COLORADO HOMESCHOOLING
NOI vs UMBRELLA SCHOOL
HOMESCHOOLING LEGALLY IN COLORADO
You will hear chatter about what is required to legally homeschool, which records are required to keep, and when and how to test.
Many people will share their umbrella school's policies, not knowing these policies are unique to the school and not what the law stipulates. If you have any doubt about what you need to do, please continue reading so you will be well-informed.
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When you enroll in an umbrella school to fulfill legal homeschool reporting requirements, you shift out of Homeschool Law and over to the Non-Public School law. Umbrella schools are legally classified as Independent Schools.
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We have the authority to make our own policies and procedures. Umbrella schools do not file a NOI on your behalf because when you enroll with an umbrella school you are homeschooling under a different law.
See the breakdown below for a comparison of the Homeschool Law and Statheros Academy's policies.
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Be sure that you understand exactly what is required while homeschooling your kids in Colorado so you don't waste time and effort or put your family at risk of being out of legal compliance.
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Please always be careful to share accurate information about what it takes to manage a Colorado homeschool. When people truly understand and correctly fulfill legal obligations, they are more relaxed and confident about homeschooling.
COLORADO HOMESCHOOL NOI
UMBRELLA SCHOOL
STATHEROS ACADEMY
Colorado Homeschool law requires:
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Education must occur for a minimum of 172 days, averaging 4 hours per day.
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Subjects covered must include but aren’t limited to:
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Communication skills of reading, writing, and speaking, mathematics, history, civics, literature, and science.
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Honor and use of the flag to be taught.
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The United States Constitution to be studied. Instruction shall begin no later than the seventh grade and continue in high school
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Required Records to keep on hand:
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Attendance
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Test/evaluation results
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Vaccine Records
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When filing a NOI the school district has the right to demand your records. This is HIGHLY unlikely, but if it happens you must comply and submit records to them within 14 days.
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C.R.S 22-33-104.5(3)(e) requires parents to file a Notice of Intent (NOI) to homeschool with their local school district 14 days prior to the first day of school.
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Please note that if you enroll in an umbrella school, you can remove your child from school immediately and do not have to wait 14 days to pull your child from school. We can expedite your registration and help you withdraw your students from school in one day or less.
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C.R.S. 22-33-104.5(3)(f) requires a child participating in a homeschool program to be evaluated in grades 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 in one of two ways:
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A nationally standardized achievement test​
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An evaluation by a “qualified person”
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Results must be sent to the school district that received the NOI or you may submit them to a school like Statheros Academy that does record storage. If you submit test/evaluation results to a school you must notify the school district where the records are being stored.
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Attendance requirements:
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Education must occur for a minimum of 172 days, averaging 4 hours per day. Our school year runs from July 1- June 30.
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Subjects covered should include but aren’t limited to:
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Communication skills of reading, writing, and speaking, mathematics, history, civics, literature, and science, honor and use of the flag, and the US Constitution should be studied in grades 7+. ​​​
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Unschoolers are welcome.
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What we collect for enrollment:
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Family Information
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Teaching Resource List which is the scope of resources used in your homeschool.
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Other things you should know:
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- Submitting attendance is optional as a record keeping service.*​​​​
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We do not collect or store vaccine records.
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When you register with us you do NOT file a Colorado Homeschool NOI with a school district. If you have done both contact Colleen for assistance with this.
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Statheros Academy does not require testing. You can do a parent or professional evaluation if you want. Do what is best for your student.
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Evaluations/Testing must be done every other year for all kids grades 3+.​​
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Parents are STRONGLY encouraged to ensure that your student is receiving a well-rounded education to give them the best chances for long-term success. We recommend providing structured coursework that will meet requirements for college entry, should your student decide they want to go to college.
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We do not believe that everyone must go to college in order to succeed. Many people do not desire to attend college and can succeed very well without it.
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*We do not require you to turn in Attendance each year, but you are required to track attendance at home. If we are audited we will notify you and you must turn in current attendance records within 3 business days.
COLORADO HOMESCHOOL VACCINATION RULES
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You are required to keep your student's shot record or exemption letter readily available should you need it.
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If you do not vaccinate to the schedule and:
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Your children do NOT participate in a public or private school program, you may write your own exemption letter to keep on file in your home. See page 4 section 1.5 of SB2020-163 for this provision.
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Your children DO participate in a public or private school program, you must comply with SB2020-163 and submit a non-medical exemption form through the online system or have the form signed by an authorized provider.