the academic standards; a text search of Chapter 4 on pacodeandbulletin.gov found no mention of home education programs, so we could not confirm that Chapter 4 binds home education programs.
Home-based 'satellite' or 'extension' arrangements with religious day schools and accredited schools are described by HSLDA; 24 P.S. § 13-1327(b) and (c) speak only of children enrolled in such schools.
The home education content of HB 2632 and HB 1667 comes from a CHAP legislative summary (July 2026); we read only their captions and status on palegis.us (checked 28 September 2026), not the bill text.

Sources

General information about Pennsylvania law as of September 29, 2026, not legal advice. Laws change, so check the statute before you rely on it. Found an error? Email [email protected].