Homeschooling in California (CA): Requirements, Law & Standards

CA ·

No fixed minimum hours/days are specified for PSA private-school homeschoolers in statute.

California recognizes no separate 'homeschool' legal category. Parents educate at home legally by (1) filing a Private School Affidavit and operating as a private school (EC 33190; most common), (2) using the certificated private-tutor exemption (EC 48224; 3 hrs/day, 175 days, by a credentialed person), or (3) enrolling in a public/charter independent-study or private-school satellite program. PSA homeschoolers must teach the branches of study required in public schools (EC 51210/51220), keep attendance and teacher/course records, and instruct in English. No standardized testing, professional evaluation, or portfolio review is legally required of PSA/private-school homeschoolers. Public charter independent-study students, by contrast, are subject to CAASPP testing.

California has no standalone homeschool statute; families homeschool legally under one of several options. The most common is to operate as a private school by filing a Private School Affidavit (PSA) with the California Department of Education each year between October 1 and 15 (Education Code 33190). Other legal options that require no PSA: (a) the private full-time certificated tutor exemption (EC 48224); (b) enrolling in a private school satellite/independent-study program (PSP) that files the affidavit on the family's behalf; or (c) enrolling in a public charter or district independent-study program (in which case CAASPP testing applies). The PSA is a registration/exemption filing, not a request for approval.

Private schools (including PSA homeschools) must maintain: an attendance register/record of pupils enrolled and in attendance (EC 48222); a list of the names and addresses, including city and street, of all full-time teachers and the courses of study offered (per the affidavit, EC 33190); and records of the courses of study and instructors' qualifications. Instruction must be in English (EC 48222/30). No submission of these records is required unless requested.

English
Mathematics
Social sciences (history-social science)
Science
Visual and performing arts (fine arts)
Health
Physical education


Math	California Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSS-M)
ELA	California Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy (CCSS-ELA)
Science	California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS)
Social Studies	California History-Social Science Content Standards (state-specific; adopted 1998, with 2016 History-Social Science Framework)

· California History-Social Science Content Standards (state-specific; adopted 1998, with 2016 History-Social Science Framework) · 113


