Public School Access for Homeschoolers in Iowa

Students homeschooling under any option other than Independent Private Instruction or Opt Out (choice 1 and 2 in HSLDA’s summary chart of Iowa homeschool law, see attachment below) may dual enroll with the public school to participate in any academic, instructional, or extracurricular activities offered by the school district. (Iowa Code §§256.46, 299A.8; Iowa Administrative Code §§281-31.5 to -31.6.) See In re Meggan Stone. Deadlines and other important requirements apply.

Things to keep in mind:

Public school access includes participation in public school classes, sports, activities, etc.

States use a unique vocabulary in this area: “extracurricular,” “cocurricular,” “curricular,” “interscholastic,” “program,” “activity,” etc. Care should be taken to distinguish one from another. When a state defines a word, it is important.

While athletic association rules are not “law,” public schools are generally constrained to operate within them, or their teams could be disqualified.

We strive toward keeping this information 100% up to date in this rapidly changing area of the law. However, this post should not be considered authoritative because of the possibility of unobserved changes in association rules, statutes, regulations, or case decisions, and because of lag time between changes and the publication of updates. 

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.