Homeschooling in Mississippi: what the state requires
A compulsory-school-age child is exempt from public school attendance when educated in a legitimate home instruction program. Parents file a certificate of enrollment with the local school attendance officer each year.
Checked October 1, 2026 against official Mississippi sources. State page: Mississippi Department of Education — Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement (Home School). Compulsory school age: Children who have attained age 6 on or before September 1 and have not attained age 17 on or before September 1 of the school year.
Legitimate home instruction program (Miss. Code §37-13-91)
A compulsory-school-age child is exempt from public school attendance when educated in a legitimate home instruction program. Parents file a certificate of enrollment with the local school attendance officer each year.
For every child
| Notice or registration | Required. On or before September 15 of each year. — Certificate of enrollment returned to the school attendance officer of the district where the child resides. Contents: child's name, address, telephone number and date of birth; parent/guardian name, address and telephone number; a simple description of the type of education the child is receiving; signatures. If notified of noncompliance, the parent has ten (10) days after written notice to comply. A legitimate home instruction program is one not operated or instituted to avoid or circumvent the compulsory attendance law. |
|---|---|
| Required subjects | — No required subjects found in the official sources reviewed. |
| Days | No day requirement found in the official sources reviewed. |
| Hours | No hour requirement found in the official sources reviewed. |
| Testing or evaluation | Not required. No testing requirement found in the official sources reviewed. |
| Records | No record-keeping requirement confirmed on an official source. |
| Teacher | No parent qualification requirement found. |
| Other | Home schools are excluded from the State Board's nonpublic school accreditation (Mississippi Nonpublic School Accountability Standards, 2025). |
By grade
No rule in this option changes with the grade.
High school and graduation
No state graduation requirements for home instruction found; the parent sets requirements and issues any diploma.
Official sources:
- MDE Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement — Homeschool Report 2016-2024 (quotes Miss. Code §37-13-91)
- MDE — Back-to-school enrollment guidance (compulsory age)
- Mississippi Nonpublic School Accountability Standards, 2025 (Secretary of State Administrative Code)
Not confirmed on an official state page yet: The full text of Miss. Code §37-13-91 could not be read on an official site (no free official code site; billstatus.ls.state.ms.us fails TLS verification for the fetch tool; mdek12.org home school pages return HTTP 403). The MDE homeschool report quotes only the exemption, 'legitimate program', September 15 certificate and 10-day compliance language. Any 180-day school-year definition or record-keeping language in §37-13-91 is NOT confirmed. Statements that there are no day, hour, subject, testing or record requirements reflect only the official excerpts reviewed.
After graduation: what to plan for
Suggestions from Homeschool Corral, not state rules. Most families keep the college path open through 10th grade, then narrow.
- 4 English, 4 math (through Algebra II, pre-calculus if they can), 3–4 science with 2 labs, 3–4 social studies, 2–3 years of one foreign language, 1 fine arts
- A one-paragraph description for every high-school course; the parent signs the transcript and diploma
- PSAT in 10th and 11th; SAT or ACT by spring of 11th; dual credit, AP or CLEP where it fits
- A log of activities, service and work from 9th grade; two adults who can recommend them
- A Scholarship Finder profile by 11th grade; FAFSA when it opens in the fall of 12th
- A diploma and transcript with 4 English, 3 math, 3 science, 3 social studies; applied math every year
- Dual-credit career and technical courses in 11th–12th; OSHA 10 and first aid/CPR; a driver’s license
- Real projects and a part-time job logged as credits, with references; visit the union hall about pre-apprenticeships in 11th
- A parent-issued diploma and full transcript, signed and dated; recruiters ask for both
- Strong reading and arithmetic for the entrance test; a practice ASVAB in 11th
- Physical fitness as a logged course; service and leadership; for an academy or ROTC, the college list plus the SAT/ACT early
- The diploma and transcript anyway; personal finance and business basics as credits
- Work experience logged with hours and a reference from 10th grade; typing, spreadsheets, a clear email
- Keep the college path open: a foreign language and Algebra II cost little now
My Homeschool turns these into a checklist for each child, with the credits recorded in Transcripts counted against the plan.
mdek12.org pages largely returned HTTP 403 to the fetch tool; re-check the MDE home school page and diploma options page manually. An undated MDE graduation-pathway PDF (https://www.mdek12.org/sites/default/files/mississippi-high-school-nbsp-graduation-pathway.pdf) lists older diploma options and appears superseded, so it was not used.
This is a plain-English summary of the state’s official sources, checked on the date shown. It is not legal advice, and laws change. Read the linked official pages, and check with the state or your local school district if anything is unclear.
Other states: Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · District of Columbia · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming