Homeschooling in West Virginia

Taking your child out of school in West Virginia

First move: Give the county superintendent a notice of intent (with a copy of your diploma or equivalent) on or before the day home instruction starts.

Telling the child's school is also wise, so the child is not counted as truant.

The legal routes

5 routes exist in West Virginia. They carry different duties, and families often do not know the alternatives to the obvious one.

Home instruction by notice (W. Va. Code § 18-8-1(c)(2))

The most common route. File a one-time notice of intent with the county superintendent, show a high school diploma or equivalent, teach the five required subjects, and get an annual assessment.

Home instruction with county board approval (§ 18-8-1(c)(1))

Instruction approved by the county board, by a person the county judges qualified, for a time equal to the public school term (180 days); the county may request attendance and progress records. Rarely used.

Private, parochial or church school (§ 18-8-1(k) and § 18-28)

Enrolling in a nonpublic school that operates under § 18-28 (900 hours a year, attendance and immunization records, annual nationally normed testing). This is private schooling, not homeschooling.

Learning pod or microschool (§ 18-8-1(n))

Parents grouping children together, or a tuition-charging microschool. Requires its own notice of intent, instructor diploma and annual assessment, much like home instruction. The law says this is not the same as homeschooling.

Hope Scholarship individualized instructional program (§ 18-8-1(m), § 18-31)

A family using a Hope Scholarship ESA files a Hope notice of intent and follows Hope Program rules (annual nationally normed test or other proof of progress) instead of the homeschool exemption.

The notice, and who receives it

Goes to

County superintendent or county board of education

Deadline

When home instruction begins. If the child is enrolled in public school, on or before the first day of home instruction. File a new notice if you move to another county, and tell the superintendent when home instruction ends.

Renews

one-time

Form

Homeschool Notice of Intent (WVDE sample letter; include a copy of the instructor's diploma or equivalent) — official form

Subjects West Virginia requires

• reading
• language
• mathematics
• science
• social studies

See which courses here cover these subjects →

Compulsory school age

6 to 17 (starts with the school year in which the child turns 6 before July 1, or earlier if enrolled in public kindergarten; ends at the 17th birthday)

Teaching time

None for the notice route. The county-approval route requires instruction for a time equal to the public school term (180 days).

Who may teach

High school diploma or equivalent, or a post-secondary degree or certificate from a regionally accredited or WV-authorized institution (notice route). Under the county-approval route, the county decides who is qualified.

Testing and evaluation

Every year, for the previous school year, pick one: (1) a nationally normed achievement test (published or normed within 10 years), given by a qualified person, covering reading, language, math, science and social studies; acceptable means an average at or above the 4th stanine, or improvement over last year; (2) the public school testing program, taken at a public school in your county; (3) a portfolio reviewed by a certified teacher, who writes a narrative on progress; or (4) another assessment agreed with the county superintendent. If progress is not acceptable, start a remedial program.

If it is not acceptable for a second year in a row, give the superintendent more evidence that proper instruction is happening. You only send results to the superintendent for grades 3, 5, 8 and 11.

Deadline: Results for grades 3, 5, 8 and 11 are due to the county superintendent by June 30 of the year the assessment was given.

Records to keep

Keep a copy of each child's annual academic assessment for 3 years. If the county superintendent asks for attendance or progress records under the county-approval route, you must provide them.

High school, diplomas and transcripts

The person running the homeschool may issue a diploma. By law it counts as a high school diploma, and state agencies and WV colleges may not treat it differently because of its source (§ 18-8-12).

Public schools must accept homeschool transcripts for placement and credit, and must record the source on the transcript. Homeschoolers can qualify for the PROMISE Scholarship (3.0 GPA in core and overall coursework, plus county documentation of homeschool status).

Public school classes, sports and activities

With county board approval, homeschoolers may attend individual county classes, including career-technical and virtual school courses, and still count as homeschoolers (§ 18-8-1(c)(3)). The county superintendent may also lend textbooks and materials if available.

Sports and extracurriculars at the public school serving your attendance zone are open to homeschoolers, Hope students and microschool students (§ 18-2-25(d)). Requirements: satisfactory yearly progress, with average test results at or above the 4th stanine in all subjects; under 19 by August 1; amateur status; and following WVSSAC and county rules. Reasonable fees may apply.

Funding: education savings accounts, vouchers and tax credits

Hope Scholarship ESA: about $5,436 per student for 2026-27, open to all K-12 children from 2026-27, including current homeschoolers. Taking it moves the child out of the homeschool exemption and into the Hope Program's rules.

What changed recently

2026-27: the Hope Scholarship ESA opened to all K-12 students, including traditional homeschoolers (about $5,436 per student; full funding for applications by June 15). HB 5089 (2026, effective June 9, 2026): public schools must accept homeschool, microschool and Hope transcripts for placement and credit, and record the source.

In 2025, after high-profile child-abuse cases, the House passed HB 2777, which would have moved oversight to the state, dropped the diploma requirement, and paused homeschool notices during abuse investigations. As of October 2026 it has not become law, and § 18-8-1 has not changed since 2022 (when learning pods and microschools were added). Expect more proposals.

What we could not confirm

Sports eligibility requires average test results at or above the 4th stanine, which seems to assume a standardized test. How WVSSAC treats portfolio-assessed students was not confirmed.

Bills on homeschool oversight keep being filed, so check the WV Code page for any 2027 session changes.

Listed because a legal summary that hides its gaps is harder to trust than one that names them. How these pages are checked.

Statutes and sources

Statute and regulation

• W. Va. Code § 18-8-1
• W. Va. Code § 18-8-1a
• W. Va. Code § 18-8-12
• W. Va. Code § 18-2-25
• W. Va. Code § 18-5-15g
• W. Va. Code § 18-28-1 et seq.
• W. Va. Code § 18-31-1 et seq. (Hope Scholarship)

Statute text

• W. Va. Code § 18-8-1 (compulsory attendance; exemptions)
• W. Va. Code § 18-8-1a (compulsory ages; transcripts)
• W. Va. Code § 18-8-12 (diplomas)
• W. Va. Code § 18-2-25 (extracurricular participation)
• W. Va. Code § 18-31-2 (Hope Scholarship eligibility)
• W. Va. Code § 18-31-8 (Hope Scholarship continuation/assessment)
• W. Va. Code § 18-28-2 and § 18-28-3 (private/church schools)
• Enrolled Committee Substitute for HB 5089 (2026) – transcript acceptance

State agency

• WVDE – Homeschool State Code
• WVDE – Homeschool Notice of Intent (PDF)
• WV Treasury – Start of Hope Scholarship universal eligibility (Mar. 3, 2026)

Secondary sources

• West Virginia Watch – House approves homeschool changes (HB 2777, Apr. 2025)
• HSLDA – West Virginia