Homeschooling in West Virginia

If your child is enrolled in public school, give the notice on or before the day home instruction begins; there is no other deadline. The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) posts a sample letter of intent you may use. Once filed, the notice carries over from year to year.

A county superintendent who has probable cause can ask the circuit court to deny home instruction. The court may do so only on clear and convincing evidence that your child will suffer educational neglect or that other compelling reasons exist.

Before you go, ask the school for copies of report cards, test scores, and any special education evaluations.

Keep each year's academic assessment for three years. The superintendent sees results only for grades 3, 5, 8, and 11, though the person teaching under the county board approval route must share attendance, instruction, and progress records when asked.

Your own records also matter in three later steps:

• Returning to public school, covered below
• Sports, which rely on yearly test results
• The Promise Scholarship, described under high school

A transcript you prepare is the record of your child's high school work, because home instruction does not earn credits through the public school system.

Each assessment option sets its own measure of acceptable progress:

• Nationally normed test: published or normed within 10 years, given under its instructions by a qualified person in all five subjects. The mean score must be in or above the fourth stanine, or show improvement over the previous year.
• State testing program: taken at a public school in your county and judged by the state program's guidelines.
• Portfolio review: a certified teacher writes a narrative on progress in the five subjects and notes any areas needing remediation. Progress in line with your child's abilities counts as acceptable.
• Alternative assessment: one you and the county superintendent agree on.

When an assessment does not show acceptable progress, you must start a remedial program. After a second year in a row without acceptable progress, you must also give the county superintendent additional evidence that appropriate instruction is being provided.

Every school district must find and evaluate children with disabilities who live in it, homeschooled children included (34 CFR 300.111). On request, the county board must tell you in writing what services are available to assess your child's eligibility for special education, and identifying a disability does not end your right to homeschool.

Textbooks and classes

The county superintendent must offer help such as textbooks, teaching materials, and other resources, as available. With county board approval, your child may attend any class the county offers, including career technical education and virtual school programs, under normal registration and attendance rules. A child enrolled for half the school day or less is still a homeschool student for assessment purposes.

The person who runs your home school's secondary program may issue a diploma or other credential when your child completes it. Under W. Va. Code 18-8-12, that diploma legally shows your child has a high school diploma or its equivalent.

The Promise Scholarship asks more of homeschool applicants: at least a 3.0 grade point average, or a B average, in both core courses and all coursework required for graduation. The core includes 4 credits each of English, mathematics, and social sciences, and 3 of lab sciences. You submit a grade verification form, the transcript, and documentation of homeschool status from your county board office.

No state agency or West Virginia college may reject your child or treat your child differently only because the diploma came from a home school. After full admission, a college may still give placement tests or other assessments for its course sequences or programs.

LevelUpWV, the state-funded dual enrollment pilot under W. Va. Code 18B-14-4, includes homeschool juniors and seniors. Each career pathway needs a memorandum of understanding between the college and your homeschool program, and enrolled students pay no tuition. The state reports that a county school may or may not accept those credits if your child later transfers back. The four-year pilot ends with the 2026-27 school year.

Homeschool dual enrollment in West Virginia

State law requires the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission (WVSSAC) to treat a homeschooled student as eligible for interscholastic athletics and other extracurricular activities if the student has yearly evidence of academic progress with average test results in or above the fourth stanine in all subjects, is under 19 on August 1, and is an amateur. The student must also follow WVSSAC and county disciplinary rules and its rules on awards, consents, physicals, and vaccinations.

Your child may play only at the public secondary school serving your attendance zone. A student who leaves a school during the year follows the usual transfer rules, and the school may charge reasonable participation fees.

Homeschool sports eligibility in West Virginia

The Hope Scholarship is West Virginia's education savings account. From the 2026-27 school year, every student eligible to enroll in a West Virginia public school in grades K-12 qualifies, including existing homeschool students. The expected award for 2026-27 is $5,435.62, paid quarterly.

The amount depends on when you apply: applications from March 2 to June 15, 2026 receive the full award, June 16 to September 15 receive 75 percent, September 16 to November 30 receive 50 percent, and December 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027 receive 25 percent. Applications need a West Virginia Education Information System (WVEIS) ID number from your county board. A Hope student learning at home files a Hope notice of intent, not a homeschool notice, and submits a notice of termination of homeschooling.

Homeschool tax breaks and funding in West Virginia

A West Virginia public school must accept a transcript or other credential from a homeschool program as the record of your child's previous academic performance, for placement and credit assignment, and it records the class, grade, and source on the school transcript.

A child who completed a homeschool kindergarten program enters the grade level that is developmentally and academically appropriate. If your child joins the Hope Scholarship and later returns to public school full time, Hope participation ends for that school year and remaining funds go back to the state.