Moving to Colorado: Homeschool Checklist

Required hours

About 688 hrs/year

School days

172 days/year

Required subjects

9 subjects

Notice

Required each year

Testing / evaluation

Parent's choice (testing or evaluation)

Recordkeeping

Required

Jump to the full Colorado requirements for plain-English detail on each of these.

Where are you moving from?

Pick your current state to see how to close it out before you go, and how its homeschool rules compare to Colorado's.

Coming from a nearby state?

Rule-by-rule comparisons for the moves into Colorado families make most often, with what changes on the way in and on the way out.

• Arizona vs Colorado (7 rules differ)
• California vs Colorado (6 rules differ)
• Florida vs Colorado (8 rules differ)
• Kansas vs Colorado (5 rules differ)
• Nebraska vs Colorado (5 rules differ)
• New Mexico vs Colorado (5 rules differ)
• Oklahoma vs Colorado (5 rules differ)
• Texas vs Colorado (6 rules differ)
• Utah vs Colorado (5 rules differ)
• Wyoming vs Colorado (6 rules differ)

What to do when you arrive in Colorado

Once you're a Colorado resident, you follow Colorado's rules, not your old state's. Colorado requires notice, so file with a Colorado school district of your choice to put your homeschool on record. File before you begin instruction at your new address. If your child was enrolled in a school on the way in, send that school a short withdrawal note too.

Do your homeschool records transfer?

No state, including Colorado, requires you to hand over homeschool records from your previous state, and there's no central transfer process. What matters is that you keep your own records: an hours or attendance log, work samples, and any grades or transcripts. Those travel with you and are what colleges and your new state may ask to see. This is exactly what Homeschool Fox is built for. Your log, hours, and reports live in one account and move with your family, so a cross-country move doesn't reset your records.

Timing your move: mid-year vs summer

Try to line your move up with Colorado's school-year calendar where you can. If you arrive mid-year, file Colorado's notice as soon as you're settled rather than waiting for fall, so there's no gap where your child looks unenrolled. A summer move is simpler: get your filing in before the new school year starts. Either way, keep dated proof of when you filed.

Moving as a military family

Military families move often, and the rule of thumb is simple: follow the homeschool law of the state you're physically living in. Once you're stationed in Colorado, you homeschool under Colorado's rules, even if your legal residency for taxes or voting is another state. The Military Interstate Children's Compact smooths public-school transfers, but it doesn't override homeschool law, so plan around Colorado's requirements. Keeping portable digital records makes each PCS move far less disruptive.

What Homeschool Fox tracks for Colorado

The records Colorado asks you to keep, plus the rest of your year, in one place. No spreadsheets, no lost notebooks.

• Hours toward your 688-hour goal
• Required subjects
• Days attended
• The records Colorado asks you to keep
• Parent's choice (testing or evaluation)
• Daily activity logs
• Printable PDF reports
• Progress tracking

More Colorado guides

• Colorado Homeschool Requirements Hours, notice, assessment, and subjects at a glance.
• Homeschooling High School in Colorado Credits, GPA, transcripts, and graduation.
• Record Keeping in Colorado What to document, how to organize it, and staying compliant.
• How to Withdraw From School in Colorado The steps, the letter, and timing to avoid truancy issues.
• Public School Sports in Colorado Whether homeschoolers can play, what it takes, and who to ask.
• Homeschool Hours Required in Colorado The number, what counts toward it, and the pace to hit it.
• Required Subjects in Colorado The list, how much time each needs, and proving you taught them.
• Colorado Letter of Intent Who to file with, when it's due, and a free generator.
• Colorado Test Results What goes in it, when it's due, and who reviews it.
• Homeschool Testing in Colorado What the state asks for, when, and low-score rules.