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Montana

• Compulsory Attendance Ages: Between 7 (prior to the first day of school) and the later of the following dates: the child's 16th birthday; the date of completion of the work of the 8th grade." (§ 20-5-102)

• Required Days of Instruction: 720 hours per year for grades 1-3 and, 1,080 hours per year for grades 4-12. (§ 20-5-109(2) and § 20-1-301)

• Required Subjects: Same "basic instructional program" as public schools. (§ 20-7-111)

• Teacher Qualifications: None.

• Standardized Tests: None.

• Definition of a home school: "...a home school is the instruction by a parent of his child, stepchild or ward in his residence."

• According to § 20-5-109, the home school must:
   1. Maintain attendance and immunization records which must be available for inspection by the county superintendent on request;
   2. Be in a building that complies with local health and safety regulations (for homes, not schools);
   3. Provide at least the minimum aggregate hours of instruction in accordance with § 20-1-301 and § 20-1-302, (§ 20-1-301 prescribes the total number of hour shown above, and § 20-1-302 authorizes the local school district to prescribe the length of the school day);
   4. Annually notify the county superintendent of intent to home school; and
   5. Provide an organized course of study according to § 20-7-111. The board of public education has the authority to "define and specify the basic instructional program for pupils in public schools." § 20-7-111)
   6. Neither the superintendent nor the school board has the authority to approve home schools.
   7. In § 20-5-111, the "Responsibilities and Rights of Parents who Provide Home School - Rights of Child in Home School," are specifically described. This section of the Montana Code clearly recognizes the parents as being solely responsible for their children's education. The law states: "Subject to the provisions of § 20-5-109, a parent has the authority to instruct his child, stepchild, or ward in a home school and is solely responsible for:
       a. The educational philosophy of the home school;
       b. the selection of instructional materials, curriculum, and textbooks;
       c. the time, place, and method of instruction; and
       d. the evaluation of the home school instruction."

Reference: Click Here

Montana State High School Graduation Requirements:

English units: 4
Math units: 2
Social studies units: 2
Science units: 2
P.E./Health units: 1 unit "health enhancement" (.5 unit each year for two years)
Arts: 1
Foreign language: 0
Electives units: 7
Other units: 1 unit "vocational/technical education"

TOTAL # units: 20

Other diploma options: State does not offer differentiated diploma pathways. State does not have policy on awarding proficiency-based credit.

MONT. ADMIN. R. 10.55.905

Important Note: State Graduation requirements are not necessarily the best guideline for homeschoolers to use. They have been included here as a guideline for what a typical public school student would need to complete in order to graduate.

A more important guideline may be the College Entrance requirements for where your student would like to attend college. While colleges have differing requirements, there are many colleges that publish requirements for homeschool graduates.

Related Pages:
Homeschool Support Groups in Montana
Colleges in Montana

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