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🚀 How to Start Homeschooling in Iowa

The first steps for a Iowa family starting to homeschool: what to file, how to leave a public school, and where to find co-ops, classes and help — drawn from our Iowa guide and articles.

Homeschooling in Iowa: the basics

The law: Iowa Code chapter 299A governs private instruction, and § 299.1 lets a parent, guardian or custodian meet the attendance law with "competent private instruction or independent private instruction in accordance with the provisions of chapter 299A." Private instruction means instruction using a plan and a course of study outside a public or organized accredited nonpublic school (§ 299A.1(2)(c)). The Department of Education's rules are in Iowa Administrative Code 281—chapter 31.
Who must attend: a child who has reached age 6 and is under 16 by September 15 is of compulsory attendance age (§ 299.1A). A child enrolled in a district or accredited nonpublic school who turns 16 on or after September 15 stays of compulsory age until the end of the school calendar. For CPI families who don't report, the Department's handbook puts it this way: a student who turns 16 before September 15 may stop at any time that year; one whose birthday is after September 15 finishes that school year.
Exceptions: the attendance law doesn't apply to a child who has graduated or earned a high school equivalency diploma, is excused by a court, is attending religious services or instruction or a course in religious instruction, attends an accredited private college preparatory school, or is excused or exempted under §§ 299.22 or 299.24 (§ 299.2).
CPI Option 1 — licensed teacher: instruction by or under the supervision of someone holding a valid Iowa license appropriate to the child's age and grade (§ 299A.2). It may be a district's homeschool assistance program (HSAP), a licensed teacher the family hires at its own expense, or a parent who holds a license. A privately retained teacher must contact the student and parent at least twice per 45 days of instruction, one of every two contacts face to face, and generally may serve no more than 25 families or 50 children a year unless the Department grants an exemption (IAC 281—31.3(1)). Option 1 families outside an HSAP still file Form A (§ 299A.2).
CPI Option 2 — parent without a license, with reporting: the parent "may" file Form A with the resident district, have the child evaluated each year, and report the results by August 1 (§ 299A.3). Reporting is required if you want to dual enroll in the district for classes, activities or special education.
CPI Option 2 — without reporting: the Department calls this the Private Instruction Exemption. There is no Form A, no curriculum documentation and no proof of yearly progress to the district or the Department. You must still teach reading and language arts, mathematics, science and social studies, but the student can't dual enroll for academics, activities or special education services. The Department says the district may not ask who is teaching, where or which students.
Independent private instruction (IPI): instruction that isn't accredited, has private or religious-based instruction as its primary purpose, teaches mathematics, reading and language arts, science and social studies in all grade levels, isn't a nonpublic school or CPI, and gives a report naming the primary instructor, location, responsible authority and students only if the superintendent or the Department asks in writing (§ 299A.1(2)(b)). IPI families file no forms and can't dual enroll; the district must still offer them an approved driver education course, annual testing at the family's cost and concurrent enrollment (IAC 281—31.7(6)).
What changed in 2026: House File 2754, signed May 12, 2026 and effective on enactment, removed IPI's limit of four unrelated students and its ban on charging tuition, fees or other pay. It also added § 299A.13 on parent-issued diplomas and § 299A.14, which lets a parent sign any document the law requires to verify a child's placement in CPI or IPI, full- or part-time status, grades or other educational information.
Days: the Department describes CPI as instruction provided daily for at least 148 days during the school year, at least 37 days each quarter, and Form A asks for the number of instructional days ("minimum 148 required"). Students who withdraw from a school to homeschool may subtract the days they already attended. IPI sets no day count.
Curriculum: families choose their own curriculum; the Department "does not review, recommend or require a specific curriculum." An "accredited" curriculum is fine to use, but accreditation of a curriculum doesn't make the homeschool accredited.
Homeschool assistance programs are public school programs: an HSAP is offered by a school district (or an accredited nonpublic school) with a licensed teacher who assists and supervises the parent (§ 299A.2). A child in a district HSAP is enrolled and counted in the district's basic enrollment. Districts don't have to offer one. Charter schools are public schools, and online schools approved by the Department are public or nonpublic schools — enrolling in either is not homeschooling.
Health records: a parent placing a child under CPI for the first time who files Form A also gives the district proof of the immunizations required under § 139A.8 and, for an elementary-age child, a blood lead test (§ 299.4). The Department says families using CPI Option 2 without reporting don't have to provide proof of immunization or a blood lead test.

Read the full section in our Iowa guide

Official sources

Summarized from our Iowa guide (as of November 2026) and articles. Rules change — confirm on the official pages before you act.

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