How to keep homeschool attendance records

First, find out what is being counted

Requirements vary by state and by the option a family files under: some states publish a number of days or hours, some ask for a portfolio, an evaluation or test scores, and others set different rules or none for homeschools.

Below are a few states that publish a figure, as recorded in our state table with the source and the date checked. Use them as an illustration of how differently states count, not as a summary of your obligations.

A simple daily method

1. Use one line per child per school day: the date, a mark for present, and the minutes if you count hours.
2. Fill it in the same day, ideally before the books go back on the shelf.
3. Write a reason on days without school (sick, break, holiday, appointment). A gap with a reason reads as a record; a blank gap reads as a missing one.
4. Keep a running total at the bottom of each month so you always know where you stand.

What counts as a day of school

That definition belongs to your state where it has one. In practice most families record any day with real, planned learning: lessons at the table, a co-op class, a museum visit with a purpose, a long nature walk with a notebook. If you are unsure whether a kind of day counts where you live, record it with a description and decide later; you cannot add a day you never wrote down.

Days versus hours

Some states count days, some hours, some both, and some let you choose. If you count hours, record actual minutes rather than a scheduled block: a 30-minute math lesson is 30 minutes, not the hour on the timetable. Grouping minutes by subject area (math, reading, science and so on) makes it easier to answer questions about core subjects later.

How Homeschool Up keeps it

• A day counts for a child when a lesson was recorded on it or when you logged learning (a field trip, a read-aloud, a co-op class).
• Each recorded lesson adds its minutes to its subject area. If you do not type minutes, the subject's usual length is used.
• Days off and breaks show on the calendar, for one child or for everyone, so the record explains its own gaps.
• The reports page shows days attended and hours against the number you set or your state's published preset, with a link to the official source.