Home Study

Families considering home study due to COVID-19 may wish to contact their child’s principal or district superintendent to ask about the school’s plans for hybrid learning in the 2020-2021 school year and their specific concerns and options, before completing the home study enrollment materials.

Families may enroll for the 2020-2021 school year anytime between now and May 1, 2021 on a rolling basis. August 1 is the deadline for returning home school families who potentially might be eligible for an exemption from the Minimum Course of Study requirement on the third consecutive year of enrollment.

Please note the following important COVID-19 related updates:

1. The Home Study enrollment process is experiencing significant delays (approximately 5-6 week backlog as of 9/11/20) due to substantially increased demand. We will not be able to meet the usual 14-day deadline for responding to your application.
2. Please use the Cognito online application system if at all possible. This is the fastest way to send your materials to us. If you submit via this system, you will receive an auto-generated confirmation of receipt of your materials (provided you included an email address). Please check your SPAM folder if you do not receive the receipt.
3. If you mail your materials via USPS, consider paying for the additional proof of mailing so that you have some documentation of submission of your materials. Emailed materials will have the Sent email as proof of submission.
4. Important: Please notify your school’s principal that you intend to enroll in home study and provide him/her with whatever documentation you have of your enrollment (Cognito receipt, Sent email, USPS proof of mailing). Because of delays in our review process, including in the process of entering new application materials into our database, not all students will appear on the weekly lists of enrolled and pending home study students that we provide to superintendents, and principals and superintendents are responsible for accounting for every student in their district.
5. Superintendents and principals have been directed to treat parental documentation of having submitted an enrollment application for their child as equivalent to being in a “pending” status and not to consider such students truant, until the backlog is cleared.
6. During this challenging period, please do not call or email for status checks as this slows down the review process. We are processing applications in the order received. If, after 5 weeks, you still have not heard from us, please contact aoe.homestudy@vermont.gov.

After the 5-week waiting period, if you call or email, please provide us with the following information:

        *   Your child’s name(s)

        *   The approximate date that you submitted your paperwork

        *   How you submitted your paperwork (online form, email, mail, fax)

        *   If you submitted via online form, if possible, let us know the specific form you completed.  For example:  Home Study Electronically Fillable Enrollment Packet, Home Study Enrollment Form A (it's easier for us to search find your entry if we have the name of the form/s that were filled out)

        *   If you are submitting additional information (because you received an "incomplete" letter) or if you are sending information at different times/ways (i.e. you submitted the MCOS and Enrollment Form via the online platform and the report card via email)

7. Home Study Staff are sending emails to families to let them know that they are enrolled or incomplete.  These staff include a few new names as other AOE divisions have offered us some additional help.  You can expect an email from one of us: Aleksandr Kragh, Jenn Dale, Marni Troop, Marianne Robotham, Beth Keister, Nancy Hellen and Alicia Hanrahan.
8. Important: Please note that while families enrolled in home study are not eligible for regular free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program, they are eligible for free breakfasts and lunches provided this fall through the USDA’s emergency school meals program. Please contact your child’s school for information on how you can access free meals for your child, or contact Vermont Child Nutrition Programs to see if there are other options in your area.  

Thank you for your patience!

In accordance with the State Board of Education, AOE accountability goals, and Vermont law, the home study program works to ensure that all students enrolled in home study programs have access to a quality education. 

• Home Study Updates-COVID-19

• Home Study FAQ-COVID-19

Guidelines for Home Study in Vermont contains information necessary to prepare and submit an enrollment notice for homeschooling. Excerpts from relevant statutes and rules are also provided.

• Home Study Form Instructions and Checklist
• Home Study Newsletter

Home Study Timeline

August 01 – Submission deadline to qualify for the MCOS exemption.   

Rolling enrollments are accepted as long as the student is enrolled elsewhere (public school/ independent school) until you have received an official Home Study enrollment complete letter.

*Please note that not all students enrolling will need all forms. Below are your enrollment and forms submission options. 

Enrollments can take up to 14 business days to process once received. Submission of an enrollment packet does not mean that the student is been enrolled in a home study program. When students are officially enrolled in a home study program, families will receive an enrollment complete letter from the Home Study Office.

Enroll Online via Cognito Forms

The Agency of Education offers Cognito Forms as a secure online method to create and submit Home Study forms. You may save and resume your work as long as your record the save link provided within Cognito. Otherwise upon submission the Agency receives a copy of your forms, and you will receive a pdf copy of your submission within the confirmation email. Please be sure to check your SPAM/Junk folder for the confirmation email. Emails will go to the email addresses listed on the form.

​Full Enrollment Packet via Cognito

• Upload your already completed Home Study forms with your online enrollment.
• Create and submit all your Home Study forms (enrollment packet) electronically at one time.

Individual Forms via Cognito

• End of Year Assessment Upload
• Enrollment Form A
• Professional Evidence Reporting Form B
• Minimum Course of Study (MCOS)
• Adaptations for Minimum Course of Study
• Instructor Enrollment Form C
• Assurance of Educational Legal Rights

Printable Forms for Paper Submissions

Families who choose not to submit electronically via Cognito Forms have the option to print and complete the applicable forms listed below to enroll in the Vermont Home Study Program. Please note we are no longer able to offer pdf fillable forms due to a licensing restriction.

• Full Enrollment Packet with Instructions   
• Enrollment Form A​
• Professional Evidence Reporting Form B
• Minimum Course of Study (MCOS)
• Adaptations for Minimum Course of Study
• Instructor Enrollment Form C
• Assurance of Educational Legal Rights

Don’t have access to print the required forms, and don’t feel comfortable submitting them electronically? Please contact the Home Study office for other options​.