West Virginia's main route requires a notice of intent, a parent with a high school diploma or equivalent, and an annual academic assessment, with results submitted to the county in certain grades.
Homeschooling is legal in West Virginia, and the standard route is straightforward: file a notice of intent with your county superintendent, meet the parent education requirement (a high school diploma or equivalent), and assess your child's progress each year. Assessment results are kept by you and submitted to the county in a handful of checkpoint grades — commonly cited as grades 3, 5, 8, and 11.
You choose your own curriculum and schedule. The annual assessment offers real flexibility: a nationally normed standardized test, a portfolio review by a certified teacher, or other statutorily accepted measures.
File a notice of intent with your county superintendent when you begin homeschooling. Include the basic information the county requests — check your county's current form and whether it treats the notice as one-time or annual, as practice has shifted over the years.
The instructing parent needs a high school diploma or equivalent (the law historically required the parent's education to exceed the child's grade level by a set margin, but a diploma satisfies the current standard).
Assess annually using one of the accepted options: a nationally normed standardized test, participation in the state's testing where available, a certified-teacher portfolio review, or another statutorily recognized method. Keep all results; submit them to the county in the checkpoint grades (3, 5, 8, and 11).
Confirm the instructing parent has a high school diploma or equivalent.
Get your county's notice of intent form and file it with the superintendent's office, keeping a copy.
Withdraw your child from their current school in writing once the notice is filed.
Choose your assessment method for the year — test or portfolio review — and note whether this is a checkpoint grade.
Choose a curriculum that builds a natural portfolio of dated work and keeps core skills at grade level, so either assessment option is low-stress.
Whatever West Virginia asks for — attendance, subject coverage, progress evidence, transcripts — Cullinan Academy tracks it automatically as your kids learn: verified mastery records, time-on-task, printable transcripts with GPA, and state report templates. No spreadsheet required.
County practice varies and the law has been amended over time — ask your county office whether your notice stands until circumstances change or needs annual renewal, and keep written proof either way.
Results are submitted to the county in grades 3, 5, 8, and 11; in other years you assess and keep the results yourself.
No — a portfolio review by a certified teacher is a fully accepted alternative, and many WV families prefer it.
The law provides for a remediation process — extra support and re-assessment — rather than an immediate end to homeschooling. Documented improvement is the goal.
The Hope Scholarship (education savings account) has its own application, spending, and assessment rules separate from the standard homeschool statute. If you accept the funds, follow the program's current requirements.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Homeschool law changes, and districts sometimes apply it differently. Verify current requirements with your state's department of education or a local homeschool association before filing anything. Content last reviewed 2026-07.