Virginia Homeschool Laws and Funding (2026-27)

What Virginia’s law requires

The law that allows it: Code of Virginia 22.1-254.1: when its requirements are met, instruction by parents is an acceptable alternative to school attendance.

“When the requirements of this section have been satisfied, instruction of children by their parents is an acceptable alternative form of education under the policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia.” Code of Virginia 22.1-254.1 (home instruction)
Telling the state or district: Parents notify the division superintendent each year by August 15, with a list of subjects and evidence of meeting one of the qualification options. Families starting after the year begins notify as soon as practicable.

“Parents electing to provide home instruction shall provide such annual notice no later than August 15.” Code of Virginia 22.1-254.1 (home instruction)
What and how long to teach: The notice includes a description of the curriculum, limited to a list of subjects to be studied in the coming year.

“provide a description of the curriculum, limited to a list of subjects to be studied during the coming year” Code of Virginia 22.1-254.1 (home instruction)
Testing or evaluation: By August 1 after each year, parents submit either a test score at or above the fourth stanine on a nationally normed achievement test (or equivalent ACT, SAT or PSAT score) or an evaluation showing adequate progress. This does not apply to children under 6 on September 30.

“evidence that the child has attained a composite score in or above the fourth stanine on any nationally normed standardized achievement test, or an equivalent score on the ACT, SAT, or PSAT test” Code of Virginia 22.1-254.1 (home instruction)
Who may teach: The parent must hold a high school diploma, be a teacher with Board-set qualifications, provide a program of study or curriculum (including correspondence or distance learning), or show they can provide an adequate education.

“(i) holds a high school diploma; (ii) is a teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Board; (iii) provides the child with a program of study or curriculum” Code of Virginia 22.1-254.1 (home instruction)
Ages the law covers: Compulsory attendance covers children who are 5 on or before September 30 until their 18th birthday.

“any child who will have reached the fifth birthday on or before September 30 of any school year and who has not passed the eighteenth birthday” Code of Virginia 22.1-254 (compulsory attendance)

State money for homeschoolers in Virginia

We have not found an official source saying a Virginia program pays homeschooled students.

Virginia EISTC: amount and how to apply Private schools in Virginia

Which states pay homeschoolers, and how: Virginia next to every other state.

Questions parents ask

Do I have to tell anyone I am homeschooling in Virginia?

Parents notify the division superintendent each year by August 15, with a list of subjects and evidence of meeting one of the qualification options. Families starting after the year begins notify as soon as practicable.

Do homeschoolers in Virginia have to take tests?

By August 1 after each year, parents submit either a test score at or above the fourth stanine on a nationally normed achievement test (or equivalent ACT, SAT or PSAT score) or an evaluation showing adequate progress. This does not apply to children under 6 on September 30.

Can a homeschooler in Virginia get state money?

We have not found an official source saying a Virginia program pays homeschooled students.

Every line above is our plain-English summary of the quoted text, which is copied from the official page named beside it. Laws change: the quoted page is the authority, and a lawyer or the state can answer questions about your family.

Homeschooling in Virginia: what the law requires and who pays

What Virginia’s law requires

State money for homeschoolers in Virginia

Questions parents ask

Homeschool law in other states