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Colorado offers three compliance paths: independent homeschooling with state-required notice and evaluations, enrollment through a private school, or joining an umbrella school. Families with a Colorado teaching license are exempt from notification, assessment, and record-keeping entirely.
Colorado Homeschool Requirements (2026)
📋 What Colorado Does NOT Require
- No curriculum approval by the state or district
- No teaching certification required for parents (unless choosing that exemption pathway)
- No specific textbooks or materials mandated
- Families with a valid Colorado teaching license have zero notification, assessment, or record-keeping requirements
📚 What Colorado DOES Require
- File a Notice of Intent (NOI) with your local school district at least 14 days before beginning homeschooling, and re-file annually
- Provide at least 172 days of instruction per year, averaging 4 contact hours per day
- Have your child's academic progress evaluated in grades 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11, via a nationally standardized test or qualified-person evaluation
- Maintain permanent records including attendance, test/evaluation results, and immunization records
📚 Required Subjects in Colorado
- Reading, writing, and speaking (communication skills)
- Mathematics
- History
- Civics
- Literature
- Science
- The U.S. Constitution
Colorado law specifically requires instruction in the U.S. Constitution alongside the more typical core subjects — one of the more distinctive statutory requirements among U.S. states.
📁 Record-Keeping in Colorado
- Colorado requires permanent records to be kept by the overseeing parent for each child
- Records must include attendance, test and evaluation results, and immunization records
- Keep evaluation results from the required grades 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 assessments specifically, since these are the state's core compliance checkpoints
- "Permanent" means these records should be retained indefinitely, not just for the current school year
⚠️ Always verify current requirements with your state department of education or the Home School Legal Defense Association (hslda.org). Laws can change and this page is for general reference only.
Getting Started / Withdrawing from Public School in Colorado
File a Notice of Intent (NOI) with your local school district at least 14 days before you plan to begin homeschooling — this notice must include your student's name, age, place of residence, and planned number of instructional hours, and must be re-filed annually for as long as you homeschool in Colorado. If your child is currently enrolled in a Colorado public school, filing the NOI with that district serves as your formal transition notice.
How Lumi Helps Colorado Homeschool Families
Lumi handles curriculum planning, grading, and progress tracking automatically, so Colorado families can focus on their kids instead of paperwork — while staying comfortably aligned with state requirements.
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Covers Required Subjects
Lumi covers the core subjects Colorado expects, plus additional subjects including Coding, Art, Music, and more — all in one flat-price app.
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Attendance Tracker
Built-in attendance logging helps you document instructional time and subject coverage automatically, useful for meeting record-keeping expectations.
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Printable Report Cards
Generate formal report cards automatically — useful for evaluations, re-enrollment in public school, or any situation requiring proof of academic progress.
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Printable Workbooks
Six standards-aligned workbooks covering every grade level — great for portfolio documentation and supplemental practice.
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Flat Family Price
$39.99/month covers up to 8 kids — no per-child fees as your family grows.
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Voice-Guided Lessons
Every lesson is narrated aloud by Lumi, so kids can work independently while parents focus on the bigger picture.
Colorado Homeschool Resources
- Colorado Department of Education — Homeschool — cde.state.co.us/choice/homeschool — Official state guidance, NOI requirements, and the Colorado Homeschool Law statute text.
- Colorado Home Educators (CHE) — chec.org — Statewide advocacy organization with detailed compliance checklists and legal updates.
- Secular Homeschoolers of Colorado — secularhomeschoolersofcolorado.com — Community organization with a plain-language statutory overview of Colorado homeschool law.
- Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) — hslda.org — National legal advocacy with Colorado-specific compliance guidance.
Frequently Asked Questions — Homeschooling in Colorado
What is Colorado's Notice of Intent and when do I file it?
The Notice of Intent (NOI) must be filed with your local school district at least 14 days before you begin homeschooling, and includes your child's name, age, residence, and planned instructional hours. It must be re-filed annually.
Does Colorado require homeschool testing?
Yes — Colorado requires academic progress evaluation in grades 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11, via either a nationally standardized achievement test or an evaluation by a qualified person the parent selects.
How many days/hours does Colorado require?
Colorado requires at least 172 days of instruction per year, averaging 4 contact hours per day.
Is there a way to avoid Colorado's notification and testing requirements?
Yes — if the parent or instructor holds a valid Colorado teaching license, there are no notification, assessment, or record-keeping requirements at all under that exemption pathway.
What is the best homeschool curriculum app for Colorado families?
Lumi Academy covers Colorado's required subjects — reading, writing, math, history, civics, literature, and science — through a structured Pre-K through 8th grade curriculum, with attendance tracking to help document the 172-day/4-hour requirement and printable records for the required periodic evaluations.
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