Countries where homeschooling is allowed
Homeschooling or home schooling is allowed in many countries. Most homeschooling is in the following countries: Australia , Canada , New Zealand , Great Britain and the USA . Some countries have highly regulated homeschooling programs as an extension of the compulsory education system. Few countries have banned home schooling entirely. In some countries we do not yet know whether homeschooling is allowed or tolerated in these countries. In the following, we list those countries and regions in which you can either train your children yourself or through private teachers in home lessons or have them taught via an online school (for some this is only permitted under certain conditions). The countries are listed in alphabetical order. Much of the data is from 2019 and 2020, others from the years before.
Countries | Status | Statistics |
Children can be homeschooled, but parents must apply for permission from the Provincial Education Council. | Not Specified | |
Legal as an alternative to the compulsory Public School system. Individual states and territories regulate homeschooling depending on the jurisdiction. | over 20,000 Students | |
Home schooling is legal under restrictive conditions as long as the teaching at least corresponds to that of the state school. | 2,100 students | |
Homeschooling is allowed for a few different reasons being if they have a serious medical condition, if the student has exceptional talent or if the student can not attend school permanently for a good reason. | ||
Homeschooling is legal under restrictive conditions and a constitutional right in Belgium. | 500 students | |
Expats have the right to home schooling. However, the presence requirement is unclear. | Not specified | |
The Supreme Court has not yet issued a statement on homeschooling so there is still no legalization. But since 2019 there is a new project through which homeschooling can be legalized in the country. | 7,000 families | |
Public education is compulsory. Only children with special needs are allowed to be homeschooled under strict government control. | less than 100 families | |
Legal under regulatory conditions by individual provinces | More than 60,000 | |
The constitution guarantees freedom of education. Prior registration with the Ministerio de Educación is required. | 8,000 to 15,000 students | |
Illegal for citizens without a permit, but with no restrictions for foreign students. | over 6,000 families (2017) | |
Legal. Regulated by the Ministry of Education and the ICFES (Colombian Institute for the Advancement of Higher Education). A student must take a public aptitude test and a state test (similar to SAT) if he / she wishes to attend college. | not specified | |
Czech Republic | Legal under restrictive conditions as an alternative (for “serious reasons”) to primary school. Exams are compulsory twice a year. | 2,500 families |
Legally under the control of the school, as an alternative to the compulsory public school system. Inspections are mandatory every year unless specific arrangements have been made. | 349 to 375 children (2017) | |
Legal. Every home-schooled child must be supervised by an authorized school (can be a private school) and pass annual exams. It receives a diploma from the supervisory school. | less than 100 students | |
Legal as an alternative to the compulsory public school system. Written and oral exams are mandatory. | 400 to 600 students | |
Legal as an alternative to the compulsory public school system. Annual inspections are mandatory. | 35,950 students (2018/2019) | |
Home schooling is legal only under certain circumstances, such as a medical condition that prevents a child to attend a traditional school. Standard curriculum must be followed and assessed regularly to monitor the child’s progress. | 500 to 3,000 students | |
Homeschooling is legal. Parents must have a high school degree. File declaration of intent with the Georgia Department of Education. | 59000 (2015) and 91000 in 2022 | |
Great Britain | Legal as an alternative to the compulsory state school system. | more than 48,000 children |
Illegal. Home schooling is only allowed for children with special needs. | not specified | |
Legal with permission. | not specified | |
Homeschooling is legal under certain conditions. Schooling is compulsory for children aged 6 to 16. Most of the time, children are homeschooled because of illness or other special circumstances. Homeschooled children need to be tested at least twice a year. | not specified | |
Iceland | Only holders of teaching qualifications are allowed to teach legally. In other cases, public education is compulsory. | not specified |
Legal as an alternative to the compulsory public school system. | 500 to 1,000 children | |
Legal as an alternative to the compulsory public school system. | not specified | |
Homeschooling is allowed and anchored in the constitution. | 1,100 students | |
Israel | Legal under regulatory conditions. | 448 children from 2013/14 |
Homeschooling is allowed and anchored in the constitution. Homeschooled childred have to follow the traditional school curriculum. Parents are required to show their financial and technical ability to homeschool their children. | over 10,000 | |
Technically illegal. Permitted only to homeschool children with special needs. They must follow a standarized curriculum and compulsory assessment. | 1000-5000 families | |
Kazakhistan | Not illegal, but not enshrined in law. Legal for gifted and disabled students. Door-to-door checks are carried out on a regular basis. Legal for non-residents. | Many immigrant families are homeschooled |
Homeschooling is allowed as long as it meets the specific curriculum of learning time, and learning goals. The parent teaching their child needs to have a teaching qualification or be approved by the office of education. Students do not need to take any exams. | not specified | |
