Homeschooling in Connecticut— no required notice today — but a 2028 NOI is already on the books.
Connecticut lets parents provide equivalent instruction at home with no notice required for the 2026 school year — no subjects, hours, days, or tests are mandated by the state. The C-14 Notice of Intent (NOI-A4) is voluntary; many districts ask for it, but cannot compel it. That changes ahead: Public Act 26-37 (signed May 26, 2026) phases in an in-person withdrawal sign-off starting 2027-28 and a mandatory annual October 1 NOI plus a child-abuse-registry check starting 2028-29. Lightstead keeps your records ready and surfaces the phase-in dates so the file your future self needs is already built.
What Connecticut requires, at a glance.
- Notice
None required (2026)
No notice is required to homeschool in the 2026 school year under § 10-184. The C-14 Notice of Intent (NOI-A4) is voluntary.
- C-14 NOI
Voluntary today
Many districts request the C-14 / NOI-A4 form, but cannot compel it. Filing it is optional under current law.
- Subjects
Not specified
No subjects are mandated by the state at present. The standard is equivalent instruction; the family chooses scope, sequence, and curriculum.
- Days / hours
Not specified
No instructional days or hours are mandated by the state at present.
- Assessment
Not required
No state-mandated testing or assessment. Any records or evaluations you keep are for your own use, not a state submission.
- Standard
Equivalent instruction
§ 10-184 allows equivalent instruction at home — the operative legal standard in place of a filing-and-approval regime.
- 2027-28 change
Withdrawal sign-off
PA 26-37 phases in an in-person withdrawal sign-off beginning the 2027-28 school year. No new obligation applies to a family homeschooling in 2026.
- 2028-29 change
Oct 1 NOI + check
PA 26-37 phases in a mandatory annual October 1 Notice of Intent plus a DCF / child-abuse-registry check beginning the 2028-29 school year.
§1
Nothing to file in 2026 — but start the record anyway.
Connecticut requires no notice to homeschool for the 2026 school year. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-184 allows a parent to provide equivalent instruction at home, and there is no filing, registration, or approval step to begin. No subjects, hours, days, or assessments are mandated by the state at present. That removes the paperwork, not the reason to keep a file. Connecticut's standard is equivalent instruction, and the record that demonstrates it — what you taught, when, and the work that came out of it — lives in your own logs rather than in a submission to the district. A move, a return to public school, or a college application is the moment that record matters.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-184
There's no NOI to file in Connecticut in 2026, so Lightstead opens your CT profile straight onto the records the equivalent-instruction standard is really about. The dashboard tracks your school year and keeps the daily log, subjects, and portfolio in one place — so if anyone ever asks, the documentation already exists.
Open your Connecticut dashboard
§2
The Notice of Intent districts ask for — and can't compel.
Connecticut districts commonly request the C-14 Notice of Intent (form NOI-A4) when a family begins homeschooling. Under current law that form is voluntary: a district may ask for it, but cannot compel it. Filing the C-14 is a choice some families make to keep the relationship with their district straightforward; it is not a legal requirement in 2026. Because the C-14 is optional, there is no state-set deadline or approval attached to it today. A family that chooses to file simply submits the NOI-A4 to its local district; a family that declines is still providing equivalent instruction under § 10-184.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-184
If you decide to file the voluntary C-14, Lightstead's filing wizard stages the children's data so the NOI-A4 is quick to complete for your district. If you don't, nothing is forced on you — the wizard simply stays out of the way while your records build in the background.
Filing wizard
§3
What 'equivalent instruction' means when nothing is prescribed.
Section 10-184 frames the obligation as equivalent instruction rather than a list of required subjects, hours, or days — none of which the state mandates at present. The family chooses the curriculum, the scope, and the sequence, and the proof that the instruction was equivalent lives in the work itself. In practice that makes the subjects list and the lesson record the heart of a Connecticut file. There is no test score or evaluator letter to point to, so the body of work — the subjects covered and the daily log behind them — is what stands in for it.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-184
Lightstead's subjects list lets you set up the subjects you're teaching, and the daily lesson log records what actually happened day to day. Together they document equivalent instruction without prescribing it — you pick the materials, and the record builds itself as you go.
Subjects & curriculum list
§4
A portfolio your future self will want — even when nobody asks.