K	K.1	Students understand that being a good citizen involves acting in certain ways.
K	K.2	Students recognize national and state symbols and icons such as the national and state flags, the bald eagle, and the Statue of Liberty.
K	K.3	Students match simple descriptions of work that people do and the names of related jobs at the school, in the local community, and from historical accounts.
K	K.4	Students compare and contrast the locations of people, places, and environments and describe their characteristics.
K	K.5	Students put events in temporal order using a calendar, placing days, weeks, and months in proper order.
K	K.6	Students understand that history relates to events, people, and places of other times.
1	1.1	Students describe the rights and individual responsibilities of citizenship.
1	1.2	Students compare and contrast the absolute and relative locations of places and people and describe the physical and/or human characteristics of places.
1	1.3	Students know and understand the symbols, icons, and traditions of the United States that provide continuity and a sense of community across time.
1	1.4	Students compare and contrast everyday life in different times and places around the world and recognize that some aspects of people, places, and things change over time while others stay the same.
1	1.5	Students describe the human characteristics of familiar places and the varied backgrounds of American citizens and residents in those places.
1	1.6	Students understand basic economic concepts and the role of individual choice in a free-market economy.
2	2.1	Students differentiate between things that happened long ago and things that happened yesterday.
2	2.2	Students demonstrate map skills by describing the absolute and relative locations of people, places, and environments.
2	2.3	Students explain governmental institutions and practices in the United States and other countries.
2	2.4	Students understand basic economic concepts and their individual roles in the economy and demonstrate basic economic reasoning skills.
2	2.5	Students understand the importance of individual action and character and explain how heroes from long ago and the recent past have made a difference in others' lives.
3	3.1	Students describe the physical and human geography and use maps, tables, graphs, photographs, and charts to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context.
3	3.2	Students describe the American Indian nations in their local region long ago and in the recent past.
3	3.3	Students draw from historical and community resources to organize the sequence of local historical events and describe how each period of settlement left its mark on the land.
3	3.4	Students understand the role of rules and laws in our daily lives and the basic structure of the U.S. government.
3	3.5	Students demonstrate basic economic reasoning skills and an understanding of the economy of the local region.
4	4.1	Students demonstrate an understanding of the physical and human geographic features that define places and regions in California.
4	4.2	Students describe the social, political, cultural, and economic life and interactions among people of California from the pre-Columbian societies to the Spanish mission and Mexican rancho periods.
4	4.3	Students explain the economic, social, and political life in California from the establishment of the Bear Flag Republic through the Mexican-American War, the Gold Rush, and the granting of statehood.
4	4.4	Students explain how California became an agricultural and industrial power, tracing the transformation of the California economy and its political and cultural development since the 1850s.
4	4.5	Students understand the structures, functions, and powers of the local, state, and federal governments as described in the U.S. Constitution.
5	5.1	Students describe the major pre-Columbian settlements, including the cliff dwellers and pueblo people of the desert Southwest, the American Indians of the Pacific Northwest, the nomadic nations of the Great Plains, and the woodland peoples east of the Mississippi River.
5	5.2	Students trace the routes of early explorers and describe the early explorations of the Americas.
5	5.3	Students describe the cooperation and conflict that existed among the American Indians and between the Indian nations and the new settlers.
5	5.4	Students understand the political, religious, social, and economic institutions that evolved in the colonial era.
5	5.5	Students explain the causes of the American Revolution.
5	5.6	Students understand the course and consequences of the American Revolution.
5	5.7	Students describe the people and events associated with the development of the U.S. Constitution and analyze the Constitution's significance as the foundation of the American republic.
5	5.8	Students trace the colonization, immigration, and settlement patterns of the American people from 1789 to the mid-1800s, with emphasis on the role of economic incentives, effects of the physical and political geography, and transportation systems.
5	5.9	Students know the location of the current 50 states and the names of their capitals.
5	Chronological and Spatial Thinking 1	Students place key events and people of the historical era they are studying in a chronological sequence and within a spatial context; they interpret time lines.
5	Historical Interpretation 3	Students identify and interpret the multiple causes and effects of historical events.
5	Research, Evidence, and Point of View 1	Students differentiate between primary and secondary sources.
6	6.1	Students describe what is known through archaeological studies of the early physical and cultural development of humankind from the Paleolithic era to the agricultural revolution.
6	6.2	Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Kush.
6	6.3	Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the Ancient Hebrews.
6	6.4	Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of Ancient Greece.
6	6.5	Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of India.
6	6.6	Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of China.
6	6.7	Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures during the development of Rome.
7	7.1	Students analyze the causes and effects of the vast expansion and ultimate disintegration of the Roman Empire.
7	7.10	Students analyze the historical developments of the Scientific Revolution and its lasting effect on religious, political, and cultural institutions.
7	7.11	Students analyze political and economic change in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries (the Age of Exploration, the Enlightenment, and the Age of Reason).
7	7.2	Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of Islam in the Middle Ages.
7	7.3	Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of China in the Middle Ages.
7	7.4	Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the sub-Saharan civilizations of Ghana and Mali in Medieval Africa.
7	7.5	Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of Medieval Japan.
7	7.6	Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the civilizations of Medieval Europe.
7	7.7	Students compare and contrast the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the Meso-American and Andean civilizations.
7	7.8	Students analyze the origins, accomplishments, and geographic diffusion of the Renaissance.
7	7.9	Students analyze the historical developments of the Reformation.
8	8.1	Students understand the major events preceding the founding of the nation and relate their significance to the development of American constitutional democracy.
8	8.10	Students analyze the multiple causes, key events, and complex consequences of the Civil War.
8	8.11	Students analyze the character and lasting consequences of Reconstruction.
8	8.12	Students analyze the transformation of the American economy and the changing social and political conditions in the United States in response to the Industrial Revolution.
8	8.2	Students analyze the political principles underlying the U.S. Constitution and compare the enumerated and implied powers of the federal government.
8	8.3	Students understand the foundation of the American political system and the ways in which citizens participate in it.
