State homeschool attendance requirements are wildly inconsistent across the United States. Pennsylvania requires 180 days of instruction. Ohio requires 900 hours per year for grades 9-12. North Carolina requires nine calendar months of regular operation. Texas, Idaho, and Illinois require nothing at all in writing, though families in those states often track attendance anyway, since the records become valuable later for transcripts and dual enrollment paperwork.
What counts as an instructional day or hour also varies. Most states accept that a homeschool day can include field trips, library visits, science experiments at home, music lessons, and physical education at the local park. Some states distinguish between core hours (math, English, science, social studies) and elective hours. A few states require specific subject hour minimums.
This tracker handles the variation. Pick your state from the dropdown and the tool shows the exact rules that apply, then helps you log days or hours accordingly. Mark a day as full, half, or hours-only. Add notes about activities. View your running totals against the state requirement, with visual indicators showing your progress through the school year.
Everything saves to your browser automatically. At the end of the year, export a clean monthly report or full-year summary as a PDF, perfect for state filing, portfolio reviews, or end-of-year archives.
Select a state to view requirements and start logging attendance.
In most states, homeschool attendance can include any educational activity: formal lessons, field trips, library research, museum visits, science experiments, physical education, music practice. The state defines the minimum (days, hours, or nothing), and you decide what qualifies as instruction within those limits.
Some states distinguish core hours from elective hours. If your state has subject-specific minimums, log hours by subject so the report shows compliance. Tracking is annual, and most homeschool years mirror the public school calendar. Keep this tracker updated daily or weekly rather than reconstructing at year-end.
Annual state reporting is the primary use: Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, and several other states require attendance documentation each school year. Portfolio reviews in states like Pennsylvania want attendance logs as part of the evaluation portfolio. Some states require attendance proof for standardized testing eligibility.
Even in states with no requirement, attendance records support transcripts, scholarships, and dual enrollment applications. They also help if you need to transition your student back into traditional schooling, since receiving schools request records for grade placement.