Hawaii law specifically refers to homeschooling in Hawaii Rev. Stat. § 302A-1132(a)(5). To homeschool under this statute, you’ll need to follow these guidelines.

1. Submit a notice of intent.

You must provide a notice of intent before you begin homeschooling. The notice of intent should be given to the principal of the public school your child would attend if he or she were enrolled in public school.

You may choose to submit this notice either on Form 4140 (developed by the Hawaii Department of Education) or in a letter that includes the name, address, telephone number, birth date, and grade level of the child and the parent’s signature. You are not required to submit both.

HSLDA members can use our notice of intent form, available below, which lists the minimum information that parents must provide. Parents may also create their own notice of intent, so long as they include all the required information.

Finally, you must also notify the principal if you are no longer homeschooling.

2. Ensure your curriculum complies with the statute.

There are no required subjects to be taught, but your curriculum must “be structured and based on educational objectives as well as the needs of the child, be cumulative and sequential, provide a range of up-to-date knowledge and needed skills, and take into account the interests, needs, and abilities of the child.”

According to the statute:

  • An elementary school curriculum may include language arts, math, social studies, science, art, music, health, and physical education.
  • A secondary school curriculum may include social studies, English, mathematics, science, health, physical education, and guidance.

3. Keep records.

You must keep “a record of the planned curriculum,” which must include:

  • the commencement date and ending date of the homeschool program,
  • the number of hours per week of instruction,
  • the subjects to be covered,
  • the method used to determine mastery of materials and subjects in the curriculum, and
  • a list of textbooks or other instructional materials.

The list should be in standard bibliographical format (the author, title, publisher, and date of publication should be indicated).

4. Submit annual progress reports.

You must submit an annual report of your child’s progress to your local principal.

For grades 3, 5, 8, and 10, parents must submit the results of a criterion or norm-referenced standardized achievement test of the parents’ choice, which demonstrates grade-level achievement appropriate to their child’s age.

For all other grades, the annual progress report may be one of the following:

  • a score on a nationally normed standardized achievement test, which must demonstrate grade-level achievement appropriate to the child’s age,
  • progress on a nationally normed standardized test that is equivalent to one grade level per calendar year,
  • a written evaluation by a Hawaii-certified teacher,
  • a written evaluation by the parent (should include description of progress in each subject area, samples of the child’s work, and tests and assignments with grades, if grades are given) that demonstrates progress, or
  • the results of Hawaii’s Statewide Testing Program, if the parent chooses “to have the child participate in the school’s testing program.”

Click here to learn more about types of testing and evaluation.

Please note: The information on this page has been reviewed by an attorney, but it should not be taken as legal advice specific to your individual situation.