Because Connecticut mandates no assessment and accepts no state submission, every record a homeschooling family keeps in 2026 is kept for itself. A daily log of subjects and activities and a portfolio of the child's work are not filed anywhere — but they are the evidence of equivalent instruction if it is ever questioned. The records also do practical work the statute never mentions. A portfolio and a transcript are what a college admissions office, a private school, or a district re-enrollment desk asks for. The state may not require them; the next chapter usually does.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-184
Lightstead keeps the record in one place: the daily lesson log doubles as your plan book, work samples build the portfolio packet, and the transcript builder turns high-school records into a clean transcript when the time comes. Nothing is filed, so the value is that the documentation actually exists and is organized when your future self needs it.
Records & portfolio packet
§5
Public Act 26-37 — the rules change in 2027-28 and 2028-29.
Connecticut's no-notice posture is enacted to change. HB 5468 was signed as Public Act 26-37 on May 26, 2026, and it phases in two new obligations: an in-person withdrawal sign-off beginning the 2027-28 school year, and a mandatory annual October 1 Notice of Intent — together with a DCF / child-abuse-registry check — beginning the 2028-29 school year. None of this applies to a family homeschooling in 2026; the requirements are future-dated. The exact phase-in NOI date should be confirmed against the final regulations as they are issued, but the direction is set: a voluntary notice today becomes a required October 1 filing in a couple of years.
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-184
Lightstead is built around deadline cards, so when the October 1 NOI phase-in lands it shows up on your dashboard the way any filing deadline would. Until then your CT profile stays no-notice — and the records you're already keeping are exactly what a required NOI and a withdrawal sign-off will lean on.
Deadline cards on the dashboard
What people search for when they look up Connecticut homeschooling.
Do I have to register my homeschool in Connecticut?
No. For the 2026 school year, Connecticut requires no notice and no registration to homeschool. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-184 allows equivalent instruction at home with no filing or approval step. The C-14 Notice of Intent (NOI-A4) is voluntary.
Do I have to notify anyone before I start homeschooling in Connecticut?
Not in 2026. No notice is required to begin. Many districts request the C-14 / NOI-A4 form, but under current law they cannot compel it — filing it is optional.
What is the C-14 Notice of Intent in Connecticut?
The C-14 (form NOI-A4) is a Notice of Intent that Connecticut districts commonly ask homeschooling families to file. Today it is voluntary: a district may request it, but cannot compel it. There is no state-set deadline attached to it under current law.
How many hours or days does Connecticut require for homeschooling?
None are mandated by the state at present. Connecticut sets no required instructional days or hours; the standard under § 10-184 is equivalent instruction, which the family delivers on its own schedule.
Does Connecticut require homeschool testing?
No. The state mandates no assessment or standardized testing for homeschoolers at present. Any tests or evaluations you keep are for your own records, not a state submission.
What subjects does Connecticut require homeschoolers to teach?
The state does not specify required subjects. The legal standard is equivalent instruction; the family chooses the subjects, curriculum, scope, and sequence. The work itself stands as the evidence of equivalent instruction.
What records do I have to keep to homeschool in Connecticut?
The state does not require any records to be filed. Because nothing is submitted and no test is mandated, families keep a daily log of subjects and a portfolio of work for themselves — the evidence of equivalent instruction, and what a college or a returning district will later ask for.
Is Connecticut homeschool law changing?
Yes. HB 5468 was signed as Public Act 26-37 on May 26, 2026. It phases in an in-person withdrawal sign-off beginning the 2027-28 school year, and a mandatory annual October 1 Notice of Intent plus a DCF / child-abuse-registry check beginning the 2028-29 school year.
When does the mandatory Connecticut Notice of Intent start?
Under Public Act 26-37, the mandatory annual October 1 Notice of Intent phases in beginning the 2028-29 school year. No new obligation applies to a family homeschooling in 2026. Confirm the exact phase-in date against the final regulations as they are issued.
Does the 2026 law change affect me if I homeschool now?
No. The new obligations under Public Act 26-37 are future-dated — the withdrawal sign-off begins in 2027-28 and the mandatory October 1 NOI plus registry check begins in 2028-29. A family homeschooling in 2026 has no new requirement to meet today.
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