Light requirements
Homeschooling in Iowa
Choose your route. Independent private instruction reports nothing unless asked; the supervised route files one form a year.
Getting started (notice)
depends on the option. Independent private instruction files nothing, and only names the instructor, the location and the students if the superintendent asks in writing. Competent private instruction supervised by a parent can opt out of reporting entirely. The licensed practitioner option, and anyone dual enrolling, files Form A with the district by September 1.
Required subjects
none prescribed for independent private instruction. Competent private instruction runs at least 148 days a year, at least 37 of them each quarter, and must result in the child making adequate progress.
Records you must keep
kept by you. Nothing routine goes to the district under the opt out and independent routes.
Testing / evaluation
none required under the opt out and independent private instruction routes.
Parent qualifications
none, unless you choose the option supervised by a licensed practitioner.
Where Letters & Devotion fits in Iowa
Whatever Iowa asks you to keep, keeping it should not be a job. Letters & Devotion logs instructional hours automatically while your child works, tracks mastery per skill as a ready-made portfolio record, and prints a transcript in one click, so notices, portfolios and evaluations start from records that already exist. The curriculum itself covers every core subject, K through 12.
Read all 84 courses in full before you pay anythingEvery unit, every skill, every objective. No account, no card.$29 a month after the first month. Cancel anytime, in one click.
This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice, and laws change. Last verified 2026-08. Always confirm current requirements with your state before relying on them. Sources:
- https://educate.iowa.gov/pk-12/educational-choice/homeschooling
- https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/ico/chapter/299A.pdf
HSLDA also publishes a plain-language summary of Iowa's law, at hslda.org/legal/iowa, and sells a paid legal-defense membership built on top of it. It is an advocacy organization, not a legal authority: its leadership is explicitly Christian, and it lobbies on homeschool legislation, positions a family may or may not share. Read what membership actually costs and covers before joining anything.