8	8.4	Students analyze the aspirations and ideals of the people of the new nation.
8	8.5	Students analyze U.S. foreign policy in the early Republic.
8	8.6	Students analyze the divergent paths of the American people from 1800 to the mid-1800s and the challenges they faced, with emphasis on the Northeast.
8	8.7	Students analyze the divergent paths of the American people in the South from 1800 to the mid-1800s and the challenges they faced.
8	8.8	Students analyze the divergent paths of the American people in the West from 1800 to the mid-1800s and the challenges they faced.
8	8.9	Students analyze the early and steady attempts to abolish slavery and to realize the ideals of the Declaration of Independence.
8	Chronological and Spatial Thinking 1	Students explain how major events are related to one another in time.
8	Historical Interpretation 2	Students understand and distinguish cause, effect, sequence, and correlation in historical events, including the long- and short-term causal relations.
8	Research, Evidence, and Point of View 4	Students assess the credibility of primary and secondary sources and draw sound conclusions from them.
10	10.1	Students relate the moral and ethical principles in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, in Judaism, and in Christianity to the development of Western political thought.
10	10.10	Students analyze instances of nation-building in the contemporary world in at least two of the following regions or countries: the Middle East, Africa, Mexico and other parts of Latin America, and China.
10	10.11	Students analyze the integration of countries into the world economy and the information, technological, and communications revolutions (e.g., television, satellites, computers).
10	10.2	Students compare and contrast the Glorious Revolution of England, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution and their enduring effects worldwide on the political expectations for self-government and individual liberty.
10	10.3	Students analyze the effects of the Industrial Revolution in England, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States.
10	10.4	Students analyze patterns of global change in the era of New Imperialism in at least two of the following regions or countries: Africa, Southeast Asia, China, India, Latin America, and the Philippines.
10	10.5	Students analyze the causes and course of the First World War.
10	10.6	Students analyze the effects of the First World War.
10	10.7	Students analyze the rise of totalitarian governments after World War I.
10	10.8	Students analyze the causes and consequences of World War II.
10	10.9	Students analyze the international developments in the post-World War II world.
11	11.1	Students analyze the significant events in the founding of the nation and its attempts to realize the philosophy of government described in the Declaration of Independence.
11	11.10	Students analyze the development of federal civil rights and voting rights.
11	11.11	Students analyze the major social problems and domestic policy issues in contemporary American society.
11	11.2	Students analyze the relationship among the rise of industrialization, large-scale rural-to-urban migration, and massive immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe.
11	11.3	Students analyze the role religion played in the founding of America, its lasting moral, social, and political impacts, and issues regarding religious liberty.
11	11.4	Students trace the rise of the United States to its role as a world power in the twentieth century.
11	11.5	Students analyze the major political, social, economic, technological, and cultural developments of the 1920s.
11	11.6	Students analyze the different explanations for the Great Depression and how the New Deal fundamentally changed the role of the federal government.
11	11.7	Students analyze America's participation in World War II.
11	11.8	Students analyze the economic boom and social transformation of post-World War II America.
11	11.9	Students analyze U.S. foreign policy since World War II.
11	Chronological and Spatial Thinking 1	Students compare the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of past events and decisions and determining the lessons that were learned.
11	Historical Interpretation 6	Students conduct cost-benefit analyses and apply basic economic indicators to analyze the aggregate economic behavior of the U.S. economy.
11	Historical Research, Evidence, and Point of View 2	Students identify bias and prejudice in historical interpretations.
12	12.1	Students explain the fundamental principles and moral values of American democracy as expressed in the U.S. Constitution and other essential documents of American democracy.
12	12.1 (Economics)	Students understand common economic terms and concepts and economic reasoning.
12	12.10	Students formulate questions about and defend their analyses of tensions within our constitutional democracy and the importance of maintaining a balance between competing concepts (e.g., majority rule and individual rights; liberty and equality; state and national authority).
12	12.2	Students evaluate and take and defend positions on the scope and limits of rights and obligations as democratic citizens, the relationships among them, and how they are secured.
12	12.2 (Economics)	Students analyze the elements of America's market economy in a global setting.
12	12.3	Students evaluate and take and defend positions on what the fundamental values and principles of civil society are, their interdependence, and the meaning and importance of those values and principles for a free society.
12	12.3 (Economics)	Students analyze the influence of the federal government on the American economy.
12	12.4	Students analyze the unique roles and responsibilities of the three branches of government as established by the U.S. Constitution.
12	12.4 (Economics)	Students analyze the elements of the U.S. labor market in a global setting.
12	12.5	Students summarize landmark U.S. Supreme Court interpretations of the Constitution and its amendments.
12	12.5 (Economics)	Students analyze the aggregate economic behavior of the U.S. economy.
12	12.6	Students evaluate issues regarding campaigns for national, state, and local elective offices.
12	12.6 (Economics)	Students analyze issues of international trade and explain how the U.S. economy affects, and is affected by, economic forces beyond the United States's borders.
12	12.7	Students analyze and compare the powers and procedures of the national, state, tribal, and local governments.
12	12.8	Students evaluate and take and defend positions on the influence of the media on American political life.
12	12.9	Students analyze the origins, characteristics, and development of different political systems across time, with emphasis on the quest for political democracy, its advances, and its obstacles.

Is homeschooling legal in California?

Yes. California recognizes no separate 'homeschool' legal category.

Do I have to notify anyone to homeschool in California?

Is standardized testing required for homeschoolers in California?

No annual test is mandated for homeschoolers in California. The state test (CAASPP (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress) — Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for ELA & Mathematics; California Science Test (CAST) for science) is not required for home-educated students.

What subjects are required for homeschooling in California?

California requires instruction in: English; Mathematics; Social sciences (history-social science); Science; Visual and performing arts (fine arts); Health; Physical education.

Does California have its own learning standards?

Math: California Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSS-M). ELA: California Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy (CCSS-ELA). Science: California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS). Social studies: California History-Social Science Content Standards (state-specific; adopted 1998, with 2016 History-Social Science Framework).

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