Homeschool Dual Enrollment in Pennsylvania
Yes. Since the 2023-24 school year, Pennsylvania home education students may take part in their school district's dual credit agreements with colleges, and a district concurrent enrollment program must admit them.
How dual credit works for homeschoolers
Since the 2022-23 school year, every school district that enrolls secondary students must have at least one dual credit agreement with a college or university approved to operate in Pennsylvania (section 1525 of the Public School Code). Credit is earned at both the high school and the college, and a district may have agreements with more than one college.
If your district has a concurrent enrollment program, in which students enroll at a college, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) says homeschooled students must be allowed to participate. These are reimbursable costs for the district under section 1602-B of the Public School Code and section 11.33 of Title 22 of the Pennsylvania Code.
Credits your child earns through dual enrollment count toward the mandatory courses and graduation requirements of your home education program.
Outside the district route, a homeschooled teen can also apply to a college directly under its own admission rules.
Before your child can enroll
District eligibility rules
Your child meets the same eligibility criteria and prerequisites, or their equivalent, that apply to full-time district students, and follows the district's policies.
College admission
The college admits your child and confirms the course prerequisites and placement are met.
Enrolling in a college course
First step
Call the district office and ask how a homeschooled teen signs up for a course through one of its partner colleges.
Course and funding limits
The state's Dual Credit Innovation Grant pays public colleges only for courses offered to students enrolled in a school district, career and technical school, or charter school, so it does not fund independent college enrollment by a homeschooler.
What it costs
What the family pays depends on the district's agreement with the college. Direct enrollment outside the district route is billed at the college's own rates.
When to apply
Ask the district early in the school year before you want the course, since it sets the sign-up process for its agreements.
A homeschool plan alongside college courses
We teach the subjects your teen takes at home and generate the homeschool transcript from that coursework.
$149/month per child after the trial.