DEADLINE to Submit Your Declaration of Intent to Homeschool

Georgia law requires parents or guardians who teach their children at home to submit to the Georgia Department of Education (GADOE) an annual Declaration of Intent form. A Declaration of Intent must be submitted to the Georgia Department of Education within 30 days after establishment of a home study program and by September 1 annually thereafter.

Declaration of Intent (Be sure to keep a copy for your records)

You are only required to include children ages 6 years and older on the form. 0-5 year olds are not required to be in school in Georgia, so you do not have to declare an intent to homeschool them, BUT THERE IS AN EXCEPTION.*

What is the compulsory attendance age for homeschooling?  The compulsory age for school attendance in Georgia is between the child’s 6th and 16th birthdays. In other words, if your child will be 6* years old or older by Sept 1, you must report your child as homeschooling and they must stay in some form of legal education through the age of 16. It is important to note that even though the compulsory age of attendance is through age 16, a parent/guardian must continue to report their child as homeschooling to the DOE until s/he has completed his/her home study program. Failure to report a child as homeschooling beyond the age of 16 would constitute the student as a drop out, whether he/she completes the work beyond that age or not.

*There is an exception to the compulsory attendance age of 6 if a child has been enrolled in a public school for more than 20 days. In this case, the parent would need to report the child to the DOE as homeschooling. An example of this would be if a child was in a public school kindergarten for more than 20 days. Even though the child may be 5 years old or turned 6 after Sept 1, the parent is required to report them as homeschooling.

Read more about Georgia homeschooling laws