Latvia | Legal. Each child must be supervised by an authorized school (can be a private school) and pass annual exams. Home-schooled children receive a diploma from the supervisory school. | less than 100 families |
Lithuania | Legal. Each child must be supervised by an authorized school (can be a private school) and pass annual exams. Home-schooled children receive a diploma from the supervisory school. | not specified |
Luxembourg | Legal for elementary school age. | not specified |
Homeschooling is legal in Malta with a “Valid Reason”. Parents must have a teaching warrant and a license. It will also be audited and monitored by the education authorities. Valid reasons may include families who move countries frequently etc. | not specified | |
Legal as long as the student is registered, which can be a lengthy bureaucratic process. The compulsory attendance laws are unclear. | not specified | |
Moldova | Not illegal. Details are missing. | 100 to 200 |
Illegal as public or private education is compulsory. There are, however, a few exceptions . | 931 children exempted (2017/2018) | |
Legal as an alternative to the compulsory public school system. | 6,500 students | |
Homeschooling is legal under restrictive conditions as long as the teaching at least corresponds to that of the state school. | more than 400 students | |
Legality or requirements not yet clarified. | not specified | |
For local residences attendance at public or state schools is compulsory. Foreigners can have home tuition if they do not speak Spanish or Guarani sufficiently and if a native-speaking school is more than 50 km or over an hour’s drive from their place of residence. | not specified | |
Legal. Prior registration with the Ministerio de Educación is required. | not specified | |
Legal. All parent teachers enrolled in a Department of Education Accredited homeschool provider must be college graduates. Parent-teachers who do not hold college degrees may however still homeschool independently and have their children re-enter the Department of Education system via the PEPT (Philippine Educational Placement Test). | More than 9,000 | |
Legal under restrictive conditions. Every home-schooled child must be supervised by an authorized school (can be a private school) and pass annual exams . Schoolchildren receive diplomas from the school inspectorate. | Around 14,000 children (2017) | |
Legal. Children who live in Portugal for more than 4 months are required to go to school by law. Home schooling according to the Portuguese curriculum only . Compulsory annual exams in Portuguese. | not specified | |
Legal under restrictive conditions. Children with disabilities, special needs or whose condition does not allow them to be physically present in a school can be homeschooled under the supervision of an accredited teacher. Foreign curriculum can be studied from abroad under the supervision of an umbrella school. | 500 students | |
Russia | Legal. Every home-schooled child must be enrolled in a government-licensed school (can be a private school) and not have to take annual exams . Children receive diplomas from the school inspectorate. | 50,000 to 100,000 students |
Legal. Primary school and for students with special needs and disability who are being home schooled through implementation of an individual educational plan with adapted standards. | not specified | |
Slovakia | Legal, under restrictive conditions (only sick children or children aged 6 to 10 years). | not specified |
Slovenia | Legal. Details are missing. | not specified |
Legal as an alternative to the compulsory public school system. | 30,000 to 100,000 children | |
Not allowed by law, but since the law is unclear and this fact is supported by business people, homeschoolers generally have no problem with authorities. | not specified | |
Not technically legal. Education law provides that compulsory schooling must be fulfilled by attending school for permanent residents. Families who are not permanent residents can homeschool without any problems | about 2,000 families | |
Suriname | Legal. Details are missing. | not specified |
Legal and heavily regulated under special circumstances such as student health reasons or temporary residence. Standard curriculum must be followed and assessed regularly to monitor the child’s progress. | 200 families – semi-legal | |
Legal in around three quarters of the cantons, many of which are restrictive to very restrictive. | 2500 Children | |
Legal. Homeschooled students can access school facilites upon requests for experimental education plan. Graduation diploma from the government is provided after completion of study. Governnent pays $2400 cash every year to a secondary homeschooled student. they also have a special university admission process. | 3441 in 2020 | |
Legal. Thai families must have a application for homeschooling and assess the children yearly. Children of expats and tourist are exempt from Thai homeschooling law but are advised to follow the set curriculum. | ||
Trinidad and Tobago | Legal. Parents need to inform MOE (Ministry of Education) their intention to homeschool their child. Parents have to choose a curriculum to follow. Parents qualify if they have completed secondary school completely. | not specified |
Ukraine | Legally but heavily regulated. | 100 families |
Legal for students of grade 7 to 12 for all nationals, expats & residents | not specified | |
Legally permitted under regulatory conditions, which, however, vary from state to state. | About 2.5 million students | |
Homeschooling is legal and very popular. Specific government guidelines must be followed. Regular accessment is required to monitor progress of the students. | over 50,000